MANILA, Philippines – As Philippine football hosts a landmark event, officials expect it to only get better for the sport. 

The country will  host the first FIFA Futsal Women’s World Cup from November 21 to December 7, with the hopes of also encouraging  more young athletes to try the sport, a modified type of indoor football.

“We are convinced that we’re gonna move forward very, very heavily with girls playing futsal and football in the future,” said Jaime Yarza,  tournament director of Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA),  the sport’s world governing body.

Yarza said coming to the Philippines is a “milestone,” as officials also unveiled the tournament logo on Tuesday, March 18, at the Whitespace Manila in Makati City. 

He said the logo was designed with the host country in mind.

“A little bit of the colors of the street art and food from the Philippines,” said Yarza.

“It’s a mixture of culture from the Philippines, like I said, street food, street art, the colors of the island, together with the five players of futsal.”

Aside from gearing up for the World Cup, the Philippine women’s futsal team also vies for a competitive run in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Women’s Futsal Asian Cup 2025 from May 6-17 in China. 

The Philippines secured a spot in the Asian Cup by finishing third in Group C of the qualifying tournament.

Philippine head coach Rafa Merino Rodriguez said the tournament will be a good buildup for their World Cup campaign.

Though Rodriguez acknowledges the importance of winning the Asian Cup, he admitted it would be “very difficult” for the Philippines, ranked 59th in the latest FIFA futsal women’s world ranking, to rule the continental contest as the Filipinas got bunched with two-time defending champion Iran, 11th-ranked Vietnam, and world No. 31 Hong Kong in Group B.

Asian Cup host China got drawn in Group A with Uzbekistan, Chinese Taipei, and Australia, while Thailand, Japan, Indonesia, and Bahrain of Group C complete the 12-team cast for the Asian Cup.

The third edition of the international futsal championship organized by the AFC will also serve as a qualifying tournament for the inaugural FIFA Futsal Women’s World Cup 2025. – Rappler.com