Philippine Football League

[rhk111]

The PFL games on Sunday, June 23, 2017. Any Davao home game is very much worth watching.

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[rhk111]

Stallion Forces Draw on Leader Meralco

By: Cedelf P. Tupas - Reporter / @cedelfptINQ
Philippine Daily Inquirer / 01:19 AM June 25, 2017

FC Meralco Manila dropped points for the second straight match after the Sparks were held to a 1-1 stalemate by a gritty Stallion Laguna side Saturday night in the Philippines Football League at Rizal Memorial Stadium.

Playing their third game in eight days, the Sparks ran out of steam after a strong start, allowing Stallion substitute Jess Melliza to equalize at the hour-mark for a second consecutive draw.

(Article intentionally cut, to read more go to: http://sports.inquirer.net/253470/st...leader-meralco)

[rhk111]

Ceres Negros FC hosts the Laguna Stallions FC in Panaad while the Davao Aguilas FC hosts Global Cebu FC in Davao del Norte, all on Wednesday, June 28, 2017.

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[reamily]

Seems like the downfall of phil football continues...

They never recovered after that controversy, moral is you can harass somebody except a Pressidents daughter called social justice..

[Silent Killer]

Seems like the downfall of phil football continues...

They never recovered after that controversy, moral is you can harass somebody except a Pressidents daughter called social justice..

what controversy?

[mangangalakal]

what controversy?

The sexual harassment case filed by FVR's daughter against some Azkal players.

[Silent Killer]

The sexual harassment case filed by FVR's daughter against some Azkal players.

aww. that was 3-4 years ago na un..

[rhk111]

It's not just the Sexual Harassment case, there are also a lot of other things. One is the crab mentality of some sports, not necessarily Basketball but those Dragon Boat teams who kept saying how they were winning Gold medals daw without government support while Fil-Foreigners weren't doing the same.

The truth of the matter is that the Azkals also get very little government support ... But a LOT of support from FIFA. FIFA is very rich because almost all countries in the world play Football, including the richest countries in the world in Europe and the Middle East.

Then there is the nature of the sport itself. Filipinos prefer INDOOR sports where they can relax in a weatherproof and comfortable environment than in an outdoor sport like Football. That is why aside from Basketball, the other sports that are doing well are MMA and Volleyball, both of which are indoor sports.

With Football, it is too hot in the summer, and too wet in the rainy season. Plus you have games being delayed or cancelled because of heavy rains or whenever strong lightning is around. I think that Philippine clubs need to start thinking about making Indoor Football Stadiums also to compete with that. If the American Football Clubs can do it, then Football clubs should be able to do it also.

Then there is the unrealistic and failed expectations also. Back in 2010, I really thought that if guys like Phil had a chance to play in the English Premier League, then our team should be good enough to get into the World Cup since they are all from Europe.

Alas, that was not true. Hence from thereon was the slow decline of Football. Football can still be very popular ... But only in select areas around the country. Cebu, Tagum and Negros have very strong followings, but the problem is how to make a feasible business model out of that.

If it were me, I would start with the Indoor Football Stadiums. It may look strange to some countries, but heck, that's what works here in the Philippines.

[rhk111]

A great crowd in Cebu for Global-Cebu FC's first home game. Sadly you won't see crowds like these cheering for a Club Football game in the NCR anymore. You have to go south to find the fans like in Negros and Tagum.

The football clubs will have to find where the fans are, and right now they can only be found in the rural areas of the country. Now whether a feasible business model can be made out of that for Football remains to be seen.

https://www.facebook.com/globalfootb...6783812696056/

[rhk111]

Global-Cebu FC managed to attract over 5,000 fans for their first home game despite the fact that the event was not free, it was a paid admission game.

***************

Limpag: Cebu Sets History in PHL Club Football

Friday, July 07, 2017 By MIKE T. LIMPAG
FAIR PLAY

SCALPERS. There were actually scalpers during Wednesday’s home game of Global Cebu FC in the Philippines Football League. That how brisk the sales of the ticket was. A day earlier, getting hold of a VIP ticket was next to impossible.

