Coach Alen Stajcic upset by people doubting the Filipino heritage of some PH women's football players

After their historic achievement of booking a slot in the FIFA Women's World Cup for the first time, the Philippine women's national football team became a household name almost overnight.

While many celebrated the achievement for the Philippines, some social media users questioned some of the players' Filipino heritage.

The team's head coach Alen Stajcic admitted that these questions upset him.

“When you see the amount of heart, the amount of spirit within each player, the unity within the group, and the passion they have, I get a little bit almost incensed with that question about how Filipino the players are. It upsets me a little bit," Stajcic said in a press conference on Sunday.

"When you see the players at training and how much passion they play with, how proudly they represent the flag, what they carry in their hearts, how can you doubt how much Filipino they are?"

For Stajcic, what the team has accomplished for the country should be enough to put those questions to rest.

"They’ve broken so many barriers for their country. They fly the flag proudly in their heart, which is the main thing and what wonderful ambassadors for the country so I think that’s really the most important aspect," he said.

While some members of the team admitted that this was their first time to go to the Philippines, they have no doubt that in their hearts, they are Filipinos, just like for US-born Filipina Malea Cesar.

"This team is more welcoming to me than any other group that I've experienced and I know for me, that everyone here is Filipino and being able to connect with these girls at another level, cultural level, is something that I can't do at home," Cesar said.

Kiara Fontanilla, US-born and whose father is a Filipino, echoed Cesar. "Being here in the hometown, I love how everyone is so welcoming," she said.

"We're all Filipino. There's no such thing as we're not Filipino enough. We all have the heart of Philippine gold."

The Philippine women's national team booked a slot in the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup after defeating Chinese Taipei in the quarterfinals of the 2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup. They wrapped their campaign with a loss against South Korea in the semifinals.

—JMB, GMA News