Manila: The men's football team has qualified for the Aichi-Nagoya 20th Asian Games in Japan, the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) announced Monday. The men's football team secured its spot in the tournament after India withdrew from the competition.

According to Philippines News Agency, the All India Football Federation pulled out its national team because the squad did not meet the Indian government's strict selection criteria, which required the team to be ranked within the top eight. This withdrawal paved the way for the Philippine men's team to participate in the prestigious event.

In addition to the men's team, the Philippine women's squad had already earned a berth to the competitions scheduled from September 19 to October 4. The country plans to send a total of 443 athletes to the quadrennial games, with the entire delegation, including coaches and officials, possibly reaching 700. The gymnastics team is still in the process of confirming the qualification of five athletes in artistic events.

Filipino athletes will compete in 38 of the 47 sports programmed by the Aichi-Nagoya organizers. The organizers have set quotas primarily for individual and combat sports due to the hosts' limited capacity to accommodate large delegations. Historically, a record 524 athletes joined the Hiroshima Games in 1994, while 391 athletes participated in the 2022 edition held in Hangzhou, China.

"The minimum goal is to do better at the Games," POC president Abraham Tolentino stated in a news release, aiming to surpass the 4-2-12 gold-silver-bronze tally achieved in Hangzhou. Football at the Aichi-Nagoya Games will feature 16 teams in the men's division and 12 in the women's division. Teams are permitted to field 18 to 22 players in the under-23 tournament, with a maximum of three older players allowed per team.