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    PFF holds Copa Paulino Alcantara in lieu of PFL 2021 season

    PFF explains decision behind PFL 2021 season cancellation
    Oct 27, 2021
    Kaya FC
    PHOTO: PFL

    THE Philippine Football Federation said the Copa Paulino Alcantara will be held on November 7 instead of the Philippines Football League 2021 season which has been cancelled.

    PFL commissioner Coco Torre has already informed the clubs as well as title sponsor Qatar Airways about the cancellation of the league, assuring that the 2022 season will be held in the first quarter of next year.

    In lieu of the league will be Copa Paulino Alcantara, the competition named after the Filipino football legend, which was not held last year. It will be held at the PFF National Training Center in Carmona, Cavite.

    The competition will be held from November 7 to 19.

    Why was PFL 2021 cancelled?

    “As much as we would have wanted to stage the PFL season, certain key conditions were not met, which forced us to defer the league season for next year,” said PFF president Mariano Araneta. “In its place, the PFF will stage the Copa Paulino Alcantara. We are one with the fans who miss football being played in the country during this pandemic.”

    PFL officials

    “The staging of the Cup is PFF’s commitment to provide a proper and intense football competition, and livelihood to all stakeholders, particularly the players and officials,” added PFF general secretary Edwin Gastanes. “With Cavite slowly easing their quarantine restrictions, and the reaffirmation from the clubs to compete in the Cup, we expect a thrilling competition.”

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    The Copa will have the six teams bracketed into two groups with the top two teams advancing to the knockout phase, and the third-placed clubs in each group squaring off in the Plate.

    The winners of the semifinal will clash in the final match, while the losers will figure in the third-place playoff.

    The Cup will be under a closed-circuit biomedical bubble, with the clubs required to arrange their own accommodation in accordance with the health and safety protocols.

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      “The Copa is a viable competition for clubs to remain physically and mentally active during these trying times while adhering to the health and safety protocols,” said Torre.

      “The competition will provide healthy and compelling rivalries and at the same time will determine clubs’ performance on sporting merit.”

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      PHOTO: PFL
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