At long last, the reigning Philippines Football League champions United City will have a home base to call their own — with a new name to boot.
United City Football Club announced Monday afternoon that it will move to New Clark City. The club will also become ‘United Clark’ after the upcoming 2021 PFL tournament.
“This is a historic day for all of us within the organization, as we are finally able to announce New Clark City as our permanent home. This has been in the works for several months, and we would like to thank Vince Dizon, President and CEO of BCDA (Base Conversion and Development Authority); and his team for their support in bringing professional football to the Province of Pampanga and New Clark City,” stated Eric Gottschalk, President and Co-Founder of United City.
“Our move to Pampanga has a lot to do with the already existing sports mentality within the community, especially the love for football. And since the PBA has no foothold in Clark, UCFC will be the only professional sports franchise in the province.”
This development has been a long time coming for United City. It is the only PFL club — not counting the Azkals Development Team — that has no local venue, after the current owner purchased the legendary Ceres-Negros Football Club from benefactor Leo Rey Yanson. Alongside moving the team into its new home, Gottschalk and his partners have other initiatives to undertake.
Considering the investment by the team’s management to retain and sign top talent, this is an impressive plan. It also shows the club is rebuilding from top to bottom.
“Our community work will start right away with many plans already developed. The UCFC football academy will take shape before the end of 2021, and we continue to finalize the location for our future football stadium,” furthered the Dubai-based businessman.
“We have already identified a prime location, and we are just waiting to complete the paperwork before the plot will also be announced. In the meantime, the newly-built 20,000-seater athletics stadium will serve as our home venue, with our inaugural friendly match planned for early August.”
United City is currently in Dubai to prepare for its upcoming 2021 AFC Champions League campaign. This tournament will be one of the last time the team uses the current branding, as it will retire the name in line with the club’s ambitious goals.
“We are very excited to move our entire operation to New Clark City slowly and to start building our local fan base. To demonstrate our full commitment to the region, we will undergo a final name change following the 2021 PFL season. We will replace ‘City’ in our crest with ‘Clark’ and from then onwards will be known only as United Clark Football Club (UCFC).”
