Philippine men's football team secures Asian Games spot

The Philippine men's football team has officially qualified for the 20th Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, completing the country's representation in both the men's and women's football tournaments scheduled from Sept. 19 to Oct. 4.

Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president Abraham "Bambol" Tolentino confirmed the development on Monday as the Philippines finalized a 443-athlete contingent, its largest in the last eight editions of the continental games.

The country's biggest-ever Asian Games delegation remains the 524 athletes it sent to the 1994 Hiroshima Games, while 391 Filipino athletes competed in the 2023 Hangzhou edition.

"Our minimum goal is to do better at these games," Tolentino said, referring to the Philippines' four gold, two silver, and 12 bronze medals in Hangzhou.

The overall delegation, including coaches and officials, could grow to nearly 700 if five more artistic gymnastics entries are confirmed.

The Philippines is expected to compete in 38 of the 47 sports on the Aichi-Nagoya program. Athlete quotas in several individual and combat sports limited the number of entries due to the host country's capacity constraints.

The men's football team secured its place after India withdrew from the tournament.

"We're next in line, so we got the slot," Tolentino said.

The football competition will feature 16 teams in the men's division and 12 in the women's tournament. Each nation may field a roster of 18 to 22 players in the under-23 event, with up to three overage players permitted per team.