The Philippine Football Federation (PFF) is the governing body of
association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
in the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
. Established as the Philippine Amateur Football Association (PAFA) in 1907, the PFF is one of the oldest national football associations in Asia and is among the founding members of the
Asian Football Confederation
The Asian Football Confederation is the governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal in some countries/territories in Asia and Oceania. It has 47 member countries most of which are located in Asia. Australia, formerly in ...
(AFC). The PAFA reorganized as the Philippine Football Association (PFA), and later as the Philippine Football Federation.
Aside from being a member of the AFC, the PFF is also a member of the
ASEAN Football Federation. It is recognized as the national sports association (NSA) for the sport of football in the Philippines by
Philippine Olympic Committee
The Philippine Olympic Committee Inc. (POC) is the National Olympic Committee of the Philippines.
The POC is a private, non-governmental organization composed of and serve as the mother organization of all National Sports Associations (NSAs) i ...
.
It organizes the Philippines
men's,
women's
A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardl ...
and youth national football teams (as well as national teams for the football variants of
futsal Futsal is a football-based game played on a hard court smaller than a football pitch, and mainly indoors. It has similarities to five-a-side football and indoor football.
Futsal is played between two teams of five players each, one of whom is ...
and
beach soccer). It is also responsible for the organization of domestic football tournaments in the Philippines such as
Philippines Football League
The Philippines Football League, commonly known as PFL, is a Filipino professional football league sanctioned by the Philippine Football Federation (PFF). It is the Philippines' highest level of men's club football, supplanting the United Foo ...
and the
Copa Paulino Alcantara
The Copa Paulino Alcantara, also known as the PFL Cup, is an annual football tournament in Philippines, sanctioned by the Philippine Football Federation. The cup's first iteration began on September 1, 2018. It replaced the PFF National Men's Clu ...
through the
Liga Futbol Inc.
Liga Futbol Inc. is a Filipino corporation based in Pasig, Metro Manila responsible for managing the Philippines Football League (PFL), the top-flight professional national football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varyi ...
, and the
PFF Women's League
The PFF Women's League (PFFWL) is the top-flight of women's association football in the Philippines.
History
To follow up with the PFF Women's Cup which was launched in 2014, the PFF Women's League was launched on November 5, 2016, by the Phili ...
.
History
Early history
The football body's origins dates back to 1907 when it was established as the Philippine Amateur Football Association (PAFA). It was among the twelve founding Asian football associations of the
Asian Football Confederation
The Asian Football Confederation is the governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal in some countries/territories in Asia and Oceania. It has 47 member countries most of which are located in Asia. Australia, formerly in ...
.
In 1917, the first Spanish and Filipino footballer to play for a European club,
Paulino Alcántara Riestra, was selected by the Philippines to represent the country at the
Far Eastern Championship Games
The Far Eastern Championship Games (also known as the Far Eastern Championships, Far Eastern Games or Far East Games) was an Asian multi-sport event considered to be a precursor to the Asian Games.
History
In 1913, Elwood Brown, president of ...
in
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
. He helped them defeat Japan 15–2, which remains the largest win in Philippine international football history.
In 1961, stakeholders of Philippine football officially organized themselves to establish the Philippine Football Association (PFA) which was later reorganized as the Philippine Football Federation in 1982.
Adad era
In October 1996, Rene Adad was installed as PFF president after a snap election which ousted his predecessor, Ricardo Tan.
[ In 2002, the PFF inaugurated its first regional center in ]Barotac Nuevo
Barotac Nuevo, officially the Municipality of Barotac Nuevo ( hil, Banwa sang Barotac Nuevo, tgl, Bayan ng Barotac Nuevo), is a 2nd class municipality in the province of Iloilo, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of ...
, Iloilo
Iloilo (), officially the Province of Iloilo ( hil, Kapuoran sang Iloilo; krj, Kapuoran kang Iloilo; tl, Lalawigan ng Iloilo), is a province in the Philippines located in the Western Visayas region. Its capital is the City of Iloilo, the ...
.
Martinez era
The PFF under the Presidency of Jose Mari Martinez
Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. The name was popular during the Mishnaic and Talmudic periods.
* Jose ben Abin
* Jose ben Akabya
*Jose the Galile ...
saw crises which challenged his leadership as well as the national teams.
Under Martinez, the PFF also had a new headquarters, the PFF House of Football in Pasig
Pasig, officially the City of Pasig ( fil, Lungsod ng Pasig), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 803,159 people.
It is located along the ...