That showed how eager the local Cebu community was to see Global take on Ceres FC. So much fuss has been given on the state of the field but I like what coach Marjon Allado said. “We just focused on the game, not on the field...”

The official crowd count was 5,350, and that’s the biggest crowd so far in a club football match in Cebu.

There seems to be a misconception that the Cebu Football Association owns the pitch and that it is a football-only venue. Nope, Cebu City owns the Cebu City Sports Center and it wasn’t built to host football games, but the Palarong Pambansa. It’s also the go-to venue for fun runs, field demos, sportsfest, concerts even and of course, the annual Sinulog.

(Article intentionally cut, to read more go to: http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/sport...ootball-551690)

[rhk111]

Probably the very first Bicycle Kick that resulted in a goal that was caught in video in the entire history of Football in the Philippines.

And look at that large, animated crowd in Cebu ...

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1600...1393847835552/

[rhk111]

A tale of contrasting outcomes for two popular PFL teams. Global-Cebu FC treated their large hometown crowd to a rout of the Laguna Stallions, but the Davao Aguilas FC disappointed their own large hometown crowd by being routed by the visiting Kaya FC team.

I hope the Aguilas will be able to build up a stronger, more deserving team in the coming Transfer Window (I am assuming there is still an upcoming one).

****************

Global, Kaya Give Selves Boost with PFL Wins

Posted on July 11, 2017

GLOBAL Cebu FC and Kaya FC-Makati made it a winning Sunday in the Philippines Football League (PFL), defeating their respective opponents to pad their spots in the standings.

Global, playing on its home field of Cebu City Sports Complex for the second straight time, was a 3-0 winner over Stallion Laguna FC on Sunday night while earlier in the day Kaya downed host San Miguel Davao Aguilas FC, 5-1, in Tagum.

In front of its home town crowd for the second time, Global gave their fans another reason to celebrate as it stepped up its game in the second half to dispatch Stallion and earned full three points to move it to solo second place with a 6-2-2 record and 20 points.

It dislodged erstwhile second-running JPV Marikina FC (6-0-3) at 18 points and is now three points behind league-leading FC Meralco Manila (7-2-0).

After being held to a goalless tie in the opening half by visiting Stallion, Global cranked things up in the second fold of the contest with veteran Misagh Bahadoran leading the charge.

The Philippine Azkals member Bahadoran broke the stalemate in the 49th minute after beating Stallion goalkeeper Benito Rosalla, Jr. inside the box to give his team the 1-0 lead, sending the 5,000 or so Global fans in the venue into celebration.

Mr. Bahadoran then added another goal in the 67th minute when he followed up on teammate Shu Sasaki’s foiled lob to make it to 2-0 for the host team.

While his first jab at scoring was stopped by the Stallion defense, Mr. Sasaki redeemed himself in the 86th minute with a goal off an impressive and rare bicycle kick to complete the shutout of Laguna.

With the loss, Stallion (0-3-7) remains winless 10 games to date in the national football league and currently sits on seventh place in the eight-team field with three points.

BACK-TO-BACK WINS
After encountering a rough patch previously, Kaya, meanwhile, has won back-to-back games with its conquest of the Aguilas.

The win was in follow up to its prior win over Stallion, 3-1, in Biñan and thrust Kaya (5-2-3) back inside the top four of the standings with 17 points.

(Article intentionally cut, to read more go to: http://www.bworldonline.com/content....wins&id=148013)

[rhk111]

"Red Card TV's" nice feature on the Global Cebu vs. Ceres Negros match a couple of weeks ago.

"Red Card TV" goes around various Club Football games in Asia to watch the games.

[rhk111]

Another good coverage of Global Cebu FC's home game against Ceres Negros FC

[rhk111]

A good view of Manila in Meralco Manila FC's home game against JPV Marikina FC. It's really too bad Football can't draw the big crowds anymore in Manila, you have to go to the provinces for that. Or if you build indoor Football Pitches in Manila maybe.