THE Philippines is about to make history as the host of the first-ever FIFA Women’s Futsal World Cup, to be held from Nov. 21 to Dec. 7. As many Filipino athletes push forward into international sports, the Philippines has reached another stepping stone in futsal history. 

Rise of Women in Futsal

International futsal tournaments made way for women in the 21st century. The American Football Conference (AFC) announced its first Women's Futsal Asian Cup in 2015, followed by the first Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Women's Futsal EURO in 2019. The Confederation of African Football (CAF) formally established the Women’s Futsal Africa Cup of Nations last Jan. 27. While men’s futsal had its first Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Championship in 1989, 2025 forged ahead for women’s futsal under FIFA.

The Tournament’s Thrill

Last Feb. of this year, FIFA Tournament Director Jaime Yarza visited the tournament’s venues at Victorias Coliseum in Negros Occidental and the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City. He praised the collaboration between the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) and the FIFA Futsal Women’s World Cup (FFWWC) Local Organizing Committee (LOC). “We have a very good plan in place and the LOC and PFF are working very hard. They’re building a very strong team with a very good professionals,” he remarked. 

As explained by Yarza, the Philippines was granted the opportunity and right to host the sporting event based on the PFF’s role in promoting futsal amongst Filipino children, particularly girls. With six to seven other bidding nations such as Brazil, Spain, and Italy, the Philippines came on top for hosting.

Gianni Infantino, FIFA President, and John Gutierrez, PFF President, discussed their anticipation of hosting the Futsal World Cup. Infantino expressed his joy at our country’s hosting. “The Philippines will be fantastic hosts, and I have every confidence that President Gutierrez and everyone at the PFF will make it a tournament to remember,” he expressed. 

Players’ Claim to Fame

The Philippine national women’s futsal team broke through the 2025 AFC Women’s Futsal Asian Cup last May with brilliance, strategies, and skills. “I've learned from my experience is just focusing on the first match and then after that building on that so we're really just looking at one game at a time and we can't look too far ahead,” Filipina player Katrina Guillou said. With such accomplishment, they are joining the upcoming World Cup with high hopes of winning big. 

It is a badge of honor for these female athletes to finally reach the FIFA World Cup. “It's a very very busy year for our Filipinas and our football team, so after this I'm going to support as much as I can here for this competition. It's so important to perform now to get ready for the World Cup,” Philippine team coach Mark Torcaso says. 

A total of 16 national teams will compete in the inaugural tournament. The proposed game format includes the teams drawn into groups of four. Two in each group will reach the knock-out phase, then move forward to the quarter-finals, semi-finals, a third place play-off and then the finals. 

This coming FIFA Women’s Futsal World Cup 2025 brings excitement and enthusiasm to fans, especially to Filipino futsal fanatics.  As the first, this gathering will not only accelerate the growth of women’s sports but hopefully, with fingers crossed, inspire young girls to showcase their talents.