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PFL Cup sees 6 teams participating; kickoff on Nov. 7

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Manolo Pedralvez

With the regular league tournament shelved for next year, Philippines Football League commissioner Coco Torre said that the league intends to push through with the Copa Paulino Alcantara, also known as the PFL Cup, with 6 teams from November 7 to 19 at the PFF National Training Center field in Carmona town, Cavite.Torre said that the participating teams are 2020 season PFL champion United City FC, runner-up Kaya-Iloilo-FC, Stallion-Laguna FC, Mendiola FC, Cebu FC and the Azkals Development Team.“We will have these 6 teams in the Copa Paulino Alcantara after we decided to postpone our league tournament hopefully to February 2022,” said the PFL honcho of the competition named after the Filipino-born striker who was a star for Spanish powerhouse Barcelona FC at the turn of the 20th century.Torre said Maharlika FC begged off from competing while incoming clubs Cagayan de Oro and Laos were unable to get their licenses and would also be joining the league next year.He said that the league was now in touch with the Carmona municipal government led by Mayor Dahlia Loyola so that the teams could begin workouts at the PFF National Training Center pitch.“We are just waiting for the right timing,” Torre said, adding that the league will leave it to the six clubs how they would conduct their bubble training and where they will be quartered both at their expense, unlike last year when the teams were quartered in one hotel with the PFL footing the bill.“Only the people and technical officials who will be involved in running the tournament will be quartered by the PFL.”He said that because the PFL will be conducting a Cup competition he was uncertain if the country would still be entitled to two slots in the AFC Champions League similar to what happened to clubs United City and Kaya-Iloilo after they finished as the top two clubs of the 2020 season tournament.“I believe this will be left to the Philippine Football Federation to sort out,” Torre said.The PFL commissioner said that the fixtures and other details of the Copa Paulino Alcantara will be discussed during an online press conference on Tuesday

Teams participating include 2020 season PFL champion United City FC, Kaya-Iloilo, Stallion-Laguna, Mendiola, Cebu, and the Azkals Development Team.