2021 Philippines Football League
| Season | 2021 |
|---|---|
| Dates | July 2021 |
← 2020 2022 → | |
The 2021 Philippines Football League, also known as The Philippines Football League brought to you by Qatar Airways, due to the league's title sponsorship of Qatar Airways, will be the fifth season of the Philippines Football League (PFL), the professional football league of the Philippines.
It is yet to be determined if the 2021 season will be still held under a bubble format, like in the previous season due to the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic situation.[1] The league's cup tournament, the Copa Paulino Alcantara will be organized in April prior to the start of the league after it was not held in 2020, also due to the pandemic.[2]
The 2021 season is planned to commence as early as June[2] with two or three potential expansion clubs.[1] Two of these clubs are Loyola (which was among the founding clubs of the PFL as Meralco Manila) and Laos.[3] It has now moved to July to give room for teams that will participate in both the AFC Cup and AFC Champions league.
Teams
Personnel and kits
| Team | Head coach | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt partner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Azkals Development Team |  Scott Cooper
|
 Marvin Angeles
|
LGR
|
Alphaland Corporation Stream Mobile |
| Kaya–Iloilo |  Yu Hoshide
|
Jovin Bedic
|
LGR
|
LBC Fitness First |
| Maharlika Manila | Roxy Dorlas
|
Jerry Barbaso
|
Gameville Sportswear
|
Philam Life Reparil Ice-Spray Arepa Nootropics |
| Mendiola 1991 | Dan Padernal
|
Ashley Flores
|
 FAT
|
Penson and Company Focus Athletics |
| Stallion Laguna | Ernest Nierras
|
Ruben Doctora
|
Cutz Apparel
|
Giligan's Restaurant Pi Tracer Airlock389 |
| United City | Frank Muescan[4]
|
Stephan Schröck
|
Montè Athletics
|
Manila Regenerative Center Midas Magnesium Gatorade |
| Cebu United |
Foreign players
A maximum of four foreigners are allowed per club which follows the Asian Football Confederation's (AFC) '3+1 rule'; three players of any nationality and a fourth coming from an AFC member nation.
| Club | Players | Former Players | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Azkals Development Team | None | ||||
| Kaya–Iloilo |  Carlyle Mitchell[5]
|
Daizo Horikoshi[5]
|
Masanari Omura[5]
|
 Emmanuel Osei
| |
| Maharlika Manila |  Joaquin Cañas
|
 Kim Sung-min
|
 Serge Kaole
|
Henry Bandeken
|
|
| Mendiola 1991 | Souleyman Ndepe
|
 Hamed Hajimehdi
|
 Dini Ouattara
|
Stephen Appiah
| |
| Stallion Laguna |  Ricardo Sendra
|
 Ibrahima Ndour
|
Abou Sy
|
||
| United City | Bienvenido Marañón[6]
|
 Jonny Campbell
|
Jung Da-hwon
|
 Jai Ingham
|
Takashi Odawara Robert Lopez Mendy
|
| Cebu United | |||||
References
- ^ a b Leyba, Olmin (January 2, 2021). "Expanded cast expected in next PFL tourney". The Philippine Star. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
- ^ a b "PFL eyes 2021 opening in April with Copa Paulino Alcantara". Sports Interactive Network Philippines. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
- ^ Suyu, Ian (11 February 2021). "2 teams to join PFL". Daily Tribune. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
- ^ "UCFC 1st Team Structure". Facebook. United City Football Club. 22 March 2021. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
- ^ a b c "Kaya FC-Iloilo's 2021 Squad is Taking Shape – Kaya FC–Iloilo". Kaya F.C. 11 March 2021. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
- ^ Masoy, Niel Victor (13 March 2021). "Schrock, Marañon stay with United City – The Manila Times". Manila Times. Retrieved 13 March 2021.