# 2022–23 Premier League of Belize

The 2022–23 Premier League of Belize is the tenth season of the Premier League of Belize, the highest competitive football league in Belize, after it was founded in 2011. The league commenced in July 2022 and is scheduled to end in mid 2023. The season is divided into two halves (opening and closing), each crowning one champion.

## Teams

There were eight teams that participated in the 2022–23 season. From the 2021–22 FFB Top League, administered by the Football Federation of Belize, four teams returned to the league. These were Altitude, San Pedro Pirates, Verdes and Wagiya. After a brief hiatus from top level football, Belmopan Bandits also returned to the league. The three other teams were made up of Benque Viejo United, who played under the license of Police United, Progresso from Orange Walk, who previously competed in amateur level competitions in the country, and Port Layola, a newly formed team from Belize City.
| Team | City | Stadium | Capacity |
| Altitude | Independence | Michael Ashcroft Stadium | 2,000 |
| Benque Viejo United | Benque | Marshalleck Stadium | 2,000 |
| Internacional FC | Belmopan | Isidoro Beaton Stadium | 2,500 |
| Port Layola | Belize City | MCC Grounds Marion Jones Sports Complex | 2,000 7,500 |
| Progresso | Orange Walk | Orange Walk People's Stadium | 4,500 |
| San Pedro Pirates | San Pedro | Ambergris Stadium | 1,500 |
| Verdes | San Ignacio | Norman Broaster Stadium | 2,000 |
| Wagiya | Dangriga | Carl Ramos Stadium | 3,500 |
* ↑ Belmopan Bandits changed their name to Internacional Futbol Club in February 2023.

## Opening season

The General Manager of the league, Wіlhеlm Міguеl ѕtated that thе format of the oреnіng sеаѕоn wіll initially fеаturе а dоublе rоund rоbіn рhаѕе. The top fоur ranked tеаmѕ will then quаlіfу for a hоmе аnd аwау ѕеmіfіnаls, with thе wіnnеrѕ mееting іn a twо-gаmе fіnаlѕ. The opening season commenced on 30 July 2022.

### League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Altitude | 14 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 22 | 10 | +12 | 32 | Advance to Playoffs |
| 2 | Verdes | 14 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 24 | 9 | +15 | 27 | Advance to Playoffs |
| 3 | San Pedro Pirates | 14 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 20 | 13 | +7 | 23 | Advance to Playoffs |
| 4 | Progresso | 14 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 12 | 12 | 0 | 18 | Advance to Playoffs |
| 5 | Benque Viejo United | 14 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 15 | 17 | −2 | 16 | |
| 6 | Port Layola | 14 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 17 | 20 | −3 | 16 | |
| 7 | Wagiya | 14 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 15 | 23 | −8 | 14 | |
| 8 | Belmopan Bandits | 14 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 11 | 32 | −21 | 8 | |

### Results

| Home \ Away | ALT | BEL | BEN | POR | PRO | SPE | VER | WAG |
| Altitude | | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 |
| Belmopan Bandits | 0–2 | | 3–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–4 | 4–2 |
| Benque Viejo United | 1–4 | 0–0 | | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 |
| Port Layola | 3–2 | 5–0 | 1–3 | | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 0–3 |
| Progresso | 0–0 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 | | 2–2 | 0–2 | 0–1 |
| San Pedro Pirates | 0–1 | 4–1 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 1–1 | | 2–2 | 2–0 |
| Verdes | 1–1 | 5–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | | 2–0 |
| Wagiya | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–4 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 2–2 | |

### Playoffs

| Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Finals | Finals | Finals | Finals | Finals |
| 1 | Altitude | 2 | 1 | 3 | | | | | |
| 4 | Progresso | 1 | 0 | 1 | | | | | |
| 4 | Progresso | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | Altitude (p) | 1 | 1 | 2 (11) |
| | | | | | 2 | Verdes | 1 | 1 | 2 (10) |
| 2 | Verdes | 2 | 3 | 5 | 2 | Verdes | 1 | 1 | 2 (10) |
| 3 | San Pedro Pirates | 2 | 2 | 4 | | | | | |

#### Semifinals

Game One
Game Two

#### Finals

Game One
Game Two

### Season statistics
#### Top scorers

| Rank | Player | Team | Goals$^*$ |
| 1 | Andres Orozco | Altitude | 11 |
| 2 | Luis Ibarra | Verdes | 9 |
| 3 | Horace Avila | San Pedro Pirates | 7 |
| 3 | Sean Young | Port Layola | 7 |
| 5 | Trimayne Harris | Verdes | 6 |
| 5 | Erick Izquierdo | San Pedro Pirates | 6 |
| 7 | Cion Augustine | Wagiya | 5 |
| 7 | Zamir Bonilla | Progresso | 5 |
| 7 | Desmond Wade | Verdes | 5 |
$^*$ Includes playoff goals.

