FILE — Philippine women’s football team. PHOTO/Asian Football Confederation
The Philippines’ women footballers are Malditas no more.
Going for simplicity and nationalism, the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) rechristened the national women’s team “Filipinas”—the new moniker coming at a time when the program enters a new chapter, one that includes a first-ever appearance by the country in the sport’s grandest tournament.
“[Filipinas] is simple and nationalistic,” said national team manager Jefferson Cheng. “Our athletes are Filipinas. They are strong-willed, determined, passionate and driven by the goal to represent not just themselves, but the country.”
“We trust that Filipino football fans will understand and support this decision.”
“Malditas” may have been popular among the fans, but there’s little to complain about the name change. The team, after all, endeared itself more to its followers following a historic performance in an Asian qualifying tournament where the squad punched its ticket to the Women’s World Cup scheduled next year.
Cheng added that all relevant parties recognized that “Malditas” was no longer appropriate for the country’s World Cup debut.
The Filipinas, who rose to their highest ranking of No. 54 last Friday after their milestone semifinal finish in the Asian Football Confederation Asian Cup in India, arrived in Australia on Wednesday to link up with coach Alen Stajcic and his staff for the Fifa (International Federation of Association Football) window slated in the first week of April.