FIFA, along with the Philippine Football Federation, has revealed the official branding for the inaugural staging of the FIFA Futsal Women’s World Cup 2025 with a meaningful touch of Filipino identity laced in its logo.
The international governing body expressed its excitement for the Philippines’ hosting of the first-ever women’s futsal competition set to take place simultaneously at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City and Victorias City Coliseum in Negros Occidental starting November 21 with 16 teams fiercely vying for a spot in the final happening on December 7.
After nearly a year of planning and preparation, the hosting has now taken proper shape and is one step closer to the historic tournament.
“It’s been a long cooperation between PFF and FIFA to make this brand and logo happen. It was really a combination of cultural [aspects], colors, street art of the Philippines together with the symbolism of futsal. The five players, the speed, the vibrancy. So we wanted to convey not only futsal which was relatively easy to do, but a model of a colorful, vibrant country like the Philippines into the brand,” FIFA Director for Tournaments Jaime Yarza said in a scrum on Tuesday following the launch of the tournament’s brand identity in Makati.
“It needed to be bold because it’s going to be the first one ever. So it’s gonna be remembered for many years. And I think one thing the brand team wanted to do was really make it exciting. I think we managed to make a very good brand. We’re hoping that this brand will attract and inspire more girls in the future,”he said.
With the FIFA Men’s World Cup being consistently the most watched sports event in the world, the football governing body is working in earnest to make the women’s futsal the next best thing from its line of world-class tournaments.
“We’re convinced that hosting such a World Cup in the Philippines, with the passion that we have seen here, will really make a lot of girls [pick up] the sport. We hope that it’s gonna be futsal. We are hoping that there will be an increase in players in the future. We hope that the girls in the national team will do very well to make the [Filipinos] proud. We’re convinced we are going to be move very heavily with more girls playing futsal or football,” he said.
Meanwhile, the national team is looking to hold another international camp following their qualification in the 2025 AFC Women’s Futsal Asian Cup set in China in May.
The Filipinas were tangled with Iran, Vietnam, and Hong Kong in Group B after finishing in third place in the qualifying tournament in January.
A pool of players for the upcoming tournament, though, is yet to be revealed with new talents expected to join the squad.
“It’s been great since their [qualifiers] in Uzbekistan. Our technical group went around the country to host talent identification [camps]. We picked up one from the Negros region another one also from Pangasinan. Very young girls who want to show what they are made of. Although very little has been taken from provinces, it’s very important to know that the best provincial players are already in Manila. All the Filipinas playing in Manila were born and raised somewhere from the provinces dito lang sila nag-aaral,” said PFF president John Gutierrez.
The local organizing committee (LOC) and the local government (LGU) of Negros Occidental have also been deep in preparation, with the Victorias City Coliseum going under some modifications to ensure it meets FIFA’s standard facility.
Other than hosting technicalities, PFF is certain that the Filipinos’ hospitality will win over visiting teams and fans come the World Cup.
“They’ve been working under the shadows. The local organizing committee, I’m sure, has more motivation to show everybody what they have been working on. What’s in store for the world, for the Philippines. To showcase now just the best Filipina athletes but also the athletes around the world,” Gutierrez said.
“Victorias, they just have to do a few modifications on the stadium. The stadium is fantastic. I was there recently. But the local government of Victorias wants to showcase how well the Filipinos host. We’re very known for our hospitality, so they want to make sure that the facility is world class.”
—JKC, GMA Integrated News
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