, which was inaugurated by then FIFA President Sepp Blatter and AFC President bin Hammam in 2008. The PFF moved to the building after occupying the PhilSports Complex
The Philippine Institute of Sports Complex (also known as the PhilSports Complex) is a national sports complex of the Philippines. It is located in Meralco Avenue in Pasig, Metro Manila, Philippines. It is where the offices of the Philippine Sp ...
as its headquarters for decades.
In 2009, a crisis affected the Philippine women's national futsal which resulted to the ouster of women's futsal coach Emmanuel Batungbacal and long-time men's national football coach Juan Cutillas
Juan Cutillas España is a retired Spanish professional footballer and manager. He is a former manager of the Philippines national football team.
Education
Cutillas studied medicine against the wishes of his father who had wanted him to enter law ...
. Batungbacal was sacked allegedly leading the futsal team in a tournament without sanction from the PFF. Batungbacal said that he had sanction and he claimed Martinez ignored to make a dialogue with him on the matter. The players who played under Batungbacal resigned from international duty as protests. Martinez said that a lack of suitable coaching license was the reason to Batungbacal's dismissal.
On 27 November 2010 at the PFF 7th Ordinary Congress at the PhilSports Complex
The Philippine Institute of Sports Complex (also known as the PhilSports Complex) is a national sports complex of the Philippines. It is located in Meralco Avenue in Pasig, Metro Manila, Philippines. It is where the offices of the Philippine Sp ...
in Pasig
Pasig, officially the City of Pasig ( fil, Lungsod ng Pasig), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 803,159 people.
It is located along the ...
, Martinez was ousted by 25 Presidents out of the 29 present member associations to approve a resolution made by 8 members of the Board of Governors calling for the ousting and replacement of Martinez as PFF president. Martinez was dismissed due to allegedly falsifying public documents and misusing funds. Mariano Araneta was named Interim President.[
]
Araneta era
After serving as Interim President for about a year after Martinez's ouster in 2010, Araneta was elected as president on 26 November 2011 at a PFF congress held at the Astoria Plaza in Pasig
Pasig, officially the City of Pasig ( fil, Lungsod ng Pasig), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 803,159 people.
It is located along the ...
.[
On 14 October 2016 at the Edsa Shangri-La Hotel in ]Pasig
Pasig, officially the City of Pasig ( fil, Lungsod ng Pasig), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 803,159 people.
It is located along the ...
, the Online PFF Player Registration System was launched following a contract signing between the PFF, MMC Sportz Marketing and RSportz. The initiative by the PFF is among the first in Southeast Asia. The registration system will create a database of Filipino players which will be accessible to organizers of PFF-sanctioned tournaments. The registration system was planned to be online by November 2016.
In November 2016, Araneta announced that the PFF will move its headquarters to Carmona, Cavite
Cavite, officially the Province of Cavite ( tl, Lalawigan ng Kabite; Chavacano: ''Provincia de Cavite''), is a province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region in Luzon. Located on the southern shores of Manila Bay and southwest ...
in 2017 where an artificial football pitch is due to be finished within the month. The new location will also house a dormitory, a natural grass pitch and corporate offices.
The PFF's registration system dubbed "My PFF" was officially launched in June 2017 and will be embedded in PFF's website on 3 July 2017 to be more accessible for registrants.
A financial issue with the Philippine Sports Commission
The Philippine Sports Commission (PSC, ) is an agency of the Philippine government which tackles matters concerning sports in the country. The sports agency is independent from the Philippine Olympic Committee which enjoys autonomy from the go ...
(PSC) was resolved on September 14, 2018, when the PFF remitted amount of unliquidated financial assistance from the government agency. The scope of the financial aid covers the administrations of the PFF from past 1996 to 2010.
The PFF was given the right to hold AFC ‘A’ and AFC ‘B’ Diploma Courses in the Philippines by the Asian Football Confederation starting 2019. The federation launched its first esports tournament, the PFF eTrophy which featured the video game title ''FIFA 21
''FIFA 21'' is an association football simulation video game published by Electronic Arts as part of the '' FIFA series''. It is the 28th installment in the ''FIFA'' series, and was released on 9 October 2020 for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Sw ...
'' in 2021.
In July 30, 2022, the groundbreaking ceremony for the new PPF headquarters in Carmona took place. In November 2022, the PFF decided to allow the expansion of its regional associations.
Presidents
Association staff
Member associations
There are 36 member associations, three of which are professional football clubs, under the PFF.
* Agusan del Sur – Surigao del Sur RFA
* Cordillera RFA
* Bukidnon FA
* Butuan – Agusan Del Norte FA
* RFA of Camarines Norte
* Camiguin-Misamis Oriental FA
* Central Visayas RFA
* Golden Davao RFA
* North Davao RFA
* Davao R.F.A.
