PFF defends Asian Cup withdrawal

The Philippine Football Federation (PFF) cited the country’s Asian Games’ qualification in Nagoya, Japan as the reason why the U20 squad withdrew from the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers last August.

In an email to DAILY TRIBUNE on Monday, the PFF said with the country being granted an Asian Games slot for the first time in 68 years, it opted to focus and merge with the U23 squad.

The Philippines is banned from competing for the next Asian Cup Qualifiers due to the sudden withdrawal as well as expected to pay a fine of $10,000 or approximately P631,000.

“The decision was primarily due to unexpected and historic qualification of the Philippine U23 men’s national team for the 2026 Asian Games, marking the country's return to the competition after more than five decades. PFF had to make the difficult decision for the U23 PMNT to participate instead in the Asian Games, which also formed part of its preparations for the 2027 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games,” the federation said.