Philippines to host historic 2024 AFF Women’s Futsal Championships

MANILA, Philippines -- In 21 days – November 16-21 to be exact – the Philippines will be hosting the inaugural Asean Women’s Futsal Championships, with five nations competing for the trophy.

The tournament will serve as a regional appetizer to the main event – the 2025 FIFA Futsal Women’s World Cup.

The latter will be hosted by the Philippines from November 21-December 7.

“This Asean Women’s Futsal Championships is historic because it is the first ever for the region, and it will be the first ever international tournament under our new administration,” emphasized Philippine Football Federation (PFF) president John Gutierrez.

“With awareness and participation for women’s football at an all-time high, we are continuing the tremendous work that the Filipinas have achieved in the last several years. And with futsal also growing, this hosting of the Asean Women’s Futsal Championship is an exciting follow up that stands on its own as a precursor to our hosting next year’s Women’s Futsal World Cup.”

Participating in this six-day tournament that will be held at the Philsports Arena in Pasig are World No. 6 Thailand, 11th-ranked Vietnam, 24th-ranked Indonesia, 37th-ranked Myanmar, and the Philippines, which is currently ranked 59th; moving up two notches higher.

The PFF has invested in women’s futsal since 2021 at the height of the Covid-19 lockdown. Those efforts, supported by the Henry Moran Foundation, culminated in the PFF Tri-Nations Women’s Futsal Invitational that was held in October 2023, where the Philippines finished second.

The Philippine Women’s Futsal Team will be revealed soon by Coach Vic Hermans, who has managed six different national teams, three which he led to the FIFA Futsal World Cup. He began working with the PFF in 2022.

“We’re incredibly excited to host this tournament,” summed up Gutierrez. “We have seen the country explode in the last decade or so in terms of sports hosting as well as world-class events. We are continuing the work started by previous PFF administrations and hope to make our countrymen, our Asean neighbors, as well as sports fans proud by not only our hosting – of which Filipinos are known for – but also for our national team’s performance.”

“We invite all football fans, players, coaches, stakeholders to watch this exciting event. Rest assured that we have a top-team working behind the scenes to ensure the success of this Asean Women’s Futsal Championships.”