2017 Philippines Football League

Philippines Football League
Season2017
DatesMay 6 – November 28, 2017
(Regular season)
December 2 – 16, 2017
(Finals series)[1]
ChampionsCeres–Negros
1st title
AFC Champions LeagueCeres–Negros
AFC CupGlobal Cebu
Matches played118
Goals scored376 (3.19 per match)
Top goalscorerBienvenido Marañón
(22 goals)
Best goalkeeperRoland Müller
(9 clean sheets)
Biggest home winCeres–Negros 7–0 Ilocos United
(July 8)
Biggest away winMeralco Manila 0–7 Ceres–Negros
(July 15)
Highest scoringJPV Marikina 6–3 Davao Aguilas
(November 21)
Longest winning runMeralco Manila (May 6 – June 17)
JPV Marikina (May 31 – June 25)
Kaya–Makati (July 5–23)
(5 matches)
Longest unbeaten runMeralco Manila (May 6 – July 8)
(9 matches)
Longest winless runIlocos United (May 7 – Sept 17)
(19 matches)
Longest losing runIlocos United (May 13 – June 21)
Ilocos United (Sep 30 – Oct 29)
Kaya–Makati (Oct 28 – Dec 15)
(5 matches)
Highest attendance5,350
Global Cebu 1–0 Ceres–Negros
(July 5)
Lowest attendance0 (Behind closed doors)
Meralco Manila 0–0 Ceres–Negros
(November 24)
2018 →

The 2017 Philippines Football League was the inaugural season of the Philippines Football League (PFL), the professional football league of the Philippines.[2] The league was officially launched on April 21, 2017, at Shangri-La at the Fort in Taguig, while the first match of the season was played on May 6.[3] The PFL replaced the Metro Manila-based United Football League (UFL), which served as the country's de facto top-level football league from 2009 to 2016.[4] The league was made up of 8 clubs: 6 from the UFL (Ceres, Global, JP Voltes, Kaya, Loyola Meralco Sparks, and Stallion) and 2 expansion teams (Davao Aguilas and Ilocos United). Each club played the others four times (a home-and-away quadruple round-robin format), twice at their home ground and twice at that of their opponents', for 28 games. The teams that finished the season in the top four entered a playoff tournament to determine the league's champion.[5][6]

The 2017 season was the only PFL season to feature a playoff finals. The top four teams of the league's regular season, which concluded on November 28, progressed to the playoff finals, dubbed as the Finals Series. The Finals Series was held between December 2 and 16 and consisted of a two-legged semifinals, a third-place playoff, and the final match.[7] The final took place on December 16 at the Panaad Stadium in Bacolod, between Ceres–Negros and Global Cebu. Ceres–Negros won the match 4–1 and became the first club to win the PFL title.[8]

  1. ^ [philippinesfootballleague.com/new/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/PFL-Calendar-2017-as-of-May-13-2017-1.pdf PFL Calendar]
  2. ^ "Ceres FC ready to apply for PFL license". The Visayan Daily Star. October 15, 2016. Archived from the original on October 18, 2016. Retrieved October 16, 2016.
  3. ^ Jacinto, Christian (April 22, 2017). "Finally, a national league for the Philippines after launch of PFL". Sport Interactive Network Philippines. Archived from the original on July 23, 2019. Retrieved April 22, 2017.
  4. ^ Reyes, Jaelle Nevin (September 8, 2016). "UFL, PFF to cooperate in creating pro league". The Manila Times. Archived from the original on October 19, 2019. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference kickoff8 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Guerrero, Bob (May 4, 2017). "Philippines Football League previews: Ceres, Aguilas, Global, and Ilocos United". Rappler. Archived from the original on March 27, 2019. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
  7. ^ "PFL Finals Series Cast Finalized". Philippine Football Federation. November 29, 2017. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
  8. ^ Alison, Mars (December 17, 2017). "Ceres overpowers Global 4-1 to win inaugural PFL title". Rappler. Archived from the original on October 19, 2019. Retrieved October 19, 2019.