Philippines

Origins

Following the success of the Philippines national team in the 2010 AFF Championship, Philippines football experienced a renaissance. With no existing national football league, the United Football League (UFL) established itself as the de facto top-tier league in the Philippines. Under the guidance of the Football Alliance (FA) in partnership with United Football Clubs Association (UFCA), the UFL flourished. However, the PFF expressed the need to have a nationwide, community-based football league that is at par with the standards set by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The UFL, which was under the National Capital Region Football Association, could not be considered as a national league.

Foundations

With the goal of establishing a truly nationwide professional football league in the Philippines, the PFF launched National League Task Force on December 2, 2013. The task force was led by PFF president Mariano Araneta Jr. and general secretary Edwin Gastanes, also composing of Filipino economist Bernie Villegas, UFL president Randy Roxas, AFC deputy general secretary and competition director Dato' Windsor John, Filipino FIFA official Domeka Garamendi, AFC kick-off program director Yogesh Desai, UFL commissioner Bonnie Ladrido, ABS-CBN's Dino Laurena, former PFF general secretary Cyril Dofitas and Gelix Mercader. The task force was tasked to do market research studies to determine the possible cities or regions where participating football clubs could be feasibly based, as well as assisting clubs in the Philippines to conform to the PFF club licensing regulations, of which the draft was initiated by Gastanes, with guidance from AFC. The PFF initially set a goal to launch the national league in two to three years from the inception of the task force. Singaporean sports marketing agency Red Card Group, led by former Singaporean international, R. Sasikumar, assisted the PFF in the initial stages of planning.

Nielsen study

Nielsen was tasked by PFF, through funding from FIFA and AFC to conduct a study in 2015, where they identified 13 key localities throughout the Philippines as viable home venues for participating clubs in the PFL. Among the factors considered were existing infrastructures, accessibility, capacity of fans to pay, the existence of sponsors, and fan appreciation of the sport. "Philippines Football League" was the most-preferred name for a prospective league according to a survey which covered interviews of 5,000 people nationwide. Other choices included "P-League", "Maharlika League" (inspired by a feudal warrior class existing in the Luzon region during the pre-colonial era), "Liga Pilipina", and "Philippine Premier League".

Launch

The Philippines Football League was officially announced on September 7, 2016, and would be replacing the UFL as the Philippines' top-tier football league.

At least six clubs from all over the Philippines planned to be part of the PFL, with clubs from the UFL invited to join. Clubs were given until December 2016 to formally apply to join the PFL. The league competition was slated to begin in either the late March or early April 2017. By April 1, the PFF confirmed the participation of 8 clubs from - Ilocos United and Stallion Laguna from Luzon; JPV Marikina, Kaya–Makati (now Kaya–Iloilo) and Meralco Manila (now Loyola) from Metro Manila; Ceres–Negros (now United City) and Global Cebu (now Global FC) from the Visayas; Davao Aguilas from Mindanao. The official launching of the PFL happened on April 21, 2017, at the Shangri-La at the Fort in Taguig. The program was started by economist and PFL Task Force Chairman, Bernardo Villegas and ended by PFF President Mariano Araneta.

2017 and 2018 seasons

The inaugural season in 2017 was contested by eight clubs and had two stages; the regular season and a playoff competition. The regular season adopted a home-and-away, double round-robin format. The top four teams in the regular season advanced to the play-off round, dubbed as the "Final Series", to determine the champions of the league. Ceres-Negros won the inaugural league title.

For the second season, the Final Series was scrapped due to the introduction of the Copa Paulino Alcantara, the cup competition for the league. The number of clubs in the league was reduced from eight to six after the departure of Ilocos United (then converted to a grassroots association) and FC Meralco Manila (that stayed active on a youth level ever since), both due to lack of investment and sponsorship, while Kaya-Makati F.C. relocated to Iloilo City and changed their name accordingly. Ceres-Negros won their second title.

Replacement by the Philippine Premier League

In late-2018, Triple CH led by Thailand-based Filipino businessman Bernie Sumayao became involved in the league and has entered talks with PFF chairman Mariano Araneta. He was appointed as the league's new commissioner. Sumayao pledged to institute financial and structural reforms in the league; including a rebrand of the league to the "Philippine Premier League" (PPL) starting the 2019 season, more favorable sponsorship policies, and the disestablishment of the franchise fee in favor of a less expensive registration fee for clubs.

At least eight teams were projected to play in the PPL's inaugural season. However, the end of the 2017 season also saw the departure of a third club in the league's history, Davao Aguilas Despite this, the league has received applications from several new clubs aspiring to join the PFL.