“‹The Philippines national women’s football team will meet Singapore in their first game today when they compete in the 2020 Olympic Football Tournament Asian Qualifiers Round 1 in Tajikistan.
Action is slated at 4 p.m. at the Hisor Central Stadium, according to Philippine Football Federation General Secretary Ed Gastanes.
The Philippines is in Group A with Tajikistan, Mongolia, and Chinese Taipei.
Games will be held from Nov. 4 to 13.
Goalkeeper Ina Palacios will be among the veterans making up the 20-member national team in the qualifiers, which will be the third tournament that the national squad will take part this year.
Palacios, who plays for the Green Archers United FC, will be joined by University of Santo Tomas booters Nicole Reyes, Ivy Lopez and Hannah Pacheco.
Their stint comes after the AFC Women’s Asian Cup Jordan 2018 last April and the AFF Women’s Championship 2018 in Palembang last July.
The head coach is Marnelli Dimzon, who will be assisted by coaches Gerald Orcullo and Melo Sabacan with Prescila Rubio as team trainer
They will also have Halli Long, Annalou Amita and Katyleen Rodriguez in the squad, which will be accompanied by team manager Jefferson Cheng, along with Head of Delegation Lalaine Bautista, who is PFF Women’s Football Committee chairperson and general secretary of Quezon-Batangas RFA.
“This is the second time that the team will travel to Tajikistan for a qualifier. We hope that they perform well for them to advance to the second round,” said Gastanes.
Majority of the players come from teams playing in the PFF Women’s League 2018 and the University Athletic Association of the Philippines.