On November 18, 2025, during the weekly Philippine Sportswriters Association forum at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex, Philippine Football Federation President John Gutierrez and Local Organizing Committee Head of Government Relations Isabella ‘Belay’ Fernando announced to the public that everything for the 2025 FIFA Women’s Futsal World Cup is in order and on schedule.
Inaugural Tournament Hosted by the Philippines
Other than the fact that this tournament is a “World Cup” and that the Philippine National Women’s Futsal team will be playing in the event, what makes this even more special is that this would be the first-ever Futsal World Cup in the history of FIFA.
And what better way to kickstart an event than to host it in the Philippines?
PFF President John Gutierrez said in the meeting last Tuesday that “everything is on order and everything is on schedule.”
All the other competing countries that will participate in this tournament have already landed in the country and are ready to play at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City.
In addition, John Gutierrez said that the PhilSports Arena is 95% ready and will be 100% come the opening day this Friday, November 21.
Filipina5 Becomes Part of FIFA Futsal History
After an awful outing in the AFC Women’s Futsal Asian Cup Campaign last May 11, 2025, where the team did not win any game, the Filipina5 are ready to prove that they belong in the World Cup tournament.
“There’s no Easy Group Out There” – PFF President John Gutierrez
When asked about the level of difficulty that the Filipina5 will be experiencing in Group A, Gutierrez simply said:
“This is the World Cup. All the groups are tough and there’s no easy group out there.”
To have a better understanding, the 16 competing countries are grouped in 4 groups which are:
Group A:
- Philippines
- Morocco
- Poland
- Argentina
Group B:
- Spain
- Thailand
- Colombia
- Canada
Group C:
- Portugal
- Tanzania
- Japan
- New Zealand
Group D:
- Brazil
- Iran
- Italy
- Panama
The top two squads in each group will advance to the knockout stage quarterfinals set on December 1.
“And if you want to go ahead into the second round, then you have to do well in your group… we’re not looking at what ifs or what not, we’re in the World Cup, we’re going to play and try to beat any opponents in front of us,” he added.
Aside from the finals, there will be a third-place match with all games held at the same venue.
VIP’s and Special Guests in the Opening Ceremony
As shared in the forum, FIFA President Gianni Infantino will be attending the event.
While it is not yet confirmed, the PFF President is also hoping that the President of the Philippines, Bongbong Marcos Jr., will also be part of the opening ceremony this Friday.
We didn’t just Hosted Something, We Belong In Here
And the PFF President added that the team is not only in the tournament to compete.
“We’re ready. One thing is for sure, we belong here. We’re not going out there just to be able to compete. We’re going out there to win. We’re thinking of every game as a chance for us to win.”
The Philippines will play against Poland in the Futsal World Cup on November 21, Morocco on November 24, and Argentina on November 27.
