By Adrian Stewart Co

The Philippine women’s football team has reached a milestone despite the lack of competition this year after posting its highest ever world ranking at 65th to close the 2020.

Based on the latest rankings released by the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) over the weekend, the Malditas moved up two places from their spot in the rankings last year.

The Malditas, which has 1,369 points, is among seven national teams that obtained their highest position at the end of 2020 aside from Slovenia (48th), Northern Ireland (49th), Fiji (64th), Cuba (81st), Gambia (104th), and Comoros (139th).

The national women’s football team is 11th among member nations of the Asian Football Confederation which include Australia, and fourth among Southeast Asian teams.

According to Philippine Football Federation (PFF) president Mariano Araneta, the new rankings was a welcome development especially since the Malditas did not much have competition this year due to COVID-19 pandemic.

“The ranking is a reward for the hard work and sacrifices of the people involved in women’s football in the country especially the players and coaches and of course, the PFF Women’s Committee,” said Araneta.

“Certainly, this is a clear indication that women’s football in the country is continuously improving. As much as we are proud of this achievement, this also serves as a challenge for the PFF to make sure that the women’s national team and women’s football in general is given the support and the platform to succeed,” he added.

The Philippines is supposed to host the AFF Women’s Championship this 2020 but the tournament was cancelled due to the pandemic.

The Malditas were ranked 67 a year ago after reaching their first-ever semifinals appearance in the 30th Southeast Asian Games and also having impressive showing in the Olympic qualifiers.

The United States, winner of the World Cup last year, is still on top of the women’s world rankings, followed by Germany, France, Netherlands, and Sweden./ASC, WDJ