FILE–PFL team Dynamic Herb Cebu in the AFC Cup.
The Philippines Football League ushers in its sixth season Saturday with eight clubs from a record field of 15 seeing action in two separate locations.
Dynamic Herb Cebu opens its title bid at 5 p.m. by hosting Loyola FC in Talisay City while a tripleheader is slated at Rizal Memorial Stadium which includes regular PFL members taking on returning clubs or newcomers.
Manila Digger faces Philippine Army at 3 p.m. followed by Mendiola FC 1991 against Philippine Air Force at 5:30 p.m. and Maharlika-Taguig taking on Tuloy FC at 8 p.m.
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Three more matches will be held Sunday at Rizal Memorial, with Kaya-Iloilo opening its title bid against United City at 5:30 p.m. Stallion-Laguna meets Don Bosco Garelli at 3 p.m. while One Taguig plays Manila Montet at 8 p.m.
Davao Aguilas-University of Makati won’t play until the following weekend.
The huge number of teams came after the PFL decided to implement a hybrid setup that would allow those without professional club licenses to take part in the country’s top domestic league.
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Kaya, Cebu, Stallion, Maharlika and Mendiola are among the holdovers from previous seasons while United City is returning after failing to complete the 2022-23 campaign due to financial problems.
Loyola, Davao and Air Force are among those with previous PFL experiences, Army hasn’t played in a top-flight league since the defunct United Football League while Garelli, Tuloy and Digger competed in the Copa Paulino Alcantara.
One Taguig and Montet, meanwhile, are new clubs formed to participate in the league.
Cebu fell short of capturing the PFL title on its first try, finishing second behind Kaya by four points in the league table.
The Gentle Giants, who will now be handled by Turkish coach Memis Ozata, added nine players during the offseason to beef up a squad led by Chima Uzoka, JB Borlongan and Jaime Rosquillo.