Playing for the flag ’

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They are the scrappy underdogs of a non-football playing nation who fought their way through to the first-ever World Cup tournament for the Philippines.

Eighteen of the 23 players of the Philippine Womens’ National Football Team were born in the United States, the fruit of largely immigrant mothers who found a way to live and thrive as part of a diaspora of around 10 million Filipinos which established a nation within a nation from California to New York. One of them said it didn’t matter where they call come from. They were playing for “one country, one flag.”

They may be the minnows of the footballing world, but their play and spirit are breathtaking for its dash and the sheer joy of what the sport can be at its purest.

The Pinays turned Group A into a slugfest that was enthralling at the level of the World Cup.

They dropped their first match to the Swiss 0-2, but then fought ferociously to pip the hosting Kiwis, 1-0, using a 24th minute goal by Sarina Bolden into a margin that held up until the end.

Cristina DC Pastor Managing Editor Rene Pastor

The team hit its zenith with that win against New Zealand. By the time they came up versus Norway, it became apparent quickly that they had run out of fizz.

It would have been ecstatic if they managed to get to the Round of 16. That they fell short did not matter.

The wonderful thing about their World

Cup is the journey.

Like butterflies exploding in vibrant color, their performance showed how glorious sports can be in showcasing all that is beautiful about the game: win, lose or draw. The result was all gravy from here.

A team from the Philippines wins so rarely that a victory is greeted with national rejoicing.

Philippine athletes also have to struggle so hard against the ugly politics that sometimes permeates the sporting world where the gifted are unrecognized and cash prizes are withheld. For now, the only thing that matters is how the Pinay footballers have won against the run of the play or the odds that it takes the breath of the local sports fans away.

One day in the future, the Filipina footballers will go to the knock-out stage of the World Cup and do the nation proud. We should relish what they have accomplished at this point. They represented the nation well. And that is more than enough.

Contributing

Ludy

Lindy

Vicky