Philippines soccer has been improving steadily in recent times both at a club and international level.
This is evidenced by the results that Philippines club get in the continental cup competition as well as the national soccer team.
Two Phillippines soccer club Ceres and Kaya FC are currently doing well in the AFC Cup where they have the possibility to make it to the last 16 of the tournament. When you know that last year they were performing poorly in the same competition, you will clearly understand that there has been some progress that took place.
Similarly, the national team has steadily been improving. They are now ranked 115th in the world which is the highest rank they have achieved in the FIFA ranking. Just 10 years ago they were 191st in the ranking.
The progress in Phillippines soccer did not come magically since it took some work to get there. The foundation was laid on by German coach Michael Weiss, and they have keep improving under their current coach Dooley.
The Philippines team have also benefited from the input of foreign-based players. There are an increasing number of players that have learned their soccer abroad and now returning to play for the national team. This has helped raise the level of the national team and contribute to improving their results. The authorities do not want only to rely on their foreign players to perform. They are currently working on different projects to contribute to improving soccer at the grassroots level.
The Philippines are currently doing well in the 2018 World Cup qualifiers campaign, and chances are if they continue on the same path that they could make it to the World Cup finals. However, we are still far from this achievement but with the progress made so far by the national team, it will be only a matter of time before the Philippines team qualifies for a major competition.