ONE of the top football clubs not just in the Philippines but also in Southeast Asia has pulled the plug on its participation in the domestic league, at least for the current season.
United City FC on Thursday announced that it has requested to be allowed to withdraw from the 2022-2023 Philippines Football League season that is set to resume this weekend.
In a statement by the Philippine Football Federation, United City cited financial reasons for their request to withdraw.
“We understand the situation affecting United City FC that forced them to withdraw from the league,” said PFF president Mariano Araneta. “We hope that the club and its management are able to bounce back from this predicament.”
In its own statement, UCFC explained that it is awaiting the outcome of the legal proceedings in Singapore against an investor of the team in Riau Capital Live (RCL), a Singapore-based real estate and sports investment entity.
United problems
United City said RCL “failed to honor the agreed final settlement deadlines earlier this month”, forcing the ballclub to discontinue its professional football team operations.
United City said it has released all of its players and staff after the first half of the 2022-2023 season, and “all but one have signed new agreements with other clubs in the Philippines and abroad.”
Despite the withdrawal, United City intends to come back for the 2023-2024 season once it has recovered its investment and settled its liabilities.
United City FC took over the management of Ceres Negros FC, winning the 2020 PFL season in its first try. It made history by becoming the first Philippine club to gain outright entry into the AFC Champions League.
Some of the notable players of the United City FC squad include Bienve Maranon and Stephan Schrock, who are also remnants of the Ceres squad.
“The Club would like to extend its tremendous gratitude to the players, staff and its management for its professional handling of this very stressful period of time during which the team still managed to win the Copa Alcantara and to finish the first half of the 2022/23 PFL season in second place and to wish everyone the very best in their respective new careers,” said UCFC, which also thanked Araneta, general secretary Edwin Gastanes, and PFL commissioner Coco Torre for their support.
“While the club has reiterated its desire to compete in future seasons, it must sort out its situation first before making their return to league action,” said Gastanes.
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