What’s in a name? Filipinas team manager explains move away from old ‘Malditas’ moniker

When the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) announced that the Philippine national women’s football team would officially drop the familiar ‘Malditas’ nickname — and henceforth go by the name ‘Filipinas’ — it was met with a frenzied reaction by fans on social media.

Some fans continue to profess their support for the team, whatever name they go by, while others expressed disappointment at the change. Some have called the new moniker “unimaginative” or “boring” and felt that the fans opinion was not considered prior to making the decision.

Filipinas team manager and patron Jeff Cheng shared with GMA News Online the explanation for the name change and addressed the fans’ concerns.

“The decision to drop ‘Malditas’ completely was not meant to be an affront to the fans, so we hope that the fans do not interpret it in that way,” he starts.

“As you are all aware, the word maldita has an ambivalent or backhanded meaning in Tagalog. That is problematic because no one wants to be called a name that always has to be explained or justified. No, we don’t mean you’re a b— or bratty. We just mean you’re feisty or ‘palaban’.” Who needs that? And why do we have to treat our athletes that way?”

He adds that the word might be especially problematic, though, now that the team has reached the world stage.

“We also must realize that maldita is a word used in Spanish and Portuguese, the languages spoken by most football fans in the world, and there it literally means ‘condemned to hell’ and is colloquially used as an intensifier in the same manner as ‘f—ing’ is used in English.”

“Hopefully, we can all agree that we do not want our Philippine women’s football team to go to the World Cup with a moniker that, in Spanish and Portuguese, means something we are not even allowed to say on television or type out in print."

"Hopefully, no Filipino football fan wants to call our heroines using a bad word.”

As for the new name, Cheng cites the battle cry of the team in the team’s successful 2022 AFC Women’s Asian Cup in India.

“We have been using ‘Filipinas’ since last year and we have all come together under the battle cry ‘Laban Filipinas!’ or ‘Filipinas…Laban!’ during the campaign in India.”

Cheng also disagrees that the new name is not imaginative enough.

“To suggest that ‘Filipinas’ is a boring and unimaginative label seems offensive to an entire nation. Filipina or Filipino is who we are. There is nothing boring or unimaginative about that.

“And, no, no one from the team is suggesting that we be called the ‘Philippine Filipinas’. It is not clear why anyone would think that. It’s really just Filipinas.”

But Cheng added that he appreciates the feedback from fans, and welcomes any additions to the moniker.

“Finally, if the fans really want a quirky nickname for the Filipinas, in addition to, not in lieu of Filipinas, we are always open to suggestions,” he said.  “Truth be told, the fans do not need our approval, freedom of speech and all. The fans can call the Filipinas any fun name they like.”

“Just please don’t call us a bad word.”

The Filipinas are currently in Sydney, Australia for a month-long training camp ahead of the Southeast Asian Games in Vietnam in May.

The team will play two friendly matches against Fiji on April 7 and April 11.

—JMB, GMA News