Filipino News 171

12 ISSUE 171 REUNION 2023 | www.filipinonews.nz | email: filipinonews@xtra.co.nz | www.migrantnews.nz | Facebook: Migrant News
MIGRANT NEWS - www.migrantnews.nz : New Zealand’s first Migrant community newspaper. Published since 1991. Print. Online. Social Media. FB: Migrant News
Women’s Soccer World Cup Fever
By Ricky Matthew
AUCKLAND - As the
world prepared for one of
the largest international
sporting events, the FIFA
Women’s World Cup, the
passion and enthusiasm of
fans from different ethnic
communities was impossible
to miss.
For many supporters, the
tournament, which was held
in Australia and New
Zealand from July to August
this year, was not just a
showcase of athletic
prowess, but a celebration of
their heritage and culture.
From colourful displays of
national flags to boisterous
chants, fans rallied for their
respective teams, proudly
showcasing their cultural
identities.
The addition of eight new
spots to the group stage of
the cup led to an array of
debut teams and further
pushed the theme of cultural
diversity and richness, making
it truly the ‘World’ Cup.
The teams making their
debut were the Philippines,
Haiti, Morocco, Panama,
Portugal, the Republic of
Ireland, Vietnam and
Zambia.
Migrant News spoke to
‘FIFA Community Champions’,
representing several
of the debut teams as well as
long standing national
teams.
Making their FIFA
Women's World Cup debut
in 2023, the Philippines
have long been active in the
Southeast Asian women's
footballing scene - winners
of the 2022 AFF Women's
Championship.
Seresa Lopez, a Philippines
representative, said:
“It’s so inspiring to see fellow
women be at the forefront
of sports, especially in
the Philippines, considering
that our men’s team hasn’t
made it to the World Cup
Ethnic communities provide
passionate team support
yet.”
“I’m not sure if you’ve
met a Filipino before, but we
may be small and short, but
we have a massive energy
inside of us. We are very
loud people and as a community
I promise you we
will bring the noise. We may
not have a chant like the
Argentinians, but we will be
screaming all the way
through the game.”
Team Philippines played
Switzerland on 21 July, and
went head-to-head with NZ
on 25 July and played
against Norway on 30 July.
Featured in this World
Cup were four African teams
- Zambia, South Africa,
Nigeria and Morocco.
Zambia and Morocco which
were making their debut at
the World Cup.
Evelyn, an African supporter,
expressed her excitement
by saying: “We are
very excited, because this is
the first time in New
Zealand that we are hearing
the names of our African
countries mentioned in a
story that isn't about starvation
and war.
Zambia, South Africa,
Nigeria, and Morocco have
qualified for into this tournament.
It is beyond belief.”
After surprisingly emerging
as Africa’s sole representative
in women’s football at
the Tokyo Olympics, the
Zambian ‘Copper Queens’
have defied the odds once
again to book their place at
the World Cup 2023. This is
the first time the nation will
be represented
at the FIFA
Women’s World
Cup.
D i a n a
Simumpande
works with
‘Zambians in
Aotearoa’. “I
work with an organization
called Zambians in
Aotearoa,” she said. “It is all
about empowering Zambian
communities in New
Zealand. We want to make
sure that Zambian voices are
represented on the world
stage.”
She further spoke on community
engagement in
Auckland, saying: “The
Zambian team is being hosted
in Hamilton. However,
they do have a game in
Auckland. We are going to
be having a welcome celebration
event at Morningside
Tavern to have a place for
the Zambian community to
celebrate in Auckland.”
The Zambians played
Japan on 22 July, vs Spain
on 26 July, and went headto-head
with Costa Rica on
31 July.
Winners in 2011 and runners-up
in 2015, Japan has
solidified its place in
women’s football history.
They are also the two-time
Asian champions and have
won a silver at the 2012
Olympics in London.
The president of the
Japanese Society of
Auckland, Keiko Kano,
shared: “Our team is very
good. They won the World
Cup in 2011. It was right
after the Great East Japan
Earthquake, and they gave
us great hope. We are probably
going to watch the
matches live. They don’t
have any matches in
Auckland, but one is in
Wellington and one is in
Dunedin. We hope that they
are going to make it to the
tournament stage.”
The Japanese played
against Zambia on 22 July,
Costa Rica on 26 July, and
played Spain on 31 July.
Winners of the FIFA
Men’s World Cup,
Argentina, made their
fourth appearance in the
Women’s World Cup this
year. ‘La Albiceleste’, a
nickname referring to their
white and sky-blue coloured
jerseys, is still looking for its
first win in a major international
tournament, but
proved their team spirit in
their performances against
Japan and England at the
2019 FIFA Women’s World
Cup.
An Argentine Supporter,
Ignacio, said: “You will hear
a lot of our crowd singing all
the time. “Vamos, Vamos
Argentina!” for 90 minutes
or more than that. If
Argentina do not win, we
will be happy if one of our
South American brothers
make it. Go Brazil, go
Colombia, go Argentina, go
South America.”
Saione Greer, a representative
of the Latin American
community, rated the Latin
teams very highly. “We are
football crazy.
“I’m originally from
Tonga, but I’m here representing
the Latino community.
Brazil, Colombia,
Argentina, and Costa Rica
are playing in this World
Cup.”
He also spoke about the
community engagement in
Auckland, saying: “We are
waiting to see what will happen
with regards to fan
zones around the city.
Hopefully we will be able to
have a Latin party as part of
the celebrations around the
beginning of the tournaments.”