#### Hat-tricks

| Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
| Jaren Lambey | Belmopan Bandits | Wagiya | 4–2 (H) | 24 September 2022 |
| Ayrton Sisa | Benque Viejo United | Port Layola | 3–1 (A) | 25 September 2022 |
| Desmond Wade | Verdes | Belmopan Bandits | 4–0 (A) | 29 October 2022 |

## Closing season

All eight teams that participated in the opening season participated in the closing season.
The format will be the same as the opening season with one league consisting of the eight teams, who will play each other twice, with the top four teams advancing to the end of season playoffs. The closing season commenced on 14 January 2023.
In February 2023, part way through the closing season, Belmopan Bandits changed their name to Internacional Futbol Club, after striking a sponsorship deal with a team from Mexico.
Also in February 2023, the Football Federation of Belize Арреаlѕ Соmmіttее ruled thаt Port Layola fіеldеd аn іnеlіgіblе рlауеr in their 2–1 away win аgаіnѕt Verdes оn 29 January 2023. A 3–0 victory was subsequently awarded to Verdes. In addition, the goals scored from this game were annulled, meaning Michael Palacio and Gilroy Thurton from Port Layola and Marco Zavala from Verdes lose a goal each.
Internacional FC forfeited their game against San Pedro Pirates, scheduled for 18 March 2023 at the Ambergris Stadium. The Pirates were awarded a 3–0 victory.
Verdes were also originally awarded a 3–0 victory for their away game against San Pedro Pirates, scheduled for 8 April 2023. This was due to the Pirates failing to provide post-game accommodation to the Belize City based referees, even though the Pirates advised earlier in the week that accommodation was not available. San Pedro Pirates subsequently threatened to withdraw from the league, however a few days later decided to continue participating for the remainder of the closing season, as their prospective withdrawal would affect other teams financially. After a successful appeal by the Pirates, this game was played on 14 May 2023.

### League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Verdes | 14 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 30 | 8 | +22 | 30 | Advance to Playoffs |
| 2 | San Pedro Pirates | 14 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 33 | 17 | +16 | 26 | Advance to Playoffs |
| 3 | Port Layola | 14 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 25 | 14 | +11 | 25 | Advance to Playoffs |
| 4 | Progresso | 14 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 22 | 9 | +13 | 23 | Advance to Playoffs |
| 5 | Altitude | 14 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 26 | 15 | +11 | 22 | |
| 6 | Benque Viejo United | 14 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 19 | 18 | +1 | 21 | |
| 7 | Wagiya | 14 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 13 | 54 | −41 | 6 | |
| 8 | Internacional FC | 14 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 7 | 40 | −33 | 2 | |

### Results

| Home \ Away | ALT | BEN | INT | POR | PRO | SPE | VER | WAG |
| Altitude | | 0–1 | 3–0 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 3–1 |
| Benque Viejo United | 1–2 | | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–3 | 0–1 | 5–1 |
| Internacional FC | 0–6 | 2–3 | | 1–3 | 0–0 | 0–6 | 0–0 | 1–2 |
| Port Layola | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | | 0–0 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 6–2 |
| Progresso | 0–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 1–2 | | 0–0 | 2–2 | 2–0 |
| San Pedro Pirates | 2–2 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | | 0–3 | 4–2 |
| Verdes | 3–0 | 0–0 | 5–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 2–4 | | 4–0 |
| Wagiya | 0–5 | 1–2 | 3–2 | 0–5 | 0–8 | 0–4 | 1–3 | |

### Playoffs

| Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Finals | Finals | Finals | Finals | Finals |
| 1 | Verdes | 1 | 3 | 4 | | | | | |
| 4 | Progresso | 2 | 1 | 3 | | | | | |
| 4 | Progresso | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | Verdes | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| | | | | | 2 | San Pedro Pirates | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | San Pedro Pirates | 1 | 4 | 5 | 2 | San Pedro Pirates | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 3 | Port Layola | 2 | 0 | 2 | | | | | |

#### Semifinals

Game One
Game Two

#### Finals

Game One
Game Two

### Season statistics
#### Top scorers

| Rank | Player | Team | Goals$^*$ |
| 1 | Horace Avila | San Pedro Pirates | 9 |
| 2 | Jonard Castillo | Progresso | 8 |
| 2 | Michael Palacio | Port Layola | 8 |
| 4 | Daniel Jimenez | Benque Viejo United | 7 |
| 4 | Latrelle Middleton | Port Layola | 7 |
| 4 | Andres Orozco | Altitude | 7 |
| 7 | Ander Chi | San Pedro Pirates | 6 |
| 7 | Gilroy Thurton | Port Layola | 6 |
| 7 | Luis Valdez | San Pedro Pirates | 6 |
| 10 | Leston Garcia | Wagiya | 5 |
| 10 | Facundo Garnier | San Pedro Pirates | 5 |
| 10 | Nicolas Rocha Gomez | Verdes | 5 |
| 10 | Sean Young | Port Layola | 5 |
$^*$ Includes playoff goals.

#### Hat-tricks

| Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
| Horace Avila | San Pedro Pirates | Verdes | 4–2 (A) | 12 February 2023 |
| Jonard Castillo$^4$ | Progresso | Wagiya | 8–0 (A) | 9 April 2023 |
| Andres Orozco | Altitude | Internacional FC | 6–0 (A) | 15 April 2023 |

##### Notes

$^4$ Player scored 4 goals