Malditas reach best-ever football ranking

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Malditas reached their best-ever standing in the International Football Federation’s world rankings, an achievement football officials can bring to the table when they make a case for the team’s inclusion in the country’s Southeast Asian Games contingent.

The Fifa has placed the Malditas at 75th in its latest bi-monthly listing last Friday, a position that matched the Pinay booters’ all-time best first posted in Dec. 2009.

The Malditas stand at fourth among Southeast Asians behind Vietnam (28th in the world), Thailand (31st), and SEA Games host Myanmar (43rd). They are 16th overall in Asia.

The biggest movers in the June 2013 rankings, the Malditas are looking to make the Philippines’ delegation to the SEAG despite the preference of Philippine Olympic Committee and Philippine Sports Commission for individuals who have the potential to win medals.

The POC had set a meeting with the PFF on Wednesday to discuss the SEA Games campaign and football execs said they would try their best to convince the Olympic body to give the Malditas, as well as the under-23 team and the men’s and women’s futsal squads, the go-signal to go to Myanmar.

In addition to the SEAG, the Malditas are also preparing for the Asean Football Federation Women’s Championship, which will also be hosted by the Burmese next month. They just concluded a two-week training camp in the US in preparation for this.

Meanwhile, the Azkals are also expected to achieve another high when the Fifa releases its men’s ranking next week.

According to calculations made by the website Football Rankings, the Philippines should vault to 141, up by three from its position in July and surpassing its best-ever ranking of 143rd in the April 2013 release.