Philippines Football League

Philippines Football League
Country  Philippines
Confederation AFC
Founded March / April 2017
Number of teams TBA
Level on pyramid 1
Domestic cup(s) TBA
International cup(s) AFC Cup
2017 Philippines Football League

The Philippines Football League (PFL) is an upcoming Filipino professional association football league, sanctioned by the Philippine Football Federation (PFF). It will be the Philippines' highest level of men's club football, supplanting the United Football League, which was previously the de-facto top-tier league in the country.

The PFL's inaugural season is set to be launched in either March or April 2017.[1]

History

Origins

Following the success of the Philippines national team in the 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup, Philippine football experienced a renaissance. With no existing national football league, the Metro Manila-based United Football League (UFL) became the de-facto top-tier league in the Philippines. Under the guidance of the Football Alliance (FA) in partnership with United Football Clubs Association (UFCA), the UFL flourished. However, the PFF expressed the need to have a nationwide, community-based football league that is at par with the standards set by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).[2] The UFL, which is under the National Capital Region Football Association, cannot be considered as a national league.

Foundations

With the goal of establishing a truly nationwide professional football league in the Philippines, the PFF launched the PFF National League Task Force on December 2, 2013.[3] The task force was led by Filipino economist Bernie Villegas, and is composed of UFL President Randy Roxas, AFC Deputy General Secretary and Competition Director Windsor John, Filipino FIFA official Domeka Garamendi, AFC Kick-off Program Director Yogesh Desai, UFL Commissioner Bonnie Ladrido, ABS-CBN's Dino Laurena, former PFF' General Secretary Cyril Dofitas and Gelix Mercader.[4] The task force was tasked to do market research studies to determine the possible cities or regions where participating football clubs can be based, as well as assisting clubs in the Philippines to conform to AFC club licensing regulations. The PFF initially set a goal to launch the national league in two to three years from the inception of the task force.[2]

Singaporean sports marketing agency, Red Card Group led by former Singaporean international, R. Sasikumar, assisted the PFF in the initial stages of planning the league.[5]

The Philippines Football League was officially announced on September 7, 2016 and will replace the UFL as the Philippines' top tier football league.[6] The name "Philippines Football League" was the most-preferred name for the league in a Nielsen survey which covered interviews of 5,000 people nationwide. Other choices included P-League, Maharlika League, Liga Pilipina, and Philippine Premier League.[7]

At least six teams from all over the Philippines would be part of the PFL, with clubs from the UFL invited to join. Interested clubs were presented with the PFF's Club Licensing Regulations, and were given until December 2016 to formally apply to join the PFL.[8] The league competition was slated to begin in either the last week of March or the first week of April in 2017.[1]

The PFF has said in an interview on November 2016 that five clubs have already confirmed participation in the 2017 season. These are Stallion, Kaya, Loyola, Global, and Ceres.[9]Global F.C. is reportedly going to make Cebu as its home city with its official home field, the University of San Carlos stadium in Talamban and the Cebu City Sports Center. Loyola Meralco Sparks F.C. is reportedly making Taguig as their home city and the Emperador Stadium in McKinley Hill, at the The Fort as their home field. The Bacolod-based Ceres F.C. is reportedly moving to Davao City; however Bacolod City will not be left without a club as the owner Yanson family is building another club to represent Bacolod City or the Island of Negros. Stallion F.C. is also reportedly joining the PFL and have arranged to make Biñan as their home town.[10]

Competition format

The PFL will follow a home-and-away, double round-robin format. The top four teams will advance to the play-off round dubbed as the "Finals Series" to determine the champions of the league.[11] A knockout cup competition will also be contested between the PFL's participating clubs, with matches interspersed within the league schedule.[6]

For its inaugural season, the PFL will only have one division. The PFF expressed its hopes to form a second division as the league expands, with a system of promotion and relegation with the PFL to be put in place.[6] The UFL has expressed its openness to serve as the second tier competition or youth league to the PFL.[12]

