United Football League (Philippines)

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United Football League
2016)
Most championshipsGlobal
(3 titles)

The United Football League, commonly known as the UFL, was an

rainy season, the league usually kicked off sometime between the months of January and February each year.[4]

The

UFL Cup, sanctioned by both the Philippine Football Federation and National Capital Region Football Association, was held in 2009 to determine the clubs that would participate in the league. Since then, it has been described as a thriving football league, organized by former football players and aficionados.[6] A total of 20 clubs have competed in the UFL since its founding. It was organized by the Football Alliance, whose long-term goal is the continued development of football in the Philippines through a premier league.[7]

Four clubs have been crowned league champions:

2016 season
.

Structure and competition

The league was composed of two

2014 season, the first division implemented a triple round-robin system, which increased the games from 18 to 24.[8] Like most football leagues around the world, it adopts the standard point system wherein match winners receive three points and losers get none. Each club receives a point, on the other hand, if the match ends in a draw.[9] At the end of each season, the team with the most points was crowned league champion. For clubs that were level in points, the following tie-breakers
were applied:

  1. Goal difference for the entire season
  2. Total goals scored for the entire season
  3. Head-to-head results (total points)
  4. Head-to-head goals scored
  5. Head-to-head away goals scored
  6. Total away goals scored for the entire season

Promotion and relegation

Since the start of the

Manila Nomads' decided to voluntarily step down from the first division to play in UFL Division 2, citing its inability to comply with the league's foreigner cap rule.[12]

With the discontinuation of the UFL Division 2 in the 2016 season, the adoption of the promotion and relegation system has been ceased.[13]

Below is a complete record of the number of clubs that have played in the first division throughout the league's history.

 
  • 2010: 8 clubs
  • 2011: 7 clubs
  • 2012–2013: 10 clubs
  • 2014: 9 clubs
  • 2015: 10 clubs (reduced to 9 midway through the season)
  • 2016: 12 clubs (reduced to 9 midway through the season)

Qualification for Asian competitions

In January 2013,

Ceres, the 2013 PFF–Smart National Club Championship champions, represented the Philippines in the 2014 edition of the tournament.[18]

In December 2014,

football club Maziya.[19]

Starting the 2015 season, the United Football League champion automatically qualified for the group stages of the AFC Cup, while the UFL Cup champion earned an AFC Cup playoff spot. In the event that the league and cup champions are the same club, the AFC Cup playoff spot went to the runner-up of the league competition.[13]

Format

Season League Cup FA League Cup
FA Charity Cup
1
2010
2009
 – –
2
2011
 2010 - -
3
2012
 2011 – –
4
2013
 2012 – –
5
2014
 2013 –
2014
6
2015
 2015 - –
7
2016
 2016 – –

Originally, the

three-conference format in a single season. The cup competition used to run from November to December of each year, while the league ran from January to July. Thus, these two competitions used to happen in separate calendar years.[21] Since then, UFL officials have continuously introduced new formats, schedules, and tournaments to align the league calendar with those in the ASEAN region.[22]

Beginning the

FA Cup, considered the culminating tournament of the UFL.[23] This shift was done to align the UFL calendar with the football leagues in Southeast Asia and to avoid possible conflicts with the schedule of the Philippines national football team.[24]

The schedule of the UFL and its competitions was once again shifted for the

FA Cup and the FA League Cup have been discontinued.[13]

UFL Cup

Main article:
UFL Cup

The United Football League Cup, also known as the UFL Cup, is an association football competition in the Philippines that starts every January or February. It is the first competition in the United Football League season.[25] The cup is a single-elimination tournament where all of the clubs in the UFL were eligible to compete.

The UFL Cup was first held in October 2009, sanctioned by the

Global FC in the finals of the said cup with a score of 2–1. Stallion FC captain Ruben Doctora, Jr. and Rufo Sánchez scored one goal apiece to upset Global.[30]

Club Won Runner-up Years won Years runner-up
Philippine Air Force 2 1
2009
 2010
Global FC 1 1 2010 2012
Loyola Meralco Sparks
 1 1 2013 2011
Kaya
 1 2015
Stallion FC
 1 2012
Ceres
 1 2015
Pachanga Diliman 1 2013
Philippine Army 1
2009

Other cup tournaments

Main articles: UFL FA Charity Cup and UFL FA League Cup

Aside from the main UFL Cup, two other competitions were held as part of the UFL regular season; these are the UFL FA Charity Cup and the UFL FA League Cup. Both tournaments were only held once in 2014. The UFL FA Charity Cup was part of the 2013–14 ULF season, which featured the top six teams in the 2013 league competition while the UFL FA League Cup was part of the 2014–15 UFL season and featured both teams from Division 1 and 2.