The Davao-South Regional Football Association or DRFA is a Philippines, Filipino Association football, football association based in Davao City. It works under the Philippine Football Federation as a provincial football association for Davao City. ...
* Iligan – Lanao Regional Football Association (Iligan-Lanao RFA)
* Iloilo FA
* Laguna – Cavite RFA
* Legazpi City – Albay Federated RFA
* East Visayas R.F.A.
The East Visayas Regional Football Association (EVRFA) is the regional football association for the provinces of Eastern Visayas and is a regular member of the Philippine Football Federation.
History Futbol Sociedad de Tacloban/Leyte and Leyte FA ...
* Federated F.A. of Masbate
* Central Bicol RFA
* National Capital Region F.A.
The National Capital Region Football Association, also known as the NCR Football Association or NCRFA, is a Filipino football association based in Metro Manila. It works under the Philippine Football Federation as regional football association f ...
* Negros Occidental F.A.
* Negros Oriental – Siquijor RFA
* Maguindanao-Cotabato City FA
* Misamis Occidental – Ozamis FA
* Mount Apo RFA
* Oriental Mindoro FA
* Quezon – Batangas RFA
* FA of Rizal
* South Cotabato – Sarangani – Gen. Santos City RFA (SOCSARGEN RFA)
* Sultan Kudarat RFA
* Surigao del Norte and Dinagat Islands RFA
* Central Luzon RFA
* Zamboanga del Norte – Dipolog RFA
* Pagadian – Zamboanga del Sur – Sibugay RFA
* Zamboanga – Basilan – Sulu – Tawi-tawi FA (ZAMBASULTA FA)
* Kaya FC-Iloilo
* Stallion Laguna FC
* United City FC
PFF competitions
National league
* Philippines Football League
The Philippines Football League, commonly known as PFL, is a Filipino professional football league sanctioned by the Philippine Football Federation (PFF). It is the Philippines' highest level of men's club football, supplanting the United Foo ...
* PFF Women's League
The PFF Women's League (PFFWL) is the top-flight of women's association football in the Philippines.
History
To follow up with the PFF Women's Cup which was launched in 2014, the PFF Women's League was launched on November 5, 2016, by the Phili ...
National Cups
* Copa Paulino Alcantara
The Copa Paulino Alcantara, also known as the PFL Cup, is an annual football tournament in Philippines, sanctioned by the Philippine Football Federation. The cup's first iteration began on September 1, 2018. It replaced the PFF National Men's Clu ...
* PFF National Men's Club Championship
The Philippine Football Federation National Men's Club Championship was an annual football competition organized by the Philippine Football Federation and contested by Filipino clubs. It lasted for four seasons from 2011 to 2014–15. It was ...
(defunct)
* PFF Women's Cup
The PFF Women's Cup is the national women's football cup of the Philippines organized by the Philippine Football Federation.
History
The inaugural edition was launched in 2014 by the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) and was contested by 10 ...
Youth competitions
* PFF National Men's U-23 Championship
The PFF National Men's Under-23 Championship (known as the PFF-Suzuki U-23 National Cup for sponsorship reasons) is a football tournament in the Philippines organized by the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) sponsored Japanese automaker Suzuki ...
(defunct)
* PFF National U-22 Amateur Championship (inactive)
* PFF U-19 Boys National Football Championship
Esports
*PFF eTrophy
Current title holders
Current national team head coaches
Honours
The PFF was given the AFC President Recognition Award for Grassroots Football in the Developing Category in 2014 and in 2016.
See also
* Philippines national football team
The Philippines national football team ( Filipino/ tl, Pambansang koponan ng futbol ng Pilipinas, lit=) represents the Philippines in international football, governed by the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) and has been playing internatio ...
* Philippine women's national football team
The Philippines women's national football team represents the Philippines in international women's football. It is managed by the Philippine Football Federation (PFF), the governing body of football in the country.
The women's national footb ...
* List of football clubs in the Philippines
List of association football clubs in the Philippines sorted by league and division:
Men's Philippines Football League (2017–Present)
The Philippines Football League is the national league in the country.
United Football League (2010–16) ...
* Philippine football clubs in Asian competitions Philippine clubs has been competing in Asian-level competitions as early as 1967.
Overview Participating clubs by tournament
CXL : Cancel, WD : Withdrew, PR1 : Preliminary round 1, PR2 : Preliminary round 2, PO : Playoff round, FR : First round, SR ...
References
External links
Philippines
at FIFA site
at AFC site
AFF webpage
Statutes of the Philippine Football Federation
(in force since December 30, 2013)
{{Authority control
1907 establishments in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
Football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
Sports organizations established in 1907