THE founder of Europe’s only filipino football club hopes his Watford-based side will produce players for the Philippines national side in the near future.

Leo Jensen set out to help improve the Philippines, who are 155th in the FIFA rankings, in 2003 and this summer he launched Philippine United Football Club.

Dane Jensen has been married to Filipino wife Nenilin for 22 years and had lived in Bolton since 1998 but upon discovering that most of the Filipino players lived in the London area, moved to South Oxhey recently.

Jensen held trials in August and with head coach and former Chesterfield player Norm Parkin and his assistant Steve Conroy, cut the squad down from more than 50 to 24 and launched Philippine United in the Watford Power League and West Herts League Division Two, where they are unbeaten.

Jensen said: “We started this to try and find players for the Philippines national team and people can still come on trial.

“But we can smell something now and we want to win promotion to the first division.

“Our biggest goal though.... if we can get one or two players for the national team then it will make all of our work worthwhile.

“I would be lying if I didn’t say I had an ambition that some day we can hopefully send one or two players to bigger clubs here in England, hopefully in the Premier League or the Championship. Anything is possible and that could change a lot for this club.

“One day in this world, out of nowhere there will be an extremely talented player that is good enough for that.”

Basketball and Boxing are the Philippines’ main sports but Jensen believes the country has the talent to be at a much higher world ranking than 155th and hopes his side will help produce players to do that.

The profile of the club has raised in recent months and when the Philippines Football Federation president Jose Mari Martinez visited recently, he and Jensen met a number of Premier League and Championship managers, including David Moyes, Roy Hodgson and Neil Warnock.

This has led to several possible opportunities, such as Blackburn Rovers helping to open an academy in the country, Moyes suggesting a couple of the national side could train with Everton and also Philippine United should face the Crystal Palace Reserves in the near future.

And Jensen believes “two or three” of his side are ready to join the likes of Fulham goalkeeper Neil Etheridge and former Chelsea players Phil and James Younghusband in the national side.

Philippine United, whose next game is at Queens School on November 7, are actively looking for sponsorship. If you are interested, call Jensen on 07803 988375 or visit their website at www.philippineunitedfc.com.