Philippine football has come a long way: The football academies

(Part 2)

Whereas the Vietnamese have progressed the most in their national football development program over the last decade or so, it is the Thailand national football team that has been the most decorated in Southeast Asia.

Its men’s national team obtained multiple ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Championship titles (including in 2020 and 2022). The country has a strong domestic league called the Thai League 1, and its men’s national football team is a regular competitor in the Asian Cup and qualifiers.

The most populous ASEAN country, Indonesia has a significant demographic dividend (like the Philippines) which will give it the ability to transform itself to a sleeping giant in football. There have been significant improvements under the leadership of Shin Tae-yong. Its men’s national football team qualified for the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup. There are aggressive efforts to recruit diaspora players. The Philippines and Indonesia will be neck and neck in their efforts to be a major force in football in the whole of Asia.

If we turn to Women’s Football, however, the Philippines is without doubt a regional leader.

The Philippines’ women’s national football team, called the Filipinas, played in the 2023 Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) Women’s World Cup having qualified for the first time ever. This was achieved through a strong performance in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup in 2022, defeating Thailand in the final. The Philippines climbed significantly in the FIFA women’s rankings over the past decade. The team has produced standout players like Sarina Bolden and Katrina Guillou. Many of the players compete in professional leagues abroad, raising the team’s quality.

The growth of women’s football in the Philippines has increased the visibility of the sport and thus has boosted youth participation, media coverage, and investment in leagues like the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) Women’s League. The Filipinas team has become a symbol of progress for women’s sport in the Philippines. In a few years, the Filipinas have reached the global stage, won a regional championship, defeated a World Cup host nation, and elevated the status of women’s football nationally. They are now one of the fastest-rising teams in Southeast Asia, alongside traditional football powers like Thailand and Vietnam. In fact, the Women’s Football World Cup game in 2025 was hosted by the Philippines.

The accomplishments of the Philippine Men’s Football team, called the Azkals until 2024, is more modest. Over the last decade or so, it has consistently qualified for the AFC Asian Cup. The team has successfully competed against traditionally stronger Asian teams like Japan national football team and that of South Korea. Younger players are being developed alongside such veterans as Stephan Schrock and Neil Etheridge. While they have been unable to repeat the 2019 Asian Cup qualification (their first), they have remained competitive in the region.

The domestic football league has continued to prosper under the guidance of the Philippine Football Federation. Some of the stronger clubs, like United City FC and Kaya FC Iloilo, have performed well in AFC competitions, helping to raise standards. Philippine clubs began regularly appearing in AFC Champions League qualifiers and the AFC Cup. United City FC even reached the group stage of the AFC Champions League, a milestone for Philippine clubs.

Over the last decade or so, there have been very visible increased investments in youth academies and school football. More Filipino players are training abroad, especially in Europe and the US. For example, Football Club Real Madrid and FC Barcelona have special programs in which Spanish coaches hold training programs for some promising Filipino football players.

The following are some of the major football academies and youth training centers that are focusing on training young people (grassroots to elite level) in football:

1. Kaya FC Academy. One of the largest and most established football academies in the Philippines. Offering programs for young people ages two to 18, the Academy has strong grassroots focus and has produced national team and collegiate players. It is well known for its structural development from beginners to the elite level. It is often considered a benchmark academy in Philippine youth football.

2. The Azkals Development Academy. Founded by former national team captain Stephan Schrok, it trains youth from U5 to U19 with a clear pathway to competitive football. More than just football skills, the Academy focuses on character or values formation as well as professional-level coaching. Let me point out here that as an educator, I consider football as a most effective means of developing a virtue that is lacking in most Filipinos: the concern for the common good, team spirit, or, in terms of nationhood, civic mindedness. We either are too individualistic or limit our loyalty to the extended family system, very unlike the Japanese or the Singaporeans. Football, unlike basketball, fosters cooperation rather than individual glory. I always point out that my football idol — Lionel Messi — is equally praised for the number of assists he makes as the number of personal goals. In basketball, more often than not, the “Primadonna complex” is encouraged.

The Azcals Development Academy has branches across different regions in the Philippines, especially in Western Visayas, considered the football mecca of the Philippines. It is one of the closest things the Philippines has to a modern European-style sports academy system.

3. The Henry V. Moran Foundation (THVMF), which is one of the most important grassroots football and futsal development organizations in the Philippines, especially for disadvantaged youth. Because of my special interest in poverty alleviation as an economist, I consider this Foundation as the most important private initiative in the development of the sport of football and futsal in the Philippines. THVMF was founded in 2008-2009 as a non-profit foundation dedicated to using football (and especially futsal) as a tool for social development. Its core idea is simple but powerful: sports can build character, discipline, confidence, and life skills among young people, particularly those from poor or marginalized communities. The foundation was established by Daniel (Danny) Moran, a former national footballer and entrepreneur (the founder with his wife of Red Ribbon). It was named after his father, Henry V. Moran, also a former footballer and a strong believer in the values learned through sport.

THVMF focuses on three main areas: a.) youth development through football and futsal; b.) community development (especially in economically depressed areas); and, c.) education and livelihood support. It works closely with institutions such as the Philippine Football Federation and the Department of Education. Some of its major programs and activities are the Liga Eskwela futsal, Football for Good, High 5 Futsal League, Special and Inclusive Football, and Scholarship and Leadership Training. Through these various programs, it has worked with hundreds of public schools, trained teachers to run futsal programs, and has reached tens of thousands of students. It has also organized festivals for street children and marginalized youth, helped build grassroots football communities, identified talents for national futsal teams, organized programs for persons with disabilities, including cerebral palsy football, sent participants to international events like the Special Olympics, provided scholarships and leadership training, and trained youth as coaches, referees, and leaders. It has sent Philippine teams to events like the Homeless World Cup and Street Child World Cup, and helped develop institutions like Tuloy Sa Don Bosco.

Its great contribution to the Philippines has gone beyond football sports development. Unlike elite football academies, the HVMF has focused on inclusion rather than selection, social impact rather than competition alone, and the building of better citizens, not just better football players. It has helped shape Philippine grassroots football by connecting sport with education, values formation, and poverty alleviation.

(To be continued.)

Bernardo M. Villegas has a Ph.D. in Economics from Harvard, is professor emeritus at the University of Asia and the Pacific, and a visiting professor at the IESE Business School in Barcelona, Spain. He was a member of the 1986 Constitutional Commission.

bernardo.villegas@uap.asia