Philippines Reveals Old Problems in Indonesian Women's Football
The match against the Philippines in the U-17 Women's Asian Cup once again showed that Indonesian women's football needs serious development.
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The issue of air pollution is not new. The condition of the community being threatened by air pollution has been happening for a long time. There is no shortage of research evidence showing the threats of air pollution's impacts. However, this has not yet been able to significantly push for efforts to control air pollution. Residents are increasingly suffering from being surrounded by air pollution. Filipino U-17 women's team player, Natalie Collins (third from left), celebrates with her teammates after scoring a goal against the Indonesian U-17 women's team during the Group A match of the 2024 Asian Women's U-17 Cup at Kapten I Wayan Dipta Gianyar Stadium in Bali, Monday (6/5/2024). The Indonesian women's team had to admit the superiority of the Filipino U-17 women's team with a score of 1-6.
The 1-6 defeat against the Philippines was clearly painful for these young footballers. Especially since some of them had just made their debut. However, for a team that was formed only a month ago, their Spartan performance and resistance against the Philippines was actually an extraordinary achievement.
Goalkeeper Gadhiza Asnanza repeatedly showed brilliant action in saving the goal from the never-ending attack of the Philippines. Indonesia even managed to equalize through a goal by Claudia Scheunemann in the 12th minute. Claudia's right foot shot from a distance of around 25 meters from the goal resulted in a score of 1-1, before the Philippines scored five additional goals.
Also read: Lowered by the Philippines 1-6, Don't Give Up "Garuda Pertiwi"!
"We may know that we will dominate this game, but Indonesia also fought until the end," said Philippines coach Sinisa Cohadzic.
"Perhaps in terms of fitness, they cannot compete with us, but once again, this is something that shows that this country is developing. We thank them for their good effort in this game," he said again.
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The issue of air pollution is not new. The community's condition threatened by air pollution has been ongoing for some time now. Research evidence indicating the threats of air pollution's impacts is also abundant. However, this has not been able to bring about significant efforts to control air pollution. As a result, residents continue to suffer living under the siege of air pollution. Indonesian U-17 women's team player, Allya Putri (left), tries to pass Filipino U-17 women's team player, Ariana Markey, during the Group A match of the 2024 Asian Women's U-17 Cup at the I Wayan Dipta Stadium in Gianyar, Bali, on Monday (6/5/2024). The Indonesian U-17 women's team had to admit defeat to the Filipino U-17 women's team with a considerable score of 1-6.
However strong Indonesia's resistance throughout the match, ultimately what matters is experience and thorough preparation. Indonesia has been left behind in both of these aspects from the start.
Despite being a newcomer in the Women's U-17 Asia Cup, the Philippines have experience in this age group by competing in the qualifying rounds. The team nicknamed "Filipinas" played against tough opponents, such as Australia and Vietnam, to secure a spot in the final round of the Women's U-17 Asia Cup.
Preparations have been made well in advance. Even, according to coach Cohadzic, they trained intensively for two types of game patterns. The first is to at least become dominant in the game, and the other is to control the game. They trained for it by going to Europe, playing against English and Swedish teams. Now, the players are ready to adjust any game plan as needed.
Also read: Welcoming the Indonesian Women's Team to the Asian Stage
On the other hand, the Philippines' good performance cannot be separated from the development of women's football in general in that country. Cohadzic did not deny that the success of the Philippine national team in the World Cup brought greater interest in women's football. This means that women's football continues to show improvement.
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The issue of air pollution is not new. The community's condition threatened by air pollution has been ongoing for quite some time. There is significant research evidence indicating the impacts of air pollution's threats. However, this has not prompted significant efforts in air pollution control. Consequently, residents are increasingly suffering from the onslaught of air pollution. A player from the Indonesian U-17 women's team, Wandha Azzahra (right), was hit with a ball resulting from a kick by Galine Dizon, a member of the Philippine Women's U-17 team, during a Group A match of the 2024 Women's U-17 Asian Cup at Captain I Wayan Dipta Gianyar Stadium, Bali, on Monday (6/5/2024). The Indonesian women's team had to submit to the superior performance of the Philippine women's team with a decisive score of 1-6.
Cohadzic also said that he has obtained all the necessary resources to prepare the team. With great attention from the federation, he is optimistic about the rapid progress of the Philippines' improvement.
"I see the Philippines soaring in the coming years, clearly capable of being in the top 20, we want to achieve it. Hopefully, we can reach it," said Cohadzic.
Perhaps in terms of fitness, they can't compete with us, but once again, this is something that shows that this country is developing.
The Philippines' commitment to its daughter's football is also demonstrated through the development of competitions. Since 2016, the Philippines has hosted an amateur women's football league called "The PFF Women's League," which is participated in by clubs and university teams. The league was launched to create a larger talent pool for the national women's team.
It seems that the Philippines is aware that the presence of a league is a benchmark for the progress of football development. Without it, it is difficult to expect women's football to grow.
The Philippine Women's League has been approved by the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) as an amateur league, becoming part of the FIFA Women's Development Project for the country. Despite the two-year hiatus due to Covid-19, the Philippine Women's League has consistently been held until the 2023 season.
