The Philippines Football Federation (PFF) have revamped the top flight football in the country to the Philippines Premier League (PPL) in an effort to boost the game.
“The PPL is a new entity, it’s a rebirth, it’s a reboot,” said PPL commissioner Bernie Sumayao of the league which is slated to start at the end of March this year.
“We don’t have any political agenda, we don’t have any financial agenda. Our agenda is to be able to reach the same level as what we see around today – that means the other leagues around the region.”
The league will utilise the triple round-robin format to maximise match play – in accordance with the AFC ruling of having a club play minimum of 25 matches in a season to qualify for the AFC Cup.
The PPL will also retain the Copa Paulino Alcantara where teams will be divided into two groups and the finalists will face each other for a slot in the AFC Cup.
A total of eleven clubs have signified interest and they include the now defunct Philippines Football League (PFL) champion Ceres Negros, inaugural Copa Paulino Alcantara titlist Kaya-Iloilo, Stallion Laguna, Green Archers United Globe and Philippine Air Force.
