The Philippine women’s national football team, the Filipinas, thanked their fans and called them their “12th man” in their historic win against Thailand in the AFF Women’s Championship.
The Filipinas beat Thailand in a 3-0 upset in the final match on Sunday night at Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila.
The Philippine team credited their fans for being their “12th man” in their record-making win.
Over 8,000 spectators watched the final game at the stadium as the Filipinas dominated against the Thais — reportedly a huge swell in the size of the crowd from their previous games against Singapore and Malaysia, where less than 1,000 spectators were in attendance.
“It was amazing and I don’t think we would have, honestly, dominated the way that we did without the fans,” Filipinas team captain Tahnai Annis told Manila Bulletin. “It’s really a presence to have. So much support behind us and really just to kinda see how the support just kept growing with each game. It was really amazing to have everyone out there and supporting us and going crazy the whole time. It only lifts us up more.”
Meanwhile, Filipinas head coach Alen Stacjic believes that the future is bright for football in the Philippines, typically known for being a basketball-crazed country, after the Filipinas’ win.
“To see the crowd come alive and Philippine football come alive is just truly a transforming moment, hopefully, for the sport and hopefully more people fall in love with the sport, wanna play the sport, and wanna come and watch the sport,” the head coach told MB.
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