Philippines to host inaugural FIFA Women's Futsal World Cup in 2025

Photo Credits: The Philippine Football Federation

The Philippines will be involved in another historic moment in the women's game as FIFA, the world's football governing body, announced that the country will host the first-ever FIFA Women's Futsal World Cup in 2025 as appointed by the FIFA Council in Bangkok.

With the country's commitment to bringing football closer to all walks of life and showing equality between the men's and the women's teams, the Philippine Football Federation has amped up its efforts in reforming its programs be it in football, and now, in futsal.

PFF President John Gutierrez said, "We are both humbled and honored by the faith and confidence that FIFA has placed in the Philippine Football Federation to stage a historic event not just for football and futsal, but for women’s sport.”

The foundation has been laid down by the federation for two years now with continuous ID camps through the High 5 Futsal League to hosting the country's first-ever futsal international friendlies against Guam in October of 2022.

Despite not being a world leader in futsal, the Philippines continues to be the pioneer in Southeast Asia, hosting its first-ever Tri-Nation Futsal Tournament a year after hosting Guam for its first set of international friendlies. During that time, the Philippines invited New Zealand and Indonesia where the Garudas emerged victorious across the four-day event.

With the prospect of seeing countries like Brazil, Spain, Portugal, and Argentina, the country is gearing up for what could be the biggest sporting event the country will ever host.

Gutierrez said, "This is the first time that the Philippines will be hosting a FIFA World Cup event, so on behalf of the PFF, I thank the FIFA Council for their trust, and look forward to working with all our local stakeholders in organizing a historic event. The PFF is excited to showcase to the world our world-class Filipino hospitality, and we are eager to use this event to inspire millions of children, especially girls, across the country to play the beautiful game.”

Some fans are already showing their excitement for next year's events through their posts on their social media accounts.

Following the successful hosting of the 2023 FIBA World Cup and with the prospect of hosting plenty of sporting events in 2025, it was just logical to have the inaugural women's futsal World Cup here in the country as the Philippines have plenty of indoor venues that could easily be converted to host such futsal events.