# 2016 United Football League

The 2016 United Football League was the seventh and last season of the UFL since its establishment as a semi-professional league in 2009. Division 2 is disbanded for this season with all teams competing in one division.
The league competition which started on April 30 and ended on October 24 will followed a pure double round robin match with no play-offs. For this edition the foreign player cap is reduced to four from five foreign players in a playing squad of 18 players, including 7 substitutes. At least one of the four maximum allowable foreign players must be from the Asian country. This was to align to the guidelines followed at the AFC Cup and AFC Champions League. However, a club with more than 25 players may have more than four foreign players in their whole squad provided that they comply with the 4-player foreign player limit rule during match day.
Global F.C. won the league with one game to spare.
The 2016 season was the last UFL season following the appointment of UFL President Randy Roxas as part of the task force for the upcoming Philippines Football League which had its inaugural season in 2017.

## Venue

Matches are played at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.

## Clubs

The league is composed of 12 clubs.
| Club | Head Coach | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
| Agila | Richard Leyble | Shinji Shozu | LGR Sportswear | None |
| Ceres | Risto Vidaković | Juan Luis Guirado | Puma | Ceres Liner |
| Forza | Arvin Jay Soliman | Stephen Burda | LGR Sportswear | Orient Freight International |
| Global | Leigh Manson | Misagh Bahadoran | LGR Sportswear | None |
| Green Archers United | Rodolfo Alicante | Tating Pasilan | LGR Sportswear | Globe Telecom |
| JP Voltes | Yu Hoshide | Masaki Yanagawa | LGR Sportswear | JK Mart |
| Kaya | Chris Greatwich | Alexander Borromeo | LGR Sportswear | LBC Express |
| Laos | Jovanie Villagracia | Badreldin Elhabib | LGR Sportswear | None |
| Loyola Meralco Sparks | Simon McMenemy | James Younghusband | Under Armour | Meralco |
| Manila Nomads | Ronaldo Luis Bernardo | Ubiam Ugochukwu Okoro | LGR Sportswear | True Blue Tools |
| Pasargad | Joel Villarino | Jean Claude Delos Reyes | LGR Sportswear | None |
| Stallion | Ernest Nierras | Ruben Doctora | Vizari | Giligan's Restaurant |

## Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing head coach | Manner of departure | Incoming head coach |
| Kaya | Fabien Larry Lewis | End of contract | Chris Greatwich |
| JP Voltes | Shinichiro Maeno | End of contract | Yu Hoshide |
| Laos | Rudy Del Rosario | End of contract | Jovanie Villagracia |
| Forza | Jun Mark Saraga | End of contract | Arvin Jay Soliman |
| Agila | Ramon Vicente Roxas | End of contract | Richard Leyble |
| Pasargad | Mike Agbayani | End of contract | Joel Villarino |
| Ceres | Ali Go | New coach under contract | Risto Vidaković |

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Global (C) | 19 | 15 | 2 | 2 | 80 | 15 | +65 | 47 | Qualification to the 2017 AFC Champions League Preliminary round 1 or 2017 AFC Cup Group stage |
| 2 | Ceres (Q) | 19 | 13 | 2 | 4 | 109 | 18 | +91 | 41 | Qualification to the 2017 AFC Cup Group stage |
| 3 | Loyola Meralco Sparks | 19 | 13 | 2 | 4 | 83 | 23 | +60 | 41 | |
| 4 | JP Voltes | 19 | 13 | 2 | 4 | 51 | 16 | +35 | 41 | |
| 5 | Kaya | 19 | 12 | 1 | 6 | 78 | 25 | +53 | 37 | |
| 6 | Stallion | 19 | 8 | 7 | 4 | 43 | 28 | +15 | 31 | |
| 7 | Green Archers United | 19 | 6 | 3 | 10 | 29 | 48 | −19 | 21 | |
| 8 | Forza | 19 | 4 | 2 | 13 | 20 | 82 | −62 | 14 | |
| 9 | Manila Nomads (D, E) | 11 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 20 | 65 | −45 | 9 | Withdrew from the tournament |
| 10 | Laos | 19 | 2 | 1 | 16 | 22 | 111 | −89 | 7 | |
| 11 | Agila (D, E) | 11 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 6 | 56 | −50 | 4 | Withdrew from the tournament |
| 12 | Pasargad (D, E) | 11 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 4 | 58 | −54 | 1 | Withdrew from the tournament |
* ↑ Global qualified for the 2017 AFC Cup Group stage by winning the 2016 UFL Cup. However, since they already qualified for the 2017 AFC Champions League Preliminary round 1 by winning the 2016 UFL Division 1, the spot awarded to the cup winners was passed to the next best-placed team (2016 UFL Division 1 runner-up Ceres FC).
* 1 2 Manila Nomads, Agila and Pasargad did not participate in the second round of the league.

