Inception of second-tier league After the end of
2011 season, seven new clubs entered the
United Football League as part of the formation of UFL Division 2. Among the clubs that participated in the inaugural run of the second division, which commenced on 14 January 2012, include
Agila,
Cebu Queen City United,
Diliman,
Forza,
Laos,
Pachanga, and
Team Socceroo participated in the second division. Two other clubs from the second division were also promoted to the first division, namely:
Pasargad and
Stallion.
Pachanga was crowned UFL Division 2
champion for the
2012 season. The club finished at the top of the second division, which secured the team's
promotion to UFL Division 1.
Freddy Gonzalez, the a
striker for Pachanga, was awarded the
golden boot of UFL Division 2 for the
2012 season. Thus, Pachanga replaced the relegated
Navy in the first division.
Expansion year and restructuring At the start of the
2012 season, UFL Division 2 got expanded to 12 football clubs. Most of the matches for the second division were held at the Turf@BGC, a venue with an artificial football pitch located at
Fort Bonifacio,
Taguig City. The league kicked off its first match between
Dolphins United and
Cebu Queen City United on February 9, 2013, at the
Emperador Stadium. However,
Cebu Queen City United did not show up in the game time. On 1 March 2013, the UFL management has officially ruled out Cebu Queen City United from participating after the club apparently withdrawn when the club's request for home games in
Cebu was turned down by the league. A new
promotion-relegation system was adopted by the league at the start of the
2013 season. The club that finishes second in UFL Division 2 also has a chance of being promoted via a
two-legged aggregate-goal playoff against the ninth-place team in the first division, similar to the system used in the
Bundesliga.
Introduction of foreigner cap rule For the
2014 season, relegated
Philippine Air Force was replaced by
Team Socceroo, the champions of the 2013 UFL Division 2. Further,
Manila Nomads voluntarily stepped down from the first division to play in UFL Division 2 due to the club's inability to comply with UFL Division 1's foreigner cap rule before this season commenced. The UFL executive committee decided to implement a version of the
foreign player rule. Under such rule, a club may only field in a maximum of five
foreign players on the pitch at any given time. However, two of the six remaining players on the pitch may still be foreigners provided that they are
permanent residents of the Philippines for at least five years. In addition,
Ceres also made their league debut during this season. ==Summary==