Tournament UFL season Winner Score Runners–up Venue
UFL FA League Cup 2013–14
Ceres
 2–1 Global Rizal Memorial Stadium
UFL FA Cup
 2014–15 Global 3–1
Kaya
 Rizal Memorial Stadium

History

Origins and foundation

Main article:
2010 United Football League (Philippines)

As early as 2002, the United Football League operated not as a months-long league but as regular series of tournaments held during the weekends.[31]

In September 2009, with the aim of reviving the interest of

semi-professional league.[33]

Corporate backing and sponsorship

Local courier company LBC became the principal sponsor of the UFL in 2009

The first season of the United Football League, officially named then as LBC United Football League for sponsorship reasons, was made possible with the aid of several local

ATR Kim Eng.[34]

Since its inception, UFL Division 1 has received corporate

sponsorship. After air cargo delivery service company LBC Express Inc. committed as its principal sponsor in October 2009, the league kicked off as a premier tournament composed of several football teams around the nation.[35]

Founding members

The inaugural year of the league was held in the

2010 season
, and was originally composed of 16 local clubs. The 16 founding teams of the league were the following:

  • Loyola Agila
  • Mama Africa
  • Manila All-Japan
  • Manila Lions

Expansion year and TV coverage

Main article:
2012 United Football League (Philippines)

After the end of

Stallion.[38]

In December 2011, UFL president Randy Roxas entered into discussions with the Philippine Football Federation regarding the possibility of sending the league champions to the AFC President's Cup, a regional club competition that is run by the Asian Football Confederation.[39] In addition, Pasargad represented the league and the Philippines in the 2013 AFC Futsal Club Championship qualifiers.[40]

The league struck a deal to use the

2013 season. This was followed by the construction of a grandstand that accommodates 2,000 people.[41]

Stadium and officiating developments

Main article:
2013 United Football League (Philippines)

UFL president Randy Roxas announced in December 2012 the completion of the

2013 season. The field was built in partnership with Megaworld Corporation, and is said to be up to FIFA standards.[42] The first two weeks of the tournament, which included the opening games scheduled on 5 February 2013, were still played at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium, but most of the matches of the league were played at the said artificial pitch after the Chinese New Year.[43]

The UFL started to use Megaworld's

Nomads FC, became the first official league game in the stadium. Nomads FC won, 1–0, against Philippine Air Force.[45]

In an effort to hold matches outside

Cebu City Sports Complex, Cebu City or at Panaad Stadium, Bacolod.[47]

In cooperation with the Philippine Football Federation, the league directed its referees to undergo a training module to better their decision making and player management. The training was facilitated by Football Association of Singapore committee member Augustine Arlando, a former FIFA match official, and Football Association national referee tutor Dave Roberts.[48]

Refinements in league structure

In November 2013, the UFL started charging for admission during the knockout stages of the 2013 cup competition.[49] The league partnered with online ticket company Ticketworld in selling the tickets, priced at P100 for the grandstand and P50 for the bleachers. UFL president Randy Roxas said that the league decided to start selling match tickets to give more value to the games. In addition, Roxas explained that the selling of tickets is also in compliance with the requirements of the Asian Football Confederation, which the UFL wants follow so that the league would be further recognized in the international scene.[50]

The UFL introduced the

2014 FA League Cup
.

To

Robinsons Place in Manila
.

In September 2014, UFL

2015 season. In addition, San Agustin also hinted on the a possibility of staging the first provincial game in the Visayas region.[53]

In the

2016 season, the UFL Division 2 was discontinued. The second division clubs joined the first division clubs to form a single twelve team division. Additionally, the FA Cup and the FA League Cup were discontinued. The PFF National Men's Club Championship was also discontinued, possibly to give way to the upcoming Philippines Football League (PFL) that is slated to begin in 2017.[13]

In October 2016, it was reported that the 2016 season will be last UFL season following the appointment of UFL President Randy Roxas as part of the task force for the upcoming PFL to be launched in 2017.[54]

Past league champions

Main article: List of Filipino football champions

Results by year

Season Champion Runners-up Third place
2010
 Philippine Air Force
Kaya
Union
2011
 Philippine Air Force Global Philippine Army
2012
 Global
Kaya
Loyola Meralco Sparks
2013
Stallion
 		Global
Loyola Meralco Sparks
2014
 Global
Loyola Meralco Sparks
Kaya
2015
Ceres
 		Global
Loyola Meralco Sparks
2016
 Global
Ceres
Loyola Meralco Sparks

Titles by club

Rank Club Number of titles Years of titles
1
 Global
3
2016
2
 Philippine Air Force
2
2011
3
Stallion
 		1
2013
Ceres
2015
Note: Bold indicates clubs currently playing in the league

Clubs

Division 1

Since its inception, a total of 20 clubs have played in the UFL. The following 12 clubs will be competed in the 2016 season:

Includes clubs that participated in the 2016 edition which features a single division.

