A LARGE crowd of fans from a supportive Filipino community will compete with New Zealand supporters cheering for their team when the Philippine national women’s football squad battles the NZ Ferns on Tuesday at the Sky Stadium in Wellington.
The Ferns and their fans will most likely dance the “Haka” before the game to try to psych up the hosts against the Filipinas before the match.
The Haka is a combination of vigorous movements and stamping of the feet with rhythmically shouted accompaniment, often performed by a NZ team before a game.
But Filipino fans in Wellington are expected to show up with their own version of the Haka, with reports on social media describing Filipino supporters dressed up in traditional tribal costumes to counter the hosts.
Filipino expatriates, numbering close to a hundred, will be clad in colorful “Ati-Atihan” attire and do a street dance starting at 4 p.m. from Shed 6, a popular waterfront hangout in Wellington.
From there, they will march towards the Sky Stadium in time for the kickoff of the Philippine-New Zealand match at 5:30 p.m. (1:30 p.m. in Manila).
The colorful costumes are part of the popular annual “Ati-Atihan” festival in Aklan, one the Philippines’ top tourist attractions.
“It’s a special moment. One that the girls will cherish for the rest of their lives,” said the Filipinas’ Australian coach Alen Stajcic.
The Filipinas are coming off a 0-2 setback to Switzerland, with the PH’s Katrina Guillou almost scoring a goal early in the first half last Friday.
On the other hand, the Ferns scored a shock 1-0 upset win over Norway in their opening Group A fixture.
“We’ll just shut this out (the cheering of the fans). It will be exciting, and hopefully, we’ll get a shot on target,” said Guillou.
The Ferns, coached by former Czech national team member, Jitka Klimková, are just a victory away from a place in the knock-out stages.
The odds favor New Zealand, no. 26 in the FIFA rankings.
But the no. 46 Filipinas are expected to hold their ground against the hosts with their composure and discipline in the field.
Klimková will most likely keep the same roster that they had in their match with the Norwegians.
Tokyo Olympics veteran Hannah Wilkinson will once again provide leadership in NZ’s offense after scoring her 29th international goal.
Skipper Tahnai Annis is expected to lead the Filipinas in their quest to force an upset win. They will have to deal with experienced Ferns, though, like Katie Bowen and Rebekah Stott, who have represented New Zealand in almost 200 matches.