| Football in the Philippines | |
|---|---|
 Filipino youths playing football at the Baguio Athletic Bowl. | |
| Country | Philippines |
| Governing body | Philippine Football Federation |
| National team(s) | |
National competitions | |
Club competitions | |
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International competitions | |
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Football in the Philippines is administered by the Philippine Football Federation (PFF), the governing body of football in the country.
Football is a popular sport in the Philippines played at professional and amateur levels across the country. Football has a long and rich history in the islands, dating back to the 1890s, when the British introduced the sport to the Spanish and European settlers living on the islands. The Philippine Football Federation was established in 1907 and it would soon feature several Hispanic Filipino sportsmen that included FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, Real Sociedad, Atlético Madrid and Real Zaragoza legends such as Manuel Amechazurra, Paulino Alcántara, Juan Torena, Eduardo Teus, Marcelino Gálatas and Gregorio Querejeta, who would eventually become the first Filipinos and Asian footballers to play for a professional European club in Spain. Amechazurra was the first to achieve great heights at Spanish football, playing for FC Barcelona and he was followed by Alcántara later on, after also achieving success with the same football club. Alcántara went on to become the youngest Filipino footballer to play in Spain, where he made his professional debut as a striker at the age of 15 for Barcelona, which made him the club's youngest and second highest goal scorer behind Argentinian footballer, Lionel Messi.[1][2] Since then, the first football teams began to form, including the Manila Sporting Club in 1906, the Sandow Athletic Club in 1909, and the Bohemian Sporting Club in 1910.[3]
To promote and revive the sport, some European and American international football clubs and organizations have helped the Philippines progress through its development, they have included FC Barcelona and Real Madrid from Spain, the United Kingdom, Germany, Sweden, Australia, France, the United States, Argentina and Serbia. FIFA also assisted the country by building and upgrading facilities including the creation of the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) headquarters in 2009. As well, the establishment of the United Football League (UFL) and the National Men's Club Championship to provide more local competitions.
The Philippines national football team is the representative of men's international football for the Philippines. They won the Far Eastern Games once (in 1913) and became a two-time Philippine Peace Cup champion (in 2012 and 2013). The Philippines women's national football team, representing women's international football in the Philippines, achieved a third-place (bronze) finish at the 1985 Southeast Asian Games.
There are many stadiums that can be found in the Philippines, like the Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila, which is the national stadium of the country. It is also the home stadium of the Philippine football team. Meanwhile, the Panaad Stadium in Bacolod is the secondary venue for the Philippines.
- ^ Woosley, Zach (16 March 2014). "Lionel Messi becomes Barcelona's all-time leading scorer". SB Nation. Archived from the original on 26 March 2014. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
- ^ Rigg, Nicolas (24 March 2014). "Real Madrid 3 Barcelona 4: Amid the madness of El Clasico, Lionel Messi stands alone as its saviour". The Independent UK. Archived from the original on 24 March 2014. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
- ^ Alcazaren, Paulo (9 April 2011). "A look at the history of Philippine Football: The first & future Azkals – The Philippine Star". The Philippine Star. Archived from the original on 26 December 2013. Retrieved 21 December 2013.