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For Stajcic, Filipinas 'planted the seeds' for future of PH football

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Camille B. Naredo, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="The Filipinas in their match against New Zealand on July 25, 2023 during the FIFA Women’s World Cup im New Zealand. PFF-PWNFT handout" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/sports/07/31/20230725-filipinas-vs-new-zealand-fifa-world-cup-ho-1763.jpg"/><figcaption>The Filipinas in their match against New Zealand on July 25, 2023 during the FIFA Women’s World Cup im New Zealand. <em>PFF-PWNFT handout</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>After an exhilarating, historic campaign in the FIFA Women&#x27;s World Cup, what comes next for Philippine football?</p><p>This was the question asked of Alen Stajcic in the wake of the Filipinas&#x27; exit in the World Cup on Sunday night, after their 6-0 loss to Norway in their final Group A game.</p><p>It had been a difficult game for the Philippines, as Norway outplayed them over 90 minutes. Stajcic said afterward that the former champions &quot;picked us apart,&quot; with Sophie Roman Haug doing the bulk of the damage on her way to a hat-trick.</p><p>Yet the Filipinas still took pride in their campaign, which saw them become the first debutants to win when they shocked co-hosts New Zealand, 1-0, last week. They were also competitive against Switzerland in their first game, only getting outclassed by a Norway team ranked 12th in the world by FIFA.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/07/30/23/filipinas-world-cup-campaign-ends-with-loss-to-norway">Filipinas&#x27; World Cup campaign ends with loss to Norway</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/07/30/23/alen-stajcic-filled-with-pride-after-phs-world-cup-run-ends">Football: Alen Stajcic filled with pride after PH&#x27;s World Cup run ends</a></li></ul><p>&quot;This is just the tip of the iceberg for the Philippines, for them to continue this legacy,&quot; Stajcic said after the match, as he reflected on what his team had achieved.</p><p>The coach expressed pride in how they notched a victory in their very first stint in the World Cup, pointing out that it took some teams several tournaments to get on the board. New Zealand, for instance, lost its first 15 World Cup matches before a 1-0 breakthrough against Norway in their first match. </p><p>But to build on what the Filipinas have achieved will take even more work from all involved -- not least the people in charge of the sport in the country.</p><p>&quot;A lot of things. There&#x27;s millions of things. You need to invest in the national youth teams, you need to invest in this team, you need to invest in grassroots programs, domestic league,&quot; said Stajcic. &quot;There needs to be regional academies and centers of excellence all across the Philippines for boys and girls to play.&quot;</p><p>&quot;It&#x27;s a country of 110 million people who love basketball, but we need to convert some of those young kids into footballers,&quot; he added. </p><p>&quot;All those things are necessary. You could talk for hours and days in fact about all the things that need to be done and that&#x27;s really up to the leadership of the PFF.&quot;</p><p>Stajcic noted that the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) will have its elections in November, and whoever will take on the leadership mantle should be ready to build on what the Filipinas have done. The Australian coach expressed hope that his players will &quot;inspire a new generation&quot; of players and show them what is possible.</p><p>&quot;From that perspective, we planted the seeds of the future generations wanting to become footballers and national team players and do what these girls have done this week,&quot; he said.</p><p>&quot;It&#x27;s a good first step, but, you know, there&#x27;s a lot of things that have to happen to sustain it and maintain it because we are starting from, you know, a million miles back in reality,&quot; he added.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/07/31/23/filipinas-exit-womens-world-cup-with-heads-held-high">Filipinas exit Women&#x27;s World Cup with heads held high</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/07/31/23/felt-like-a-home-game-filipinas-in-awe-of-crowd-support">&#x27;Felt like a home game&#x27;: Filipinas in awe of crowd support</a></li></ul><p>What cannot be questioned is that there is a &quot;support base&quot; for football in the Philippines, even though the sport has lagged behind basketball, volleyball and boxing in terms of popularity in the country. Stajcic pointed to the sheer number of people who came to watch their games in New Zealand, as well as those who went to watch parties at home.</p><p>&quot;There is a support base for football. You don&#x27;t get 75,000 people to three games and pack out a stadium in a foreign country unless there is support for the game,&quot; said the coach.</p><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2741037" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

After an exhilarating, historic campaign in the FIFA Women's World Cup, what comes next for Philippine football?

For Stajcic, Filipinas 'planted the seeds' for future of PH football

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For Stajcic, Filipinas 'planted the seeds' for future of PH football

Camille B. Naredo,

ABS-CBN News

Published July 31, 2023 05:59 PM PHT

Read More:

football

FIFA

FIFA Women's World Cup

Filipinas

PWNFT

Alen Stajcic

Philippine women's national football team

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