 | |
| Organiser(s) | Philippine Football Federation |
|---|---|
| Founded | March 2018; 7 years ago (2018-03) |
| Region | Philippines |
| Teams | Various |
| Qualifier for | AFC Champions League Two |
| Current champions | Kaya–Iloilo (3rd title) |
| Most championships | Kaya–Iloilo (3 titles) |
| Broadcaster(s) | PFL (Facebook andYouTubelive stream) |
 2023 Copa Paulino Alcantara | |
TheCopa Paulino Alcantara,[1] also known as thePFL Cup, is afootball tournament in thePhilippines, organized by thePhilippine Football Federation (PFF). It is contested by the clubs of thePhilippines Football League (PFL), along with guest clubs. Participating clubs play in around-robin group stage followed by aknockout phase and concluded by a final. Until 2023, winners would qualify for the following season'sAFC Champions League qualifying play-offs preliminary round; failure to advance to the AFC Champions League group stage would have transferred them to theAFC Cup.
The cup's first edition was held in2018. It was established as the country'sdomestic cup and is named afterPaulino Alcántara, a Filipino-Spanish footballer who notably played in the 1910s–20s forFC Barcelona as well as the Philippines and Spain national teams.
The most successful club isKaya–Iloilo with three titles, followed byUnited City with two. Kaya–Iloilo are the current champions, defeating the Davao Aguilas in the2023 final. Kaya–Iloilo have also appeared in every final since the cup's inaugural edition.
Following thePhilippines national team's best record so far in the2010 AFF Championship, football in the Philippines experienced a renaissance. However, the country had no true national league nor a cup competition (the national cup competition was last held in 2007, to celebrate the Philippine Football Federation'scentennial[2]). To help address this issue,Smart Communications in January 2011, approached the PFF with an offer to finance a new local football competition. The proposed partnership was set to last 10 years, with Smart releasing₱80 million in funds with the aim of providing more playing opportunities for skilled football players, and the eventual creation of a national league.[3][2] Newly installed PFF presidentMariano Araneta subsequently approved the proposal. In March 2011, the new tournament commenced under the namePFF–Smart National Men's Club Championship.[2] However,the competition only lasted for four years, with the last edition being held in2014–15.
After the PFF announced the creation of a new national league, the federation confirmed that a new domestic cup competition was also to be formed.[4] The proposed competition was tentatively named as the PFL Cup, but was ultimately changed into "Copa Paulino Alcantara" in March 2018, in commemoration of theFC Barcelona legendPaulino Alcántara who also represented the Philippines national team.[1] It was planned that the cup will be held simultaneously with thePhilippines Football League (PFL) regular season. However, in the PFL's inaugural season in 2017, the cup was not played. Instead, a playoff for the top teams of the regular season, called the Finals Series, was held in its place.Ceres–Negros won the only edition of the Finals Series.
During the2018 PFL season, the league announced in February that the cup competition will proceed, but instead of taking place in the middle of the regular season, it was set to be held after it.[5]
On July 15, 2018 during the PFL Fans Day, it was announced that non-franchise clubs were eligible to join the Copa Paulino Alcantara, provided they satisfy the licensing requirements.[6] However, no non-PFL club joined the inaugural edition. The first Copa Paulino Alcantara was held on September and October 2018. The six PFL clubs were divided into two groups that played each other in adouble round-robin format. The top two teams from each group faced off in thesingle-elimination semi-finals, followed by the final. The winners then qualify for the following year'sAFC Cup.[7]
The first Copa Paulino Alcantara match took place on September 1, 2018 at theRizal Memorial Stadium.Kaya–Iloilo defeatedGlobal Cebu 4–0, whereinRobert Lopez Mendy scored the tournament's first-ever goal andhat-trick.[8]Inthe final on October 27, Kaya–Iloilo defeatedDavao Aguilas 1–0 in extra time through alast-minute goal byJovin Bedic.[9]
In 2019, when thePhilippine Premier League was launched to supplant the PFL, it was announced that the Copa Paulino Alcantara would be retained.[10] However, the PPL was short-lived and PFL was relaunched within the year.[11] The2019 Copa Paulino Alcantara featured the first guest team,Philippines U22, who were preparing for the upcoming2019 Southeast Asian Games.[12] The 2020 edition was cancelled due to theCOVID-19 pandemic,[13][14] while the2021 edition was held in abio-secure bubble at thePFF National Training Center.[15] It was also the first edition to feature thethird place playoff.[16] In the2022 edition, instead of being divided into groups, all participating clubs played a single-round robin elimination round wherein the top four clubs advanced to the semi-finals.[17]
The2023 edition features 17 teams (5 from the PFL and 12 guests)—the most to date in the competition's history. It is also the first to feature more than two groups in the group stage, and the first to hold quarter-finals.[18]
The Copa Paulino Alcantara logo was chosen from a design competition organized byLiga Futbol Inc. in May 2018.[19] On July 27, 2018, the winning logo was announced as the one designed by Joel Alejo, which was chosen from more than 150 entries.[20][21]
Clubs from thePhilippines Football League (PFL), along with invited guest clubs, are qualified for the Copa Paulino Alcantara. The format consists of around-robin group stage followed by aknockout phase leading to the final.