Clubs

In a nationwide study done by the Nielsen Company in 2015, 14 key localities throughout the Philippines were identified to have excellent potential to serve as homes for participating clubs in the PFL. Among the factors considered were existing infrastructures, accessibility, capacity of fans to pay, the existence of sponsors, and fan appreciation of the sport. Each applicant club will be asked to nominate a home stadium based in the locality of their choosing.[8]

The 14 localities are the following:

Luzon

Visayas

Mindanao

Possible locations of participating clubs in the Philippines Football League
Philippines
Metro Manila

As of October 2016, no club has formally applied for the league but several clubs has already expressed interest joining the league. Among these clubs is Bacolod-based Ceres F.C. who has expressed reservations saying that the marketing and sponsorship aspects of the league should be finalized before they formally apply for the league.[1]

Organization

The PFF are set to form a corporation with the PFL's participating clubs in order to support the league. All concerns not addressed in the PFF's Club Licensing Regulations, as well as the interest of commercial companies seeking to sponsor the league and participating clubs, will be discussed through the proposed corporation.[12] Each club will have to pay a franchise fee to the corporation.[6]

The league will be professional and not a developmental league. The clubs will have a share of the league's broadcast revenues and sponsorhips and each club will be assisted by the league in securing their own sponsors.[1]

Club identity

All PFL clubs are required under the PFF Club Licensing Regulations to have a name that includes the name of their home locality. The clubs are also required to have nicknames, crests, and colors based on the unique charateristics of their home locality.[13]

Players and salaries

Participating clubs are allowed to have a minimum 25 and a maximum of 30 players. Only four foreigners are allowed per club, with at least one foreigner coming from an AFC country.[7]

The PFL will also have a salary cap and a salary floor.[6]

Youth development

All participating clubs in the PFL are required to commit to the organization and development of at least two youth teams, an under-18 and an under-15. The clubs' youth teams are required to participate in competitions organized by the Philippine Football Federation.[13]

Stadiums

The clubs of the PFL are required to have a certified home stadium either through ownership of the stadium or having an active contract with the owners of the stadium. Likewise, all clubs are required to have access to or own a training field and facility.[13]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Ceres FC ready to apply for PFL license". The Visayan Daily Star. 15 October 2016. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
  2. 1 2 Bautista, Roehl Niño (2 December 2013). "Philippine Football Federation set to launch national league". GMA News. Retrieved 8 September 2016.
  3. ↑ "PFF to Establish National League in 2016". Philippine Football Federation. 2 December 2013. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  4. ↑ Guerrero, Bob (2 December 2013). "PFF announces national football league to launch in 2015 or 2016". Passionate Fan. Yahoo!. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  5. ↑ Tan, Noah (11 November 2016). "Sasikumar a key player in new Philippines pro football league". Today. Mediacorp Press Ltd. Retrieved 11 November 2016.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Guerrero (6 September 2016). "PFF one step closer to launching nationwide pro football league". Rappler. Retrieved 8 September 2016.
  7. 1 2 Ventura, Sid (6 September 2016). "With PFF Backing, National Pro Football League Set to Debut in 2017". Sports 5. TV5 Network Inc. Retrieved 8 September 2016.
  8. 1 2 Del Rosario, Paolo (6 September 2016). "PFF bares plans for national football league". CNN Philippines. Retrieved 8 September 2016.
  9. ↑ Olivares, Rick (29 November 2016). "5 clubs sign up for new PH Football League". ABS-CBN News. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
  10. ↑ Biantan, Jack (24 November 2016). "UFL teams disperse to provinces to form PH Football League". Sunstar Cagayan de Oro. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  11. ↑ "PFF to brief interested clubs on Philippines Football League". Philippine Football Federation. 6 September 2016. Retrieved 7 September 2016.
  12. 1 2 Valderrama, Aeron Paul (6 September 2016). "Formation of Philippines Football League officially underway". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved 7 September 2016.
  13. 1 2 3 "Club Licensing Regulations for Philippines Football League" (PDF). Pasig: Philippine Football Federation. 23 March 2015. Retrieved 7 September 2016.
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