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| Full name | Global Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Short name | GFC | ||
| Founded | March 2000 (as Laos F.C.)[α] | ||
| 2019 | Philippines Football League, 7th of 7 | ||
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Global Football Club was a professional football club that last played in the Philippines Football League (PFL), the top flight of Philippines' club football. The club has won four league titles, two UFL Cups, one UFL FA Cup, and one PFF National Men's Club Championship. They have participated in the AFC Cup three times.
Founded in 2000, Global FC participated in minor tournaments around Metro Manila as Laos Football Club. In 2009, after recruiting several players from the railway maintenance company APT Global, the club changed its name to Global Football Club and were one of the founding members of the United Football League (UFL). Global won the 2010 UFL Division 2 with an undefeated season, earning promotion to UFL Division 1—the de facto top-level league of Philippine football back then. They went on to win three of the seven UFL seasons (commemorated by the three stars on the club's crest)—becoming the most successful club in the league.
In 2017, the club moved to Cebu City and renamed itself to Global Cebu F.C. to participate in the Philippines Football League (PFL), which was the official top flight of Philippine football. In the PFL, the club finished as runners-up of the 2017 season and by the end of the season, Alvin Carranza became owner of Global, succeeding founder Dan Palami. However, they went through a period of decline in 2018, where they experienced financial troubles and had to forfeit or postpone some away matches; some players also complained of unpaid wages. With several key players leaving the club, and with just one win in 25 league matches, they ended the 2018 season at the bottom of the table. Mid-season, the club had another ownership change with Mark Jarvis taking over from Carranza.
In 2019, the club relocated to Makati and adopted their current name. They intended to participate in the inaugural season of the Philippine Premier League but withdrew from the league without playing a match due to various issues with the league management. They later joined the revived PFL.
In January 2020, the club reportedly underwent an ownership change with Hong Kong–based Mazinyi taking over and the club reverted its name back to Global F.C. However, player wage issues continued to hound Global with Mazinyi distancing itself from the club in August 2020, alleging it had never taken over the club from Jarvis. This led to the suspension of Global's PFF license as well as the blacklisting of the club by the Games and Amusement Board.
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