Club Founded UFL seasons
Agila
2011
 2016
Ceres
2012
 2015–2016
Forza
2010
 2016
General Trias International
c 		2014–2015
Globala, b
2000
 2011–2016
Green Archers Uniteda, b
1998
 2010–2016
JP Voltes
a
2009
 2016
Kaya
a, b
1996
 2010–2016
Laos
2000
 2016
Loyola Meralco Sparks
a, b
2006
 2010–2016
Manila Jeepney
2013
 2015
Manila Nomads
a
1914
 2012–2013, 2016
Mendiola
1991
 2010
Pachanga Diliman
1998
 2013–2015
Pasargad
1996
 2012–2014, 2016
Philippine Air Force 2010–13
Philippine Army
1960
 2010–15
Philippine Navy 2010–12
Stallion
2001
 2012–2016
Team Socceroo
2005
 2014–2015
Union Internacional Manila
2001
 2010

a: Founding member of the United Football League
b: Never relegated to UFL Division 2 c: Merged with Philippine Army in 2014

Division 2
Further information: UFL Division 2

Venues

The following were the primary venues used in the United Football League:

Manila Taguig Makati
Rizal Memorial Football Stadium
Emperador Stadium
 University of Makati Stadium
Capacity: 12,873[55] Capacity: 2,000[56] Capacity: 4,000[57][58]

Players

Eligibility of foreign players

Starting the

Manila Nomads had to voluntarily step down from UFL Division 1 to the second division due to the inability to comply with the foreign player rule.[12]
For the 2016 edition the foreign player cap was reduced to four from five foreign players in a playing squad of 18 players, including 7 substitutes. At least one of the four maximum allowable foreign players must be from the Asian country. This was to align to the guidelines followed at the AFC Cup and AFC Champions League. However, a club with more than 25 players was allowed to have more than four foreign players in their whole squad provided that they complied with the 4-player foreign player limit rule during match day.[60]

Honors

Golden Ball award

The UFL Golden Ball Award was the league's equivalent for the

Pachanga, on the other hand, won it the same year for the second division.[61]

Year Player Position Club
2012
 Philippines Carli de Murga Midfielder
Global
2013
 Spain Rufo Sánchez Forward
Stallion
2014
 Philippines Jason de Jong Midfielder
Global
2015
Manuel Ott
 Midfielder
Ceres
2016
 Philippines Hikaru Minegishi Midfielder
Global

Golden Boot winners

The UFL Golden Boot was awarded to the

2010 season
.

Season Player Club Goals
2010
 Sudan Izzeldin El Habbib
Kaya
 14
2011
 Global 10
2012
 Philippines Phil Younghusband
Loyola Meralco Sparks
 23
2013
 Spain Rufo Sánchez
Stallion FC
 18
2014
 Philippines Mark Hartmann Global 27
2015
 Spain Adrián Gallardo
Ceres
 18
2016
 30

Best Midfielder award

Year Player Club
2016
 Philippines Matthew Hartmann Global

Best Defender award

Year Player Club
2016
 Japan Masaki Yanagawa
JP Voltes

Golden Glove trophy

The UFL Golden Glove was an annual

2014
.

Year Player Club
2012
 Iran Saba Garmaroudi
Kaya
2013
 Ivory Coast Roland Sadia Global
2014
 Global
2015
 Philippines Tomas Trigo
Loyola Meralco Sparks
2016
 Philippines Nelson Gasic
JP Voltes

For the list of UFL Division 2 honours, see here.

Media coverage

The UFL had an exclusive

TV5 announced that its blocktime agreement with IBC will not be renewed, which means that AKTV would cease broadcasting on May 31 of the same year.[62] Thus, broadcasts of the UFL were moved to AksyonTV where it was aired[63][64] until the end of the 2016 season.[54]

Official match ball

See also

References

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External links

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