The 2016 United Football League All-Star Weekend is set to kickoff this Saturday, July 23 at the Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila.
Last season’s UFL All-Star Weekend saw Negros Occidental defeat Iloilo with a score of 5-3 in the Western Visayas Classic after current Loyola Meralco Sparks Football Club striker Gerardo Valmayor scored a hattrick for the former. Afterwards, the Simon McMenemy-coached Rest of the World All-Stars defeated the All-Filipino All-Stars, 5-4, in what was the main event of the evening.
Similar to the previous year, there will be two games in the UFL All-Star Weekend. The 1:00PM game will see UFL Philippines take on UFL Rest of the World while the 3:30PM fixture shall see the UFL All-Stars vs Australian A-League club Perth Glory Football Club. The three UFL-affiliated lineups have 18 players each while Perth Glory has 22.
Stallions FC head coach Ernie Nierras will handle the UFL Philippines side composed of All-Filipino lineup. Notable players in this squad are Nate Alquiros (Stallions), OJ Clarino (Global) and Jhan-Jhan Meliza (Green Archers United).
On the other hand, Global mentor Leigh Manson will instruct the UFL Rest of the World team where foreign players such as Alfred Osei (Kaya), Takumi Uesator (JP Voltes) and William Ebanda (Green Archers United) were selected.
For the main event game, a mixture of foreign and Filipino UFL players make up the UFL All-Stars team. Simon McMenemy will take charge of this selection which includes the likes of former national team captain Aly Borromeo (Kaya), Jason De Jong (Meralco) and UAAP Season 78 MVP Daniel Gadia (Meralco).
Up against the UFL All-Stars are Australia A-League fifth-placers Perth Glory. Kenny Lowe is the current head coach of the team which includes Australian internationally-capped players Adam Taggart, Josh Risdon and Richard Garcia.
Admission for both games is free and the Rizal Memorial gates will open at 12:00nn.
Cover photo by UFL Images