## Positions by round

| Team ╲ Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 |
| Global | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Ceres | 8 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Loyola Meralco Sparks | 5 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| JP Voltes | 2 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Kaya | 1 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Stallion | 9 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Green Archers United | 6 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| Forza | 6 | 9 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Manila Nomads | 3 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 |
| Laos | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| Agila | 10 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 |
| Pasargad | 11 | 11 | 9 | 11 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 |
* Leader
* 2017 AFC Cup group stage

## Results

| Home \ Away | AGI | CER | FOR | GLO | GAU | JPV | KAY | LAO | LMS | NOM | PSG | STA |
| Agila | | | | | | 0–5 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 0–11 | | 2–2 | |
| Ceres | 10–1 | | 11–0 | 3–3 | 7–1 | 4–2 | 5–0 | 8–0 | 4–1 | 6–0 | | 2–2 |
| Forza | 4–1 | 0–10 | | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 0–5 | 3–1 | 1–5 | | 2–0 | 1–4 |
| Global | 8–0 | 0–5 | 12–0 | | 4–0 | 0–2 | 3–2 | 8–0 | 1–0 | | 3–0 | 3–0 |
| Green Archers United | 5–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | | 0–3 | 1–5 | 3–0 | 0–4 | | 2–1 | 1–3 |
| JP Voltes | | 1–0 | 7–1 | 0–4 | 3–1 | | 0–1 | 3–0 | 2–3 | 5–0 | | 0–0 |
| Kaya | | 1–0 | 10–2 | 0–3 | 6–0 | 1–3 | | 8–0 | 1–2 | 16–1 | | 0–1 |
| Laos | | 0–11 | 0–3 | 0–7 | 0–4 | 0–4 | 2–10 | | 2–13 | 8–3 | | 2–2 |
| Loyola Meralco Sparks | | 3–2 | 4–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 11–1 | | 9–2 | | 3–1 |
| Manila Nomads | 3–0 | | 2–1 | 0–12 | 3–4 | | | | | | | 2–4 |
| Pasargad | | 0–16 | | | | 0–6 | 0–6 | 1–6 | 0–9 | 0–4 | | |
| Stallion | 5–1 | 1–4 | 3–0 | 2–4 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 8–0 | 2–2 | | 2–0 | |

## Season statistics
### Top goalscorers

| Rank | Name | Team | Goals |
| 1 | Adrián Gallardo | Ceres | 30 |
| 2 | Phil Younghusband | Loyola Meralco Sparks | 21 |
| 3 | Stephan Schröck | Ceres | 18 |
| 3 | Robert Lopez Mendy | Kaya | 18 |
| 5 | Hikaru Minegishi | Global | 17 |