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The issue of air pollution is not new. The condition of communities threatened by air pollution has been going on for a long time. There is also no shortage of research evidence that indicates the threats posed by the impacts of air pollution. However, in reality, this has not been able to push for significant efforts in controlling air pollution. Furthermore, residents are increasingly suffering, living amidst air pollution. During the Group A match of the 2024 Women's Asian Cup U-17, player of the Filipino U-17 women's team, Alexa Pino (left), celebrated after scoring a goal against the Indonesian U-17 women's team at Captain I Wayan Dipta Stadium in Gianyar, Bali on Monday (6/5/2024). The Indonesian Women's team had to concede defeat to the Philippine U-17 women's team with a score of 1-6.
The PFF held the second season of the women's league in 2018, accompanied by a greater awareness of the development of young players and the importance of a competitive league for the national team. The PFF sees the current situation of the women's national team whose achievements have been stagnant, including never finishing outside the group stage in the Women's Asian Cup.
Also read: Clouds in the Sky for Women's Football
Thanks to the great attention, the success of the Philippines is starting to show. The Philippines finished sixth in Jordan 2018 when they competed in the Women's Asia Cup. The following year, they won their first bronze medal at the Women's AFF Championship 2019.
Then came a big leap. In the 2022 Asian Women's Cup, which also serves as a qualifier for the Women's World Cup on this continent, the Philippines surprised three-time winner Taiwan in a penalty shoot-out to advance to the final four, thereby securing their first passage.
This situation is vastly different compared to Indonesia. In 2019, Indonesia held their first ever Women's League 1, with Persib Putri being crowned as champions. However, the league was not continued in the following three years due to the pandemic. Even in 2021, when the three tiers of men's football and junior competitions have been played, Women's League 1 still remains inactive.
In the Women's U-17 Asian Cup, Indonesia is the only country without a regular women's football competition. Other Southeast Asian countries that participate in the Women's U-17 Asian Cup, such as Thailand, even have semi-professional leagues in two levels, namely the Thai Women League 1 and Thai Women League 2.
In fact, Indonesia has actually been holding women's football competitions for much longer than Thailand or the Philippines. In 1982, PSSI held the Women's Football League Invitation (Galanita). Even though it only lasted 11 days, Galanita started the official competition for the women's team. However, the problem is always the same. The competition which lasted for a short time was fluctuating.
Actually, the competition for women's soccer has been increasingly held in the past two years. For example, the Indonesian Women's Football Association (ASBWI) held the ASBWI Cup U-15 National in August 2023 for a week. For younger age groups, Djarum Foundation initiated a girls' soccer tournament called "MilkLife Soccer Challenge 2023" for U-12 and U-10 age groups.
Also read: U-17 Women's Asian Cup: from Asia to the World Stage
However, the coach of the women's national team in 2008-2009, Timo Scheunemann, once said that the development of women's football in general is weak if the competitive level is interrupted. Especially if there is no highest level competition.
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Indonesian U-17 women's team player, Claudia Scheunemann (left), tries to pass through Filipina U-17 women's team player, Lauren Villasin, during the Group A match of the 2024 Women's Asian Cup U-17 at Captain I Wayan Dipta Gianyar Stadium, Bali on Monday (6/5/2024). The Indonesian women's team had to admit defeat to the Filipina U-17 women's team with a score of 1-6.
The presence of the highest level competition will facilitate the development at the lowest level. Girls can see the game of female football players who defend their clubs, take them as role models, even idolize them, and be inspired to follow in their footsteps.
Competition not only makes it easier for coaches to find players for the national team. Competition also correlates with coaching success.
The coach of Indonesia's women's national team, Satoru Mochizuki, had to work hard to find players by scouring the regions and conducting selection. The time was also relatively short. The selection was only finished at the end of March, or two months before the Under-17 Women's Asian Cup.
Also read: Indonesian Women's Team Momentum Learns Lessons from World Level Teams
A former footballer from the 1980s, Papat Yunisal, said that the match against the Philippines should be a momentum for many parties to pay more attention to women's football. According to Papat, this attention could take the form of serious coaching from the grassroots, including holding competitions.
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Indonesian women's U-17 team player, Kikka Putri (left), tries to pass Filipina's U-17 women's team player, Aiselyn Sia, during the Group A match of the 2024 Women's U-17 Asia Cup at Captain I Wayan Dipta Gianyar Stadium in Bali on Monday (6/5/2024). The Indonesian women's team had to admit the superiority of the Filipina U-17 women's team with a crushing score of 1-6.
PSSI General Chair Erick Thohir agreed that the absence of regular competitions for all age levels in Indonesia has limited the talent pool for women's football. However, PSSI chose to form a national team first in the hope that it could encourage competition.
"From the start, we wanted to create a sandwich, so that the national team was formed, there were age groups, then a long-term training camp as well as building age group tournaments starting from U-15. "If it is stable, the national team is stable for two years, the tournament is stable, then we can encourage the women's league because the talent is already there," said Erick.
The defeat against the Philippines exposed the classic issue of women's football revolving around the seriousness of development. The match also raises the question of how far the efforts have been made to fulfill the promise of building women's football.
