The Philippine Football Federation (PFF), specifically Freddy Gonzalez and his department, is currently finalizing the names that they will submit for the forthcoming AFC Asian Cup 2027 Qualifiers that will start next month.
Gonzalez says more than 50 names will be given to the organizing committee and from this list, the best players available will be called to don the three stars and the sun as the country opens its bid to reclaim a spot in the biggest tournament in the continent. Gonzalez said that the PFF can register as many as they want, meaning all players, who have represented the country before, will be part of the list aside from new faces, returning ones and local based players as well.
“You can expect new players such as Josef Baccay, Randy Schneider, Andrei Leipold and Cole Mrowka to be part of the list. Gerrit Holtmann, Sandro Reyes, Kevin Mendoza, Jeff Tabinas, Dylan Demuynck, Zico Bailey, Bjorn Kristensen and more will also be back,” Gonzalez said.
Incidentally, Gonzalez has confirmed the other day that Baccay and Schneider’s passports are already in order. He is just waiting for Leipold’s and Mrowka’s passports to arrive, too, before the February 25 deadline of registration of players.
I just wish that Sebastian Rasmussen can also find his way back to the national team. I haven’t heard much of him in the past few weeks. A chat, however, with Sebastian’s mother, Jackielyn, revealed that her son is back on the pitch and has scored two goals and two assists for Hobro IK’s U-23 team in a recent exhibition game. Jackielyn also revealed that his son is much willing to go back to Manila if he is called upon to play for the national team.
Someone, too, told The Designated Kit Man that a local club is very much willing to give him the opportunity to play in the domestic league. Hoping that we will hear something more from Sebastian soon, knowing what he could do for the national team.
Michael Baldisimo is another player, who is always on the list of call ups. He is without a club, as of now. One positive vibe, though, on Baldisimo is that he is training with Aidan Daniels and Kadin Chung in Vancouver, so we are keeping our fingers crossed that he will suit up with a club in Major League Soccer or J2 League in Japan soon.
Which brings us to another player, who is always eagerly anticipated to don the national kit every time a major tournament is about to unfold–Raphael Obermair. The last time we heard of the SC Paderbon 07 winger of the 2 Bundesliga, it was said that he was currently prioritizing the promotion of his club to the premier league. I think this was during the run-up to the AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup sometime in November last year.
“Obermair hasn’t been replying to anyone, so will likely never be a part of the Philippine National Men’s Football Team. It’s disrespectful to everyone what he is doing,” a source revealed to The Designated Kit Man.
“He could at least reply and say something like he wants to focus on his club or any other reasons. At least we know and we can finally move on from him,” the irate source added.
Which is fair for us all, including Obermair and those who are still praying and waiting for him to show up and play for the country.
The Philippines opens its campaign against Maldives at home on March 25. In case the repairs and the installation of a new artificial pitch at Rizal Memorial Stadium will not be finished before the match, Gonzalez says Plan B is to hold the home game at New Clark City in Pampanga.
“We were thinking about Bacolod, but they have a lot of issues now with the infrastructure. We also talked with Gov Matthew Manotoc of Ilocos Norte, but they are using their pitch this month and the activity will impact the football field so we settled on New Clark,” Gonzalez explained.
In case the Filipinas, the Philippine National Women’s Football Team, is looking for additional players to boost their GK lineup, Isabelle Mapanao is highly recommended. Mapanao, currently plays for the Louisiana State University-Shreveport which has competed in the NAIA Division 1 and won the 2024 Conference Championship.
The 21-year-old student-athlete is a former goalkeeper for the Philippine National Women’s Football U16 Team. She has also played with FC Marbella in Spain and US Terre Sainte in Switzerland where she helped her teams win the championships in their divisions. Due to her impressive performance, Isabelle has received nearly 20 offers from US schools and universities. She was also offered to play for FC Sion in the Swiss Super League, but decided to pursue her BS in Occupational Physiology degree and at the same time, further improve her skills while preparing for her fondest wish, which is to play for the Filipinas.
Stay safe. Stay happy peeps!
For comments or questions, you can reach The Designated Kit Man at erel_cabatbat@yahoo.com or follow his account at Twitter: @erelcabatbat