As the country gears up for the FIFA Futsal Women’s World Cup, the Filipina 5 hope to make a lasting impression on the sport locally.
Barely a month is left before the Philippines hosts the 2025 FIFA Futsal Women’s World Cup, where our own national team — known collectively as the Filipina 5 — will compete against 15 other countries in what will be the biggest international futsal tournament to be held here.
And while the Filipina 5 are hoping to put on a good showing in front of local fans, they’re also aiming to inspire the younger generation to pick up the sport. This is as much on their minds as devising strategies against formidable opposition.
“You know, in every camp we’re always doing what we can to improve as a team and as a group,” said Isabella Flanigan during the launching of the FFWWC’s online ticket system last Saturday at Ortigas Center. “Creating our culture, our identities, our main purpose, and we want to create one that’s not only for the World Cup, but has longevity and that has a purpose for every young Filipina or Filipino watching.
“Our training is not just for ourselves. We’re doing our training so that in the upcoming games, we can inspire the players so that they can be themselves. So yeah, our preparation is very good. We’re just looking for what we need to practice so that we can use it in the upcoming games.”
For the uninitiated, futsal is a smaller, more compact version of 11-a-side football, with only five players per team. The playing area is smaller, and as such, the action has a faster pace, and goals are easier to come by compared to traditional football.
Even the tactics are different. In this regard, Flanigan says futsal can be compared more to basketball.
“Futsal also has the same sort of tactics and formations. Definitely a lot of plays to watch out for. Every team has their own unique way to defend, either man-to-man or zonal. The same as basketball as well. So it just depends on the team, and I think for offensiveness, it’s definitely a lot of just fast-paced movements, quick touches on the ball, one-twos, give-and-goes, overlapping runs, just constant movement all the time.
“So it’s definitely going to be just a quick-paced game, and the formations you’ll be able to catch when you’re just watching. Normally, we form a diamond, so we start with the anchor in the back and the two wings on the side, and then we have the pivot at the top.”
And like basketball, height can make a difference in futsal.
“It’s definitely a factor,” Flanigan said. “I think it’s a factor, but then at the same time, it’s just another thing that happens in basketball and football. It definitely has its advantages, but it also has its disadvantages. Normally, a tall person probably wouldn’t have as much coordination as a shorter person, so that’s where it’s definitely more of an advantage to have that sort of quick feet and mobility in the position.”
The FIFA Futsal Women’s World Cup will run from November 21 to December 7 at the Philsports Arena. The Filipina 5 are in Group A with Poland, Morocco, and Argentina, with the top two advancing to the knockout stages. The 14-woman national pool has been training regularly, although some players are still tied up with club commitments abroad. Flanigan said they expect the team to be complete by the first week of November.
“Currently, we’re training four to five times a week, and I think percentage-wise, we’re definitely 100% ready,” she said.
“All of us come together with the same goal, the same mindset to enter each game with the mindset to win, to take every challenge, every opportunity on, to take every team on, regardless of their ranking. Because in futsal as well, the rankings don’t speak as much volume as in football. Every game is going to be just unpredictable.”
Banner images from Sid Ventura