Philippine football teams brace for tough SEA Games 2025

The Philippine Football Federation (PFF) announced that three national teams will compete in the 2025 Southeast Asian Games in Thailand, aiming for a strong showing despite challenging group draws.

The Philippine women’s national football team, the women’s national futsal team, and the under-23 men’s national football team (PMNT U23) are all scheduled to begin tournament play this December across multiple Thai cities.

Grouped in SEA Games Group B, the Filipinas face a repeat of the 2023 draw, again competing against defending champions Vietnam, silver medalist Myanmar, and Malaysia.

In the Phnom Penh Games, the Filipinas narrowly missed a semifinal berth, finishing in a three-way tie atop Group A with Vietnam and Myanmar but losing out due to goal difference.

Despite the exit, the Filipinas were the only team to defeat Vietnam during that tournament and previously earned bronze in the 2021 Hanoi Games.

To prepare for this year’s campaign, the Filipinas launched a 10-day training camp starting October 20 and faced Uzbekistan in a friendly match on October 29 at Rizal Memorial Stadium.

PMNT U23 enters SEA Games Group C alongside defending champions Indonesia, past semifinalist Myanmar, and Singapore, all vying for one of four semifinal slots.

The team is coming off its most successful year to date, reaching the semifinals of the ASEAN U23 Championship Mandiri Cup in July and achieving a winning record at the AFC U23 Asian Cup Qualifiers in September.

The women’s national futsal team, also known as Filipina5, returns to the SEA Games for the first time since 2011, placed in Group A with gold medalist Thailand and bronze medalist Malaysia.

Filipina5 has remained active throughout 2025, finishing 11th at the AFC Women’s Futsal Asian Cup in May and holding a Japan training camp in September where they faced reigning Asian champions in two friendlies.

The team also secured seven points in the Asian Cup qualifiers in January, advancing for the first time to the continental competition.

Before their SEA Games debut, Filipina5 will compete in the FIFA Futsal Women’s World Cup (FFWWC) hosted in the Philippines, facing Poland, Argentina, and Morocco beginning November 21 at the Philsports Arena in Pasig.

“Our three national teams are coming off a busy and successful 2025, and the coaches and team management have been working hard in preparing them for ASEAN’s crown jewel—the SEA Games,” said PFF President John Anthony Gutierrez.

“Despite our busy schedule with the upcoming FFWWC, GoTyme MatchDay, PMNT’s game against Maldives, and PMNT U17’s Asian Cup qualis, PFF is readying our SEA Games squads to ensure optimal performance come December,” he added.

The SEA Games football tournaments begin on December 3, a week ahead of the opening ceremony, while the futsal events start on December 12, with matches set in Bangkok, Chonburi, and Songkhla.