Football in the Philippines

Association football is a developed and well-known sport in the Philippines, played by amateur and professional Filipino football clubs. The Philippine Football Federation (PFF) is the governing body of international football in the country.

Football is a popular sport among the country's Southeast Asian neighbors, yet it is overshadowed by basketball, which is the most popular sport in the Philippines. However, football has a long history in the archipelago, dating back to more than 100 years ago when Paulino Alcántara Riestra became the first Filipino and Asian player to play for a European club. He made his debut as a striker at the age of 15 at Barcelona, which made him the club's youngest and second highest goalscorer behind Lionel Messi. Since then, the first football teams began to form, including the Manila Sporting Club in 1906, the Sandow Athletic Club in 1909, and the Bohemian Sporting Club in 1910.

To promote and revive the sport, some international and local football clubs helped the Philippines. FIFA also assisted the country by building and upgrading facilities including the creation of the PFF headquarters in 2009. As well, the establishment of the United Football League (UFL) and the National Men's Club Championship to provide more local competitions.

The Philippines national football team is the representative of men's international football for the Philippines. They won the Far Eastern Games once (in 1913) and became a two-time Philippine Peace Cup champion (in 2012 and 2013). The Philippines women's national football team, representing women's international football in the Philippines, achieved a third-place (bronze) finish at the 1985 Southeast Asian Games.

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