### Hat-tricks

| Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
| Jay Baguioro | JP Voltes | Pasargad | 0–6 | 30 April 2016 |
| James Younghusband | Loyola Meralco Sparks | Stallion | 3–1 | 8 May 2016 |
| Nate Burkey | Ceres | Manila Nomads | 6–0 | 14 May 2016 |
| Jay Baguioro | JP Voltes | Forza | 7–1 | 15 May 2016 |
| Takumi Uesato | JP Voltes | Forza | 7–1 | 15 May 2016 |
| Robert Lopez Mendy$^4$ | Kaya | Forza | 10–2 | 18 May 2016 |
| Patrick Reichelt | Ceres | Agila | 10–1 | 18 May 2016 |
| Bienve | Ceres | Agila | 10–1 | 18 May 2016 |
| Kenshiro Daniels$^4$ | Kaya | Manila Nomads | 16–1 | 9 June 2016 |
| OJ Porteria$^4$ | Kaya | Manila Nomads | 16–1 | 9 June 2016 |
| Joshua Beloya$^4$ | Stallion | Laos | 8–0 | 9 June 2016 |
| Adrián Gallardo$^8$ | Ceres | Pasargad | 0–16 | 11 June 2016 |
| Stephan Schröck | Ceres | Pasargad | 0–16 | 11 June 2016 |
| Phil Younghusband | Loyola Meralco Sparks | Agila | 0–11 | 15 June 2016 |
| Akira Miyayama | Loyola Meralco Sparks | Agila | 0–11 | 15 June 2016 |
| Adrián Gallardo | Ceres | Forza | 0–10 | 15 June 2016 |
| Patrik Franksson$^4$ | Laos | Pasargad | 1– 6 | 19 June 2016 |
| Robert Lopez Mendy | Kaya | Pasargad | 0– 6 | 25 June 2016 |
| Stephan Schröck | Ceres | Stallion | 1–4 | 25 June 2016 |
| Phil Younghusband$^5$ | Loyola Meralco Sparks | Laos | 2–13 | 26 June 2016 |
| Curt Dizon | Loyola Meralco Sparks | Manila Nomads | 9–2 | 3 July 2016 |
| Alvaro Castiella | Loyola Meralco Sparks | Manila Nomads | 9–2 | 3 July 2016 |
| Carlos Ortiz $^4$ | Global | Agila | 8–0 | 5 July 2016 |
| Phil Younghusband | Loyola Meralco Sparks | Pasargad | 0– 9 | 7 July 2016 |
| Adrián Gallardo$^6$ | Ceres | Laos | 0– 11 | 7 July 2016 |
| Patrik Franksson$^5$ | Laos | Manila Nomads | 8–3 | 10 July 2016 |
| Stephen Appiah | Manila Nomads | Laos | 8–3 | 10 July 2016 |
| Misagh Bahadoran$^5$ | Global | Manila Nomads | 0–12 | 14 July 2016 |
| Phil Younghusband | Loyola Meralco Sparks | Forza | 1– 5 | 7 August 2016 |
| Omid Nazari | Global | Forza | 12–0 | 10 August 2016 |
| Misagh Bahadoran$^4$ | Global | Forza | 12–0 | 10 August 2016 |
| Hikaru Minegishi | Global | Forza | 12–0 | 10 August 2016 |
| Jorrel Aristorenas | Loyola Meralco Sparks | Laos | 11–1 | 17 August 2016 |
| Louis Clark | Kaya | Laos | 8–0 | 24 September 2016 |
| Stephan Schröck | Ceres | Loyola Meralco Sparks | 4–1 | 24 September 2016 |
| Stephan Schröck | Ceres | Laos | 8–0 | 28 September 2016 |
| Hikaru Minegishi | Global | Laos | 0–7 | 2 October 2016 |
| Matthew Hartmann | Global | Laos | 0–7 | 2 October 2016 |
$^4$ Player scored four goals $^5$ Player scored five goals $^6$ Player scored six goals $^8$ Player scored eight goals

### Own goals

| Player | For | Club | Own goals |
| Ronnie Aguisanda | Loyola Meralco Sparks | Green Archers United | 2 |
| Ronnie Aguisanda | JP Voltes | Green Archers United | 2 |
| Christian Nana | Global | Stallion | 1 |
| Michael Atienza | Global | Laos | 1 |
| Jayson Cutamora | Global | JP Voltes | 1 |
| Rezziel Villaespin | Agila | Laos | 1 |
| John Lloyd Bastasa | Loyola Meralco Sparks | Laos | 1 |
| Fidelis Nnabuife | Loyola Meralco Sparks | Manila Nomads | 1 |
| Joseph Rigoberto | Global | Forza | 1 |

## Honors
### Player

* Golden Boot: Adrián Gallardo (Ceres)
* Golden Glove: Nelson Gasic (JP Voltes)
* Golden Ball: Hikaru Minegishi (Global)
* Best Midfielder: Matthew Hartmann (Global)
* Best Defender: Masaki Yanagawa (JP Voltes)

### Team

* Fairplay: Stallion F.C.