Malditas to attend US training camp

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine women’s football team Malditas will go to a training camp in the US and compete in the inaugural LA Viking Cup to jumpstart their buildup for next year’s qualifi ers for the 2014 AFC Women’s Asian Cup. Malditas coach Ernie Nierras said over 35 potential Malditas – a mixture of homegrown talents and prospects from the US, including division 1 players – will attend the camp slated Nov. 14-22 in Fullerton, California. “Players from CAL Berkeley, Wake Forest, Univ of Miami, Loyola, Boston U, Long Beach St, Vanderbilt, ECU, Oregon State, Oklahoma State, UC Riverside, UNC Greensboro, Cornell, Monmouth, Cal St Fullerton, and others (will be attending),” said Nierras. “We will be inspecting U19 and U16 girls also,” he added. From the camp, the Malditas will test their skills on the pitch as they take part in the LA Viking Cup, a four-team invitational tournament set Nov. 23-Dec. 1 at Titan Stadium, also in Fullerton, California. Giving the Malditas a taste of the American style of football are Women’s Professional Soccer League sides LA Vikings and California Cosmos as well as Caribbean national side Trinidad and Tobago “Soca Princesses.”

The Malditas are gearing up for their campaign in the May 2013 AFC qualifi ers, where they found themselves bunched against powerhouse rivals in Group B after the recent draw in Malaysia. Former champion Thailand (No. 30 in the Fifa ranking), Iran (54th) and Bangladesh (115th), stand in the way of the Malditas (85th) and their dreams of making strides internationally.