World Cup 2046: Philippines
Perhaps in 2046 the Philippines will no longer be watching the World Cup — we will finally be playing in it.
Daily TribunePerhaps in 2046 the Philippines will no longer be watching the World Cup — we will finally be playing in it.
Today, Argentina and Spain meet in the final of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The entire planet will be watching as two football powers compete for the greatest prize in sport. Once again, the Philippines will be watching from afar, without having competed in a tournament that many Filipinos still do not closely follow. But must that always be our place?
The Philippines should aspire to qualify for the World Cup, and we can do that within 20 years. Participation would bring more than national pride. It could stimulate investment in professional clubs, academies, sporting facilities, broadcasting, tourism and sponsorships. More importantly, it would give millions of Filipino children another credible path toward education, employment and sporting excellence.
We need only look at Cape Verde, an island nation with slightly more than half a million people. Cape Verde invested in youth development, maintained faith in its coaching program and successfully recruited players from its diaspora. Fewer than half of its national team players were born in Cape Verde, yet they chose to represent a shared national identity — something we can replicate in the Philippines.
The Philippines has more than 110 million people and a young population increasingly exposed to football. Filipino heritage players are also developing in Europe, North America, Australia and other parts of Asia. We must identify them early, maintain relationships with their families and give them compelling reasons to commit to the Philippines.
Today, the Philippines is ranked 136th in the world. This year, the lowest-ranked country to qualify for the World Cup is New Zealand at No. 85. This suggests that the Philippines does not need to become a top-50 team to qualify. Reaching around No. 90 in the world — and perhaps becoming one of Asia’s top 20 teams — could be enough.
The children who are six to eight years old today will be 26 to 28 in 2046, close to the current median age of a World Cup player. They are the generation we must begin training now. Government can bring football to more public schools, construct community pitches, train thousands of coaches and establish regional academies linked to a stable national league.
No amount of money can guarantee qualification, but a serious program may require approximately P2 billion to P2.5 billion annually, or P40 billion to P50 billion over 20 years, supported by government, FIFA, sponsors and private clubs. What matters is not one large appropriation but consistent investment protected across administrations.
This endeavor must also be insulated from politics. Even the celebrated 2019 Southeast Asian Games is now being revisited through investigations seven years later. Accountability is necessary, but every inquiry must be timely, fair and based on evidence. Every peso allocated for football must be transparent, independently audited and spent with urgency.
If we begin today and refuse to allow politics to interrupt the work, perhaps in 2046 the Philippines will no longer be watching the World Cup — we will finally be playing in it.