2021 Philippines Football League
| Season | 2021 |
|---|---|
| Dates | July 17, 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 not be held for a second time after it was cancelled the previous season.[2] Although there were plans to hold the cup tournament in April prior to the start of the league.[3]
The 2021 season is planned to commence as early as June[3] 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.[4] As of March 2021, Loyola and Laos are currently completing their licensing requirements. Also in March of 2021, it was announced that a third club from Cebu was already in the process of procuring its licensing documents, making for a 9-team league, the most in the league's history.[5] The league will kick off on July 17, 2021[2] to give room for teams that will participate in both the 2021 AFC Cup and 2021 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
|
TBA | 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 |  Jason Withe[6]
|
Stephan Schröck
|
Montè Athletics
|
Manila Regenerative Center Midas Magnesium Gatorade |
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[7]
|
Daizo Horikoshi[7]
|
Masanari Omura[7]
|
Ryo Fujii
|
 Emmanuel Osei
|
| Maharlika Manila |  Joaco Cañas
|
 Kim Sung-min
|
 Serge Kaole
|
Henri Bandeken
|
|
| Mendiola 1991 | Souleyman Ndepe
|
 Hamed Hajimehdi
|
 Dini Ouattara
|
Stephen Appiah
| |
| Stallion Laguna |  Ricardo Sendra
|
 Ibrahima Ndour
|
Abou Sy
|
||
| United City | Bienvenido Marañón[8]
|
 Jonny Campbell
|
Jung Da-hwon
|
 Jai Ingham
|
Takashi Odawara Robert Lopez Mendy
|
References
- ^ a b Leyba, Olmin (January 2, 2021). "Expanded cast expected in next PFL tourney". The Philippine Star. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
- ^ a b Terrado, Reuben (March 27, 2021). "Copa Paulino Alcantara canceled as PFL looks to open new season in July". Sports Interactive Network Philippines. Retrieved March 27, 2021.
- ^ a b "PFL eyes 2021 opening in April with Copa Paulino Alcantara". Sports Interactive Network Philippines. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
- ^ Suyu, Ian (February 11, 2021). "2 teams to join PFL". Daily Tribune. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
- ^ Suyu, Ian (March 14, 2021). "PFL welcomes new team". Daily Tribune. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
- ^ del Carmen, Lorenzo (March 31, 2021). "United City taps English coach Jason Withe". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved March 31, 2021.
- ^ a b c "Kaya FC-Iloilo's 2021 Squad is Taking Shape – Kaya FC–Iloilo". Kaya F.C. March 11, 2021. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
- ^ Masoy, Niel Victor (March 13, 2021). "Schrock, Marañon stay with United City – The Manila Times". Manila Times. Retrieved March 13, 2021.