Leach joins Filipinas camp

The Philippine national women’s football team added midfielder Skye Leach to its training camp that will kick off on 17 February.

The inclusion of Leach, who plays for the University of Kentucky in the US National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), was announced on Thursday as the Filipinas brace for a busy campaign in 2025.

Prior to moving to the Wildcats, the Filipino-American midfielder played for the University of Baylor in Texas from 2022 to 2024.

Last year, Kentucky made it as far as the second round of the Mississippi State bracket of the US NCAA before losing to University of Notre Dame, 1-3.

Leach joined Kentucky last December and is expected to make an immediate impact for the team that is just two years removed from a historic FIFA Women’s World Cup appearance.

Her inclusion in the Filipinas camp will be helpful as she will learn from veterans Sara Eggesvik, Quinley Quezada and Alexa Pino.

The Filipinas are set to defend their ASEAN Women’s Championship in Indonesia this June, compete in the Asian Football Confederation Women’s Asian Cup qualifiers from 23 June to 5 July, and aim for a gold medal in the 33rd Southeast Asian Games in December in Thailand.

Filipinas head coach Mark Torcaso said he is set to make sure they have the best squad possible for the upcoming tournaments.

“So this is a big year and we want to make sure that we’re prepared and we want to make sure we’ve got as many players as possible,” Torcaso said.