THE Philippine Football Federation is seeking financial support from the government in their preparation for the 2023 Fifa Women’s World Cup.
PFF president Mariano Araneta admitted the Filipinas have a strong private support system led by their team manager Jeff Cheng while also getting help from Fifa and the Asian Football Confederation.
But Araneta also hopes that the government can still pitch in to the Filipinas’ quest for a strong performance in the Women’s World Cup set to take place in Australia and New Zealand.
“I think the support is there. But I still want some support from the government actually,” said Araneta on Thursday night to reporters during the send-off for the team organized by the New Zealand Embassy. “Because up to now, even with our preparation, we haven’t been getting the support that we need. Hopefully, we get the support soon.”
The Filipinas are scheduled to leave for Sydney on Saturday to begin their training camp before heading to New Zealand where their group stages will be played.
The PWNT will play Switzerland on July 21 in Dunedin, and host New Zealand on July 25 in Wellington. They will also battle Norway on July 30 in Auckland.
Araneta said preparations for the World Cup in its bid to put on their best possible showing needs an enormous financial backing.
“To prepare for the Women’s World Cup, it’s no joke. I think the budget for our preparation is three million dollars so I hope the Philippine government and the PSC can give us some funding for that also because as we know, they’ve given P1 billion to basketball as host. But we have already qualified for the World Cup. I hope they give enough to sustain the preparation,” said Araneta.
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Araneta said the PFF has already reached out to Philippine Sports Commission chairman Richard Bachmann for their request.
“We have reached out to him. So far, we still haven’t got any complete answer for them. But we already submitted our request. We are trying to get P30 million,” said Araneta.
Araneta said Fifa has been supportive of women’s football. On Thursday, a wire report stated that each player from the Women’s World Cup will receive USD 30,000.
“With Fifa, we have the preparation budget for them that was already given by Fifa and the AFC. They have supported us along the way. Of course, Mr. Jeff Cheng is there that has been supporting the team. I’ve just heard today that each player will earn $30,000. That’s a big boost for the morale of our players. Just to be there, they will get $30,000. Fifa is really trying to promote women’s football,” said Araneta.
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