The wait to see the Philippine Women’s National Football (PWNFT) Team back in action will be coming to an end on August 23, as the Filipinas will open their doors to fans and media from 7AM-9AM at the Rizal Memorial Stadium. The open training session will be part of an intense week-long training camp which will give Head Coach Mark Torcaso the opportunity to assess top local prospects alongside some PWNFT regulars. 

“The main objective of the upcoming camp is for the coaching staff to build our local player pool and to provide our local players the opportunity to be seen and assessed by the coaching staff. This is very important, as we need our locally based players to be aware of the game model we are building for the Philippine Women’s National Football Team.  In the case that any of them are called up, they will be ready to perform,” said Philippine Senior National Teams Director Freddy Gonzalez.

To support Mark Torcaso in the August 17-24 camp, Gonzalez has added resources from the Philippine Men’s National Football Team. South African Riedoh Berdien, and Filipino trainer Aris Andrey will now be a part of the Women’s Team staff to aid in building a fitness program for the entire squad.

Filipinas Head Coach Mark Torcaso 

“We have a lot of talented local players who are capable of playing in the National Team. The gap between the locally-based and those playing abroad primarily lies in the difference in strength and conditioning. So starting with this camp, Riedoh Berdien and Aris Andrey will handle the Strength and Conditioning of the Women’s Team as well,” Gonzalez revealed. “They will implement programs for our locally based players so that they will be up to par with the strength and conditioning of their overseas based counterparts. Riedoh will be handling the overall programs of both the Men’s and Women’s teams and Aris will be implementing and monitoring the progress of all the local based players.

South African Riedoh Berdien will lead the Strength and Conditioning Program. 

Aris Andrey will monitor fitness programs for all locally-based players. 

The camp will feature a selection of 25-30 standouts, and is expected to be a rigorous week of training under Torcaso’s watch. The session on August 23, 7AM-9AM, at the Rizal Memorial Stadium will be open to fans and media.