UFL under way Tuesday at McKinley

MANILA, Philippines - The 2013 UFL League gets the ball rolling on Tuesday with an exciting double-header at its new home – the brand-new McKinley Hill football field.

Defending champion Global FC opens its title defense against Pasargad FC while star-studden Loyola Meralco faces Philippine Army in the other match.

For a change, action will be aired live on AKTV via IBC 13 primetime on Tuesdays and Thursdays when in the past matches are only shown on weekend afternoons.

The other competing teams are Cup champion Stallion, Kaya, Philippine Air Force, Pachanga, Nomad and Green Archers Globe.

“Now we can be seen by more and this excites us,” said Sports5 manager Vitto Lazatin yesterday during the press launch of another great season of football in the Philippines.

“Over the past years we’ve seen high-quality football in the UFL. This coming season will show where football is now and where it’s headed,” he said.

Santi Araneta, UFL chairman, is looking forward to another great and exciting year.

“The quality of football has really improved and it’s not because of the presence of the foreign players in the UFL but also the locals,” he said.

“There is no guaranteed dominant team here,” the UFL chairman added considering all the player movement that took place during the long break. 

Araneta said the entry of foreign players in the UFL has highly contributed to its success, and he said there’s no immediate plan to stop the practice.

However, Araneta also reaffirmed the UFL’s commitment to the national team.

“The UFL will give way to all games of the national team. We have a mandate that all clubs will have to release any of their players to the national team for FIFA-sanctioned events,” he said.