Malditas commence next phase of AFC Women's Asian Cup preparations

Philippine internationals Camille Rodriguez, Sara Castaneda, Inna Palacios, and Patrice Impelido at NAIA

The next phase of preparations for the 2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup kicked off earlier today, with the start of the training camp at Corona, California.

To be overseen by senior women's national team head coach Richard Boon with chief assistant Clint McDaniel, 42 ladies are expected to participate in this camp, which will last for three months. It will be a combination of those who participated in the identification camp that took place last month, alongside those who had been previously called up for national team duty.

Among those set to participate are the quartet of of Camille Rodriguez, Sara Castaneda, and co-captains Inna Palacios and Patrice Impelido, who departed from Manila earlier this week. Set to soon join them from Manila to Corona are Alesa Dolino and Mea Bernal. As for those based overseas, the likes of Jesse Shugg, Alexa Diaz, Eva Madarang, Hanna Parado, and Claire Lim look to compete for the chance to represent the country in Amman this coming April.

The AFC Women's Asian Cup doubles as the Qualifiers for the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup that will take place in France. Five slots have been allocated for Asian sides, which will be taken up by the top two teams in each group, and the winner of the fifth place playoff between the two third place teams.

The Philippines is grouped in Group A, alongside China, Thailand, and hosts Jordan. Comprising Group B are Australia, Japan, Korea Republic, and Vietnam. The schedule of the matches are as follows, with noon kickoff times (which could still change):

April 6 vs Jordan at Amman International Stadium
April 9 vs King Abdullah II International Stadium
April 12 vs King Abdullah II International Stadium

In line with the prospect of potentially making it to the top tier international women's football tournament in the world, the Philippine Football Federation created the Project Jordan task force under the auspices of PFF President Mariano V. Araneta, alongside assistance and support from organizations like PLDT, the MVP Sports Foundation, Gilligan's Winner Circle Athletics, and Pythos Technology Philippines, Inc. The ongoing camp is part of such preparations, which could potentially include participating in friendlies.

According to Araneta, he sees this tournament as a means to user a new era of women's football in the Philippines. He views this as "a huge opportunity for our women's team to make history and inspire more girls to play football in the country." Araneta adds, "Positive results in the Women's Asian Cup will surely encourage and motivate the next crop of women’s footballers."