New relegation system headlines changes in UFL 2013

The 2013 UFL season that kicks off on Tuesday, February 5, will have new players, some boosted line-ups, a home pitch in MicKinley Hill in Taguig City, a revamped relegation system, and possibly some provincial sorties, Football Alliance (FA) officials said on Thursday, during the press conference in Tomas Morato, Quezon City. “The quality of [Philippine] football has really improved not just because of the foreign players, but by allowing more local talent," FA chairman Santi Araneta. Araneta added that the emergence of Stallion FC, now backed by Sta. Lucia Realty, as new UFL Cup champion is a good indicator of the improvements in local football. “There is no dominant team,” Araneta noted of the new team rosters. Some of the changes involve Pasargad, now known as PSG, which signed up Fil-American CD Harris and Fil-Belgian Angelo Marasigan to further boost its roster of mostly Iranian players. PSG will also have Josh Boone and for goalkeeper, Kenneth Delloso. All in all, they could have up to nine new players, in addition to two more from Mendiola FC. Brian Reid from Scotland will take the coaching reins for Global FC, which is expected to be the most affected when it would have to release its national team players for when the Azkals compete overseas, later in the year. Matthew Hartmann returns to the Loyola Meralco Sparks roster after having served out the one-year suspension the Philippine Football Federation meted out last year. The team has also tapped former national team striker Freddy Gonzales. [Related: UFL releases list of dropped players] Philippine Air Force coach Sgt. Edzel Bracamonte confirmed that they have new players who used to be with Stallion FC, but added that four to six players will not be seeing action because they have to attend full-time to required military training. The other military squad, Philippine Army, will have to rely on its all-Filipino line-up, said Major Patricio Bumidang Jr. While they will be at a "disadvantage" due to their inability to acquire foreign players, they can at least rely on their cohesiveness from many years of playing together. New rule The promotion-relegation mechanism, according to FA operations director Richard Gannaban, will have a new rule that will forge a playoff between the ninth placer in the first division and the second placer in the second division. The two teams will have a home-and-away playoff, where if the first division side wins, that club stays in the first division, while if the second division team triumphs, that club swaps places with their defeated opponent. Gannaban clarified that while the McKinley pitch is ready, some facilities and structures have yet to be available and so the initial games may still have to be played elsewhere. He also said the FA is in talks with the football associations in Cebu and Negros on possible games in their areas. In anticipation of more hosting offers from other provincial areas, Gannaban said the FA is developing a set of standards by which offers to host games will be evaluated. - AMD, GMA News