Philippines
United City are crowned champions of the 2020 Philippines Football League as the sport continues to battle for relevance
JOHN DUERDEN
The 2020 Philippines Football League (PFL) was a sprint not a marathon with the season starting on October 28 and ending on November 9. Each of the six teams played each other once to give a total of five games, far fewer than the 24 that took place in 2019. In the end United City ended up as champions, collecting 12 points to finish above Kaya-Iloilo and book a place in the play-offs for the 2021 AFC Champions League.
Fans should be happy a league took place at all. The Philippines is the only country in Southeast Asia where football is not the number one sport. This presents long-term challenges in growing the game in this former American colony which has long preferred “The Three Bs” - basketball, billiards and boxing. It also made the global pandemic especially dangerous for the Philippines which does not yet have the deep football foundations of neighbours such as Thailand, Malaysia and others. What is of immediate concern looking ahead to 2021 is the number of teams in the league that has fallen from eight when the league started in 2017 to six in 2020 with founder members such as Davao Aguilas, Ilocos United and Meralco Manila falling by the wayside.
They had been there at the start when the PFL replaced the United Football League. The old competition was concentrated mainly around Manila, but the capital is not a hotbed of the game in the country, and it was hoped that taking the game to more football-friendly provinces in this sprawling archipelago would give it a boost.
There have been encouraging signs. The national team, once the whipping boys of Southeast Asia, have made great strides over the past decade and
qualified for the 2019 Asian Cup for the first time. The country’s clubs have also done well at the AFC Cup, the continent’s version of the Europa League that is reserved for “developing nations” but the league still struggled to make headlines at home.
In March, Green Archers United decided to withdraw after just one season, saying they had not received the publicity they would have liked. “We were hopeful that the media coverage promised in the 2019 Philippines Premier League PPL/PFL season would materialize,” the club said. “Unfortunately, this did not happen and has put in question the viability and sustainability of fielding a team and participating this year.” The Archers will still be involved in football and youth development but were stepping back from the frontline.
Another blow came ahead of the season. Global Cebu, with four titles from 2010 to 2016, finished bottom in 2019 and had their licence revoked from the country’s Games and Amusements Board after failing to pay players and staff.
Had the Azkals Development Team not been added for 2020 then there would have been just five teams and probably no season at all meaning that the youngsters were more than welcome. This catchilytitled club (“Azkals” is a term meaning “streetdog” and is a widely-used nickname for the national team) was led by Sheffield-born Scott Cooper, who worked at Chester City and Leicester City before making a name for himself in
Thailand, the Philippines and
Indonesia. The kids did alright, collecting nine points from their five games, conceding just two and finishing in third place.
The football on the pitch has been encouraging but other issues always loom. If making waves in the media is tough, then so is attracting corporate support. It means that the league was fortunate to tie up a three-year deal with Qatar Airways at the end of 2019 just before the onset of coronavirus. Financial details were not released but the company has still been paying out despite the lack of games. The investment has been crucial.
More is needed as the league’s commissioner Coco Torre knows. “The dynamics have always been shifting, and we are putting together the best longterm strategic plan for us to move forward,” Torre said. “If we want a more competitive and exciting league, we need more clubs as it would also mean league stability. Football in the country is still developing, that’s why we need to raise awareness, build brand equity through a good product, and entice more sponsors to the sport.”
That is the ideal solution. The Philippines football scene is one of the friendliest in Asia and deserves a wider audience. That remains to be seen but at least there should be more games in 2021.
The football on the pitch has been encouraging but other issues always loom. If making waves in the media is tough, then so is attracting corporate support