Filipino fans cheer during the finals match between the Philippines and Thailand for the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Women’s Championship held at the Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila on July 17, 2022. George Calvelo, ABS-CBN News
MANILA, Philippines -- Tickets for the Philippine women's national football team's matches in next year's FIFA Women's World Cup are already in high demand, officials of the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) said on Tuesday.
The Filipinas will make their debut in the World Cup next year in Australia/New Zealand, after qualifying through the AFC Women's Asian Cup 2022 in February. The PWNFT is grouped with co-host New Zealand, Switzerland, and Norway in Group A.
"Marami na ring nagtatanong tungkol sa ticket sa New Zealand. Games will all be in New Zealand, so we're preparing," PFF president Mariano "Nonong" Araneta said on Tuesday during the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Forum.
"Baka there will be travel agencies that will be interested to put up a package. May allocation naman tayo ng tickets. So we can tie up with some agencies para 'yung pupunta doon, may ticket talaga sa games," he added.
The Filipinas will open their campaign on July 21 against Switzerland at the Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin, followed by a showdown between New Zealand on July 25 at the Wellington Regional Stadium.
They will wrap up their campaign against powerhouse Norway on July 30 at the Eden Park in Auckland.
The PFF and the team's management are also looking to mobilize the Filipino community in New Zealand to give more support for the squad.
"Our plan is to have more communication and contact with the Filipino community here, now that we've known the places where we will play," said Jefferson Cheng, the team manager of the women's team.
"We're quite familiar with some of the Filipino communities here so we'll be engaging them soon," he assured.
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