Origins Following the success of the
Philippines national team in the
2010 AFF Championship, Philippines football experienced a renaissance. With no existing national football league, the United Football League (UFL) established itself as the
de facto top-tier league in the Philippines. Under the guidance of the Football Alliance (FA) in partnership with United Football Clubs Association (UFCA), the UFL flourished. However, the PFF expressed the need to have a nationwide, community-based football league that is at par with the standards set by the
Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) and the
Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The UFL, which was under the
National Capital Region Football Association, could not be considered as a national league.
Foundations , also composing of Filipino economist
Bernie Villegas, UFL president Randy Roxas, AFC deputy general secretary and competition director
Dato' Windsor John, Filipino FIFA official Domeka Garamendi, AFC kick-off program director Yogesh Desai, UFL commissioner Bonnie Ladrido,
ABS-CBN's Dino Laurena, former PFF general secretary Cyril Dofitas and Gelix Mercader. The task force was tasked to do market research studies to determine the possible cities or regions where participating football clubs could be feasibly based, as well as assisting clubs in the Philippines to conform to the PFF club licensing regulations, of which the draft was initiated by Gastanes, with guidance from AFC. The PFF initially set a goal to launch the national league in two to three years from the inception of the task force.
Nielsen study Nielsen was tasked by PFF, through funding from FIFA and AFC to conduct a study in 2015, where they identified 13 key localities throughout the Philippines as viable home venues for participating clubs in the PFL. Among the factors considered were existing infrastructures, accessibility, capacity of fans to pay, the existence of sponsors, and fan appreciation of the sport. "Liga Pilipina", and "Philippine Premier League".
Launch at
Bonifacio Global City where the official launch of the PFL was hosted. The Philippines Football League was officially announced on September 7, 2016, and would be replacing the UFL as the Philippines' top-tier football league. At least six teams from all over the Philippines was planned to be part of the PFL, with clubs from the UFL invited to join. Clubs were given until December 2016 to formally apply to join the PFL. The league competition was slated to begin in either the late March or early April in 2017. The official launching of the PFL happened on April 21, 2017, at the
Shangri-La at the Fort in Taguig. The program was started by economist and PFL Task Force Chairman,
Bernardo Villegas and ended by PFF President
Mariano Araneta.
2017 and 2018 seasons The
inaugural season in 2017 was contested by eight clubs and had two stages; the regular season and a playoff competition. The regular season adopted a home-and-away, double round-robin format. The top four teams in the regular season advanced to the play-off round, dubbed as the "Final Series", to determine the champions of the league.
Ceres-Negros won the inaugural league title. For the
second season, the Final Series was scrapped due to the introduction of the
Copa Paulino Alcantara, the cup competition for the league. The number of clubs in the league was reduced from eight to six after the departure of Ilocos United (then converted to a grassroots association) and FC Meralco Manila (that stayed active on a youth level ever since), both due to lack of investment and sponsorship, while Kaya-Makati F.C. relocated to
Iloilo City and changed their name accordingly. Ceres-Negros won their second title.
Replacement by the Philippine Premier League In late-2018, Triple CH led by Thailand-based Filipino businessman Bernie Sumayao became involved in the league and has entered talks with PFF chairman
Mariano Araneta. He was appointed as the league's new commissioner. Sumayao pledged to institute financial and structural reforms in the league; including a rebrand of the league to the "Philippine Premier League" (PPL) starting the 2019 season, more favorable sponsorship policies, and the disestablishment of the franchise fee in favor of a less expensive registration fee for clubs. Despite this, the league has received applications from several new clubs aspiring to join the PFL. The PFL was consequently revived, with a
third season planned to commence within the year. The new format proceeded as planned, with Ceres–Negros claiming their third consecutive league title despite internal managerial struggles. The PFL secured a three-year sponsorship deal with
Qatar Airways on January 26, 2020, with the Qatari firm becoming the Airline partner and Title Sponsor of the PFL. Negotiations for deal occurred as early as November 2019. The league was formally renamed as "The Philippines Football League brought to you by Qatar Airways" as a result of the sponsorship. The
2020 season was postponed due to the
COVID-19 pandemic and was later held in a
bio-secure bubble in
Carmona, Cavite from October 28 to November 9, 2020, while the edition of the Copa Paulino Alcantara was cancelled, due to the time constraints caused by the original postponement. Ceres-Negros, which had just sustained an ownership change and got renamed as "United City F.C.", then proceeded to win their fourth title in a row, with Kaya F.C.-Iloilo finishing second despite remaining unbeaten and thus becoming the first club in PFL's history to do so. The same year saw the official entry in the competition of newly founded
Azkals Development Team, directly controlled by the
national football federation, as a guest team that would host mainly "homegrown" young talents, as well as some overage players, in order to expand the resources of the
national team. In 2021, following the rise of Philippines in the
AFC rankings and the expansion of the
AFC Champions League's group stage from 32 to 40 teams, United City became the first Filipino team to qualify for the group stage of the competition, as winners of the 2020 edition of the PFL. Plus, the
2021 season saw both the return of the league cup, set to be organized in April, and a slight expansion of the league, with PFL commissioner Coco Torre announcing in February that Loyola F.C. (returning to the league after competing for the last time in 2018) and former UFL team
Laos F.C. (on his official debut) had submitted their respective requests to join the competition. The
2024–25 season saw the reintroduction of the
Finals Series, albeit as a distinct competition. For the
2025–26 season it marks the first time since the league's inception where there was no change in the number of teams participating, with ten teams competing in the season. However, last season's eighth- and ninth-placed teams,
Loyola and the
Philippine YNT, will not participate this season. In August, two teams from the
2024 season, namely
Don Bosco Garelli United,
Tuloy and
Philippine Army, would rejoin the league to bring the number to 11. Davao Aguilas, who finished sixth in the previous season, relocated their club to
Makati and renamed to
Aguilas–UMak F.C., with the latter derived from the
University of Makati Stadium, where the club had previously trained and held matches. After changing its name last season, Maharlika Taguig once again changed its name to simply
Maharlika F.C.. The Mendiola FC 1991 will relocate from Imus, Cavite to Valenzuela and renamed to
Valenzuela PB–Mendiola F.C. ==Competition format==