# 2019–20 Premier League of Belize

The 2019–20 Premier League of Belize was the ninth season of the Premier League of Belize, the highest competitive football league in Belize, after it was founded in 2011. There were two seasons which were spread over two years.

## Teams

| Team | City | Stadium | Manager | Captain |
| Altitude | Independence | Michael Ashcroft Stadium | Hilberto Muschamp | Jose Urbina |
| Belize Defence Force | Belize City | MCC Grounds | Jerome Serano | Osmar Duran |
| Belmopan Bandits | Belmopan | Isidoro Beaton Stadium | Leroy Sherrier Lewis | Dalton Eiley |
| Placencia Assassins | Placencia | Placencia Football Field | Robert Muschamp | Ashley Torres |
| San Pedro Pirates | San Pedro | Ambergris Stadium | Jorge Nunez | Jesse Smith |
| Valley Pride Freedom Fighters | Dangriga | Carl Ramos Stadium | Gerson Voss | Jacinto Bermudez |
| Verdes | San Ignacio | Norman Broaster Stadium | Cesar Martin Dall'Orso | Woodrow West |
| Wagiya | Dangriga | Carl Ramos Stadium | Francis Flores | |
* ↑ Valley Pride Freedom Fighters did not compete in the closing season.

## Opening season

From the 2018–19 Premier League of Belize closing season, 7 teams continued to play in the opening season of 2019–20, with Placencia Assassins returning to the league to replace Police United. Freedom Fighters were also rebranded to Valley Pride Freedom Fighters and relocated to Dangriga from Punta Gorda.
There would be one league consisting of the 8 teams, who will play each other twice, with the top 4 teams advancing to the end of season playoffs. The opening season commenced on 27 July 2019.

### League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Verdes | 14 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 45 | 15 | +30 | 33 | Advance to Playoffs |
| 2 | Belmopan Bandits | 14 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 35 | 13 | +22 | 28 | Advance to Playoffs |
| 3 | San Pedro Pirates | 14 | 5 | 8 | 1 | 24 | 18 | +6 | 23 | Advance to Playoffs |
| 4 | Altitude | 14 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 22 | 26 | −4 | 21 | Advance to Playoffs |
| 5 | Wagiya | 14 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 22 | 16 | +6 | 19 | |
| 6 | Belize Defence Force | 14 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 21 | 21 | 0 | 19 | |
| 7 | Placencia Assassins | 14 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 15 | 36 | −21 | 6 | |
| 8 | Valley Pride Freedom Fighters | 14 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 14 | 53 | −39 | 4 | |

### Results

| Home \ Away | ALT | BDF | BEL | PLA | SPE | VAL | VER | WAG |
| Altitude | | 2–0 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 4–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 |
| Belize Defence Force | 1–0 | | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 3–3 | 2–1 |
| Belmopan Bandits | 3–1 | 2–0 | | 6–0 | 0–0 | 6–2 | 1–4 | 3–1 |
| Placencia Assassins | 2–3 | 0–1 | 0–1 | | 2–3 | 3–1 | 2–3 | 1–4 |
| San Pedro Pirates | 1–1 | 3–3 | 0–2 | 0–0 | | 3–0 | 2–1 | 2–2 |
| Valley Pride Freedom Fighters | 2–4 | 0–4 | 0–7 | 3–2 | 1–2 | | 1–10 | 0–1 |
| Verdes | 5–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 7–1 | 3–3 | 3–0 | | 2–0 |
| Wagiya | 6–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | |

### Playoffs

| Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Finals | Finals | Finals | Finals | Finals |
| 1 | Verdes | 1 | 5 | 6 | | | | | |
| 4 | Altitude | 1 | 3 | 4 | | | | | |
| 4 | Altitude | 1 | 3 | 4 | 1 | Verdes | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| | | | | | 2 | Belmopan Bandits | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 2 | Belmopan Bandits (a) | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | Belmopan Bandits | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 3 | San Pedro Pirates | 1 | 1 | 2 | | | | | |