As of the2023 edition, the tournament begins with a group stage wherein clubs are drawn into three groups with five or six clubs each. The group stage consists of asingle round-robin format. The top two teams from each group along with the two best third-placed teams advance to the quarter-finals.[18] The semi-finals are played in atwo-legged format; the losing semi-finalists play thethird-place match, while the winning semi-finalists face-off in the final.
The Copa Paulino Alcantara has always consisted of a round-robin phase followed by a knockout phase. The number of teams participating has varied over the years causing minor adjustments in the tournament format. Most of the group stages held featured two groups, with the top two teams of each group advancing to the semi-finals. The 2022 edition is the only one to date that did not distribute teams into groups; instead they all played each other in a single round-robin format with the top four advancing to the semi-finals.[17] The inaugural edition was the only one to feature a double round-robin group stage;[7] all subsequent editions used a single round-robin format in the group stage. The third place play-off was introduced in 2021,[16] while the quarter-finals and two-legged semi-finals were introduced in 2023.
The Copa Paulino Alcantara is usually held after its respective PFL season. The first three editions were held within the months of September, October, and November.[7][22][23] Following the PFL's adoption of an inter-year calendar in2022–23 to coincide with international competitions,[24] the Copa Paulino Alcantara's schedule was adjusted; the fourth edition was held from March to May 2022 while the fifth edition started in July 2023.
From its launch in 2018 until 2020, the winners of the Copa Paulino Alcantara qualified for the following season'sAFC Cup group stage.[25] From 2021 onwards, Copa Paulino Alcantara winners qualify for the preliminary round of following season'sAFC Champions League qualifying play-offs. If they qualify for the AFC Champions League group stage, they have to renounce to their berth in the AFC Cup. Conversely, failure to qualify for the former tournament transfers them to the AFC Cup group stage.[26]
| Ed. | Year | Final | Third-place play-off | No. of teams | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Champion | Score | Runner-up | Third | Score | Fourth | |||
| 1 | 2018 | Kaya–Iloilo | 1–0 (a.e.t.) Rizal Memorial Stadium,Manila | Davao Aguilas | Not yet introduced | 6 | ||
| 2 | 2019 | Ceres–Negros1 | 2–1 Biñan Football Stadium,Biñan | Kaya–Iloilo | 7 | |||
| – | 2020 | Cancelled due to theCOVID-19 pandemic | ||||||
| 3 | 2021 | Kaya–Iloilo | 1–0 PFF National Training Center,Carmona | Azkals Development Team | Stallion Laguna | 0–0 (a.e.t.) (5–4p) PFF National Training Center, Carmona | Dynamic Herb Cebu | 5 |
| 4 | 2022 | United City | 3–2 PFF National Training Center, Carmona | Kaya–Iloilo | Stallion Laguna | 2–1 PFF National Training Center, Carmona | Dynamic Herb Cebu | 7 |
| 5 | 2023 | Kaya–Iloilo | 1–1 (4–3pen.) Rizal Memorial Stadium, Manila | Davao Aguilas | Not held | 17 | ||
Club | Winners | Runners-up | Winning Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kaya–Iloilo | 3 | 2 | 2018,2021,2023 |
| United City | 2 | 0 | 2019,2022 |
| Davao Aguilas | 0 | 2 | – |
| ADT | 0 | 1 | – |
Starting from the second edition (2019) the Copa Paulino Alcantara introduced the following post-tournament awards: the Golden Ball for best player, the Golden Boot for top goalscorer, and the Golden Glove for best goalkeeper.
Note: Flags indicate nationality as defined underFIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| Year | Golden Ball | Golden Boot | Goals | Golden Glove |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 |  Takashi OdawaraCeres–Negros |  Robert Lopez MendyCeres–Negros | 5 |  Roland MüllerCeres–Negros |
| 2021 | Jovin Bedic Kaya–Iloilo | Jarvey Gayoso Azkals Development Team | 6 | Louie Casas Kaya–Iloilo |
| 2022 | Mike Ott United City | Daizo Horikoshi Kaya–Iloilo | 6 | Anthony Pinthus United City |
| 2023 | Daizo Horikoshi Kaya–Iloilo | Abou Sy Kaya–Iloilo | 10 | Quincy Kammeraad Kaya–Iloilo |
The Copa Paulino Alcantara has beenlivestreamed onFacebook, from the first matches of the2018 edition.[27] In addition, the inaugural final was broadcast live byESPN5 onAksyonTV, as well as onYouTube. In the2021 edition,One Sports covered the whole tournament, while One Sports and Pilipinas Live also covered the2023 final.
"This revives a national tournament that we have not had in a while," Philippine Football Federation (PFF) competitions department head Cyril Dofitas told the BusinessMirror. Bacolod City hosted the last national tournament five years ago.
A league for Philippine football? This will become a reality as the Philippine Football Federation has forged a partnership with telecom giant Smart Communications to finance a local football club championship. The partnership will last for a span of 10 years, with the giant telco releasing a total of P80 million for the project aimed at providing opportunities for skilled football players.