Filipino fans have local football to turn to starting next February as the dawn of a new United Football League season looms large.
The UFL Cup will start on Saturday, February 6, 2016 at the Rizal Memorial Stadium. As per a press release from the official UFL website, the 2016 season will begin with the Cup rather than the league proper.
Twelve teams will participate in the UFL Cup, of which two groups with six teams each have been stipulated. Current holders Kaya FC headline Group A. Group A will also feature Stallion FC; newly promoted clubs Laos FC and JP Voltes FC; and UFL Division 2 sides Forza FC and Agila FC.
On the other hand, Group B looks a trickier group than Group A. UFL champions and Cup finalists Ceres-La Salle FC join the likes of Loyola Meralco Sparks FC, Global FC, and Green Archers United FC in Group B. UFL Division 2 teams Pasargad FC and Nomads FC round out the group.
The fixtures for the first two matchdays were announced moments after the groups were drawn, on the UFL’s official Twitter account. February 6, 2016 (Saturday) will have Forza vs Agila, Pasargad vs Global, and JP Voltes vs Laos. The next day, February 7, 2016 (Sunday), will be another triple header consisting of Nomads vs Archers, Kaya vs Stallion and Loyola vs Ceres-LaSalle. The time of the games are yet to be announced.
The team which wins the UFL Cup will earn a ticket to the Asian Football Confederation Cup.
Other things to note are that the UFL has adopted the AFC rule which limits the use of foreign players, and have priced tickets at P100 for spectators. Students, senior citizens, and persons with disabilities can watch the games in Rizal Memorial for free.
