Taking FIFA’s cue

There is no naturalized player in the Filipinas lineup for the ongoing FIFA Women’s World Cup but only three of coach Alen Stajcic’s pool of 26, including three reserves, were born in the Philippines, making the team a symbol of globalization in sports. Anicka Castaneda, Meryll Serrano and Inna Palacios are the only Philippine-born players while the others were born in different countries. Sara Eggesvik was born in Norway, Jaclyn Sawicki in Canada, Angela Beard in Australia and 20 teammates in the US. Their common denominator is Filipino heritage. Every player has a Filipino bloodline and even as 23 weren’t born locally, they received their Philippine passports as dual citizens without being naturalized.

FIFA’s eligibility policy is different from FIBA’s. FIFA allows a player, regardless of place of birth, to represent any nation that has issued him or her a passport for as long as there is a “clear connection,” meaning a parent or grandparent must come from the country or a five-year residence must be established from the age of 18. In contrast, FIBA requires a foreign-born player to show a passport of the country he or she is representing before turning 16 to be classified as a local. FIBA, however, has an exception clause for a foreign-born player who is a long-term resident of the country. An example of an exception is Australian player Thon Maker who was born in South Sudan and moved to Perth when he was five. FIBA recognizes jus soli, not jus sanguinis and permits each country to recruit one naturalized player with no bloodline regardless of when his or her passport was issued. 

Sarina Bolden, who scored the winning goal in the Filipinas’ 1-0 win over host New Zealand the other day, had played in 38 international matches for the Philippines before the World Cup. In the 2023 edition of the Philippines Yearbook which featured the theme Filipino National Identity, Bolden related how her family was influenced by her Filipina mother. “Growing up, my family would always get together for the holidays and graduations on my Filipino side and it always felt like a warm and welcoming environment,” she said. “Lots of laughter fills the room whenever Filipinos come together. Filipinos can find humor in almost any situation and that’s beautiful to me because life shouldn’t be taken too seriously all the time.” When not representing the Philippines, Bolden plays as an import in the Australian league. Other players seeing action in different leagues include Castaneda in Australia, Katrina Guillon in Sweden, Tahnai Annis in Iceland and Quinley Quezada in Serbia.

Goalkeeper Olivia McDaniel and her sister Chandler are both on the Filipinas squad. Olivia made two incredible saves in extension to preserve the Filipinas’ 1-0 victory over New Zealand. Their mother Lindy Isip has roots in Pampanga and Davao City. Hali Long’s mother is Lilie Candido, Dominique Randle’s mother is Cathy Abrena and Quezada’s mother is Ruth Campomanes and they’re all Filipinas. Eggesvik’s mother is from Baguio and Angela Beard’s mother is from Cebu. It’s amazing how the Philippine Football Federation was able to locate Fil-foreigners and enlist them to join the Filipinas. Some players like Beard and Sawicki even switched national allegiance from their place of birth to play for the Philippines. 

The Filipinas’ next World Cup game is against Norway on Sunday. Norway is ranked No. 12 in the world and the Philippines, No. 46. Of the six countries from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), the Philippines is the lowest ranked. The Filipinas never played in the Asian Games and their highest finish in the SEA Games was third in 1985 and 2021. Their best showing ever was winning the 2022 Asian Football Federation championship. Beating Chinese Taipei in a pulsating penalty shootout in the quarterfinals of last year’s AFC Asian Cup to qualify for the World Cup was another historic feat. With the monumental win over New Zealand in their World Cup debut, the Filipinas are the latest darlings of Philippine sports.