Alen Stajcic hopes football keeps on growing in the Philippines after historic AFF Women's title

Filipino football fans came out on Sunday to show their support for the Philippine national women's football team as they battled Thailand for the 2022 AFF Women's Championship title.

A crowd of more than 8,000 filled the Rizal Memorial Stadium and energized the Filipinas in their finals match.

Prior to the match, the people outside the historic venue were in a festive mood as the Ultras Filipinas cheered for the women's team.

Earlier: Cheers for the Filipinas outside the Rizal Memorial Stadium! Ahead of the #AFFWomens2022 finals! @gmasportsph pic.twitter.com/2n1dI8cRen

— JK Carandang (@jk_carandang) July 17, 2022

For Filipinas head coach Alen Stajcic, Sunday night was a moment where Filipino football came alive.

"To see the crowd come alive and Filipino football come alive is just truly a transforming moment, hopefully, for the sport," said Stajcic in a post-game conference.

"I hope more people fall in love with the sport, want to play the sport, want to come out and watch the sport, and the sport can grow and [be] the number one sport in this country like the rest of the world."

Katrina Guillou, who scored the second goal in the finals match, echoed Stajcic.

"We're just feeding off that energy that everyone is cheering for us," she said.

THE FILIPINAS ARE YOUR AFF WOMEN’S CHAMPIONS!!! #AFFWomens2022 @gmasportsph

FINAL: ???????? 3-0 ???????? pic.twitter.com/JgZs41G28I

— JK Carandang (@jk_carandang) July 17, 2022

It was a historic night indeed for Philippine football but Stajcic said it does not stop there.

"We've conquered a hill, a big hill in Southeast Asia, and show that we can be champions in Southeast Asia but there's still mountains out way ahead," he said. "We've got some big challenges lying ahead to conquer the rest of Asia and the World Cup next year. This is an unbelievable achievement."

Guillou, meanwhile, said she hopes to make more memories for the Philippines.

"Hopefully we can keep on making them proud and just keep pushing the boundaries and creating new memories with the team and for the country."

—JMB, GMA News