#### Semifinals

Game One
Game Two

#### Finals

Game One
Game Two

### Season statistics
#### Top scorers

| Rank | Player | Team | Goals$^*$ |
| 1 | Mariano Landero | Verdes | 14 |
| 2 | Andres Orozco | Altitude | 11 |
| 3 | Krisean Lopez | Verdes | 9 |
| 4 | Roberto Silva de Lima | Belmopan Bandits | 8 |
| 5 | Facundo Garnier | San Pedro Pirates | 7 |
| 5 | Edwin Villeda | Verdes | 7 |
| 7 | Jesse August | Belize Defence Force | 6 |
| 8 | Carlos Lino | Valley Pride Freedom Fighters | 5 |
| 8 | Trimayne Harris | Verdes | 5 |
| 8 | Henry Vivas | San Pedro Pirates | 5 |
| 8 | Georgie Welcome | Belmopan Bandits | 5 |
| 12 | Anderson Cordoba | San Pedro Pirates | 4 |
| 12 | Miguel Garcia | Altitude | 4 |
| 12 | Jaren Lambey | Belize Defence Force | 4 |
| 12 | Camilo Sanchez | Belize Defence Force | 4 |
| 12 | Ashton Torres | Placencia Assassins | 4 |
$^*$ Includes playoff goals.

#### Hat-tricks

| Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
| Mariano Landero | Verdes | Altitude | 5–1 (H) | 15 September 2019 |
| Mariano Landero | Verdes | Belize Defence Force | 3–3 (A) | 22 September 2019 |
| Carlos Gonzalez | Belmopan Bandits | Valley Pride Freedom Fighters | 7–0 (A) | 10 November 2019 |

### Awards

At an awards ceremony on 4 January 2020, the individual awards were announced.
| Award | Recipient | Team |
| Golden Boot | Mariano Landero | Verdes |
| MVP (Regular Season) | Edwin Villeda | Verdes |
| MVP (Playoff) | Krisean Lopez | Verdes |
| Best Young Player | Jesse August | Belize Defence Force |
| Best Midfielder | Jordy Polanco | Verdes |
| Best Defender | Elroy Smith | Verdes |
| Golden Glove | Shane Orio | Belmopan Bandits |
| Best Coach | Cesar Martin Dall'Orso | Verdes |
| Best Manager | Lorin Frazer | Verdes |

## Closing season

7 of the 8 teams that participated in the opening season will participate in the closing season, with Valley Pride Freedom Fighters not competing, as they were unable to meet their commitments.
The format will be the same as the opening season with one league consisting of the 7 teams, who will play each other twice, with the top 4 teams advancing to the end of season playoffs. The closing season commenced on 11 January 2020.
On 18 April 2020 a virtual meeting was held by the Premier League of Belize, and it was unanimously agreed by club owners to cancel the remainder of the closing season due to the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic. The league also stated that the safety of players, officials, fans and stakeholders had to be taken into consideration. It was also agreed that Verdes would represent Belize at the 2020 CONCACAF League. According to the league, the decision to allow Verdes to represent Belize was based on the fact that the club had won the 2019–20 opening season, and was the aggregate point leader with a total of 51 points at the initial juncture, when the season was suspended.

### League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Verdes | 8 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 14 | 4 | +10 | 18 | Advance to Playoffs |
| 2 | Belmopan Bandits | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 26 | 4 | +22 | 13 | Advance to Playoffs |
| 3 | San Pedro Pirates | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 13 | 11 | +2 | 12 | Advance to Playoffs |
| 4 | Altitude | 8 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 7 | +1 | 11 | Advance to Playoffs |
| 5 | Placencia Assassins | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 19 | −12 | 8 | |
| 6 | Wagiya | 8 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 18 | −11 | 6 | |
| 7 | Belize Defence Force | 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 18 | −12 | 4 | |

### Results

| Home \ Away | ALT | BDF | BEL | PLA | SPE | VER | WAG |
| Altitude | | 1–1 | – | – | 2–2 | 0–0 | 2–2 |
| Belize Defence Force | – | | 0–5 | 2–1 | 1–2 | – | – |
| Belmopan Bandits | 0–1 | – | | 11–0 | – | – | 5–0 |
| Placencia Assassins | 0–1 | 3–0 | 0–3 | | – | 1–1 | – |
| San Pedro Pirates | 1–1 | – | 3–2 | 1–2 | | – | 2–0 |
| Verdes | 1–0 | 3–1 | 0–0 | – | 2–1 | | 2–1 |
| Wagiya | – | 3–1 | – | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–5 | |

### Season statistics
#### Top scorers

| Rank | Player | Team | Goals$^*$ |
| 1 | Georgie Welcome | Belmopan Bandits | 8 |
| 2 | Facundo Garnier | Belmopan Bandits | 7 |
| 2 | Jesse Smith | San Pedro Pirates | 7 |
| 4 | Krisean Lopez | Verdes | 3 |

#### Hat-tricks

| Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
| Georgie Welcome | Belmopan Bandits | Placencia Assassins | 11–0 (H) | 11 January 2020 |
| Facundo Garnier | Belmopan Bandits | Wagiya | 5–0 (H) | 8 February 2020 |