Official press conference for the 2024 PFF Women's Cup. Photo from Philippine Women's National Football Team/Facebook

MANILA, Philippines – Kaya Football Club (FC) Iloilo, Stallion Laguna FC, Manila Digger FC, Beach Hut, Tuloy FC, and Azzuri SC are the six teams that headline the ongoing 2024 PFF Women's Cup, seen to strengthen women's football in the country.

Among the players seeing action in the tournament are members of the Philippine women's national football team that competed in the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023, where they claimed a historic 1-0 win against co-host New Zealand.

This tilt would help the Filipinas get into their shape as they prepare for contests on the global stage, said Philippine Football Federation (PFF) senior national teams director Freddy Gonzalez.

"What's really exciting about this is we have a lot of the players who were part of the last World Cup squad coming back to the country and playing for the local clubs. And for me as a Senior National Teams Director, it's really important that the women here get regular games week in, week out so that they can be ready when they represent the Philippines in international competitions," Gonzalez said Friday during the media launch of the PFF Women's Cup at the Coca-Cola Philippine headquarters in Taguig City.

"And it's going to be really exciting for fans because right away these women lift up the level of play so it should be really good for everybody involved, local players as well as the fans," he added.

READ: Director of senior national teams Gonzalez shares what's in the pipeline for Filipinas

The national team members who attended the press conference were Hali Long, Olivia McDaniel, Inna Palacios, Isabella Passion, Sofia Harrison, Reena Balajadia, Isabella Bandoja, Chandler McDaniel, Mary Christine Duran, Hazel Lustan, Quinley Quezada and Rhea Chan.

READ: Football: Changes possible in Filipinas, says new PWNFT interim manager Fred Gonzalez

One of the goals of this tourney is to inspire young female players to play football in their schools, according to PFF general secretary Angelico Mercader.

"Tournaments such as this, our PFF Women's Cup and our PFF Women's League next year, these are meant to promote women's football and women's futsal, and we'd really like to encourage our young female players to aspire to become players in their schools, in their communities, in their clubs," Mercader said.

The PFF Women's Cup has already started, with Manila Digger beating Stallion Laguna, 2-1, and Beach Hut dominating Azzuri SC, 5-1, last weekend at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.

Day 2 is also today, with Kaya–Iloilo taking on Tuloy, while Beach Hut faces Stallion Laguna at the same Manila venue.

RELATED VIDEO: