With 2 more matches to go in the Philippines Football League (PFL) Regular Season, the four clubs qualifying for the PFL Finals Series is certain.
FC Meralco Manila, Ceres Negros FC, Kaya FC Makati, and Global Cebu FC have all made it to the Final Series. I take this opportunity to congratulate each club for their qualification. They will now compete to become the inaugural champion of the PFL Season 2017.
For today’s column, I will discuss the match dates and the applicable provisions under the PFL Tournament Regulations (“Regulations”) for the PFL Finals Series.
Format and Dates:
1st leg Semi-Finals (Fixture 1 A) on 02 December 2017 will be between Team 1 vs. Team 4 and 2nd leg Semi-Finals (Fixture 1 B) will be on 09 December 2017 with Team 4 playing at home.
1st Leg Semi-Finals (Fixture 2 A) on 03 December 2017 will be between Team 2 vs. Team 3 and 2nd leg Semi-Finals (Fixture 2 B) will be on 10 December 2017 with Team 3 playing at home.
Teams finishing 1 to 4 in the final league standing in the Regular Season are ranked Team 1 to 4 accordingly.
3rd/4th Place match will be played between Loser of Semi-final (Fixture 1) vs Loser of Semi-final (Fixture 2) on 16 December 2017
Final’s will be played between Winner of Semi-final (Fixture 1) vs Winner of Semi-final (Fixture 2) on 16 December 2017
Final’s will be played between Winner of Semi-final (Fixture 1) vs Winner of Semi-final (Fixture 2) on 16 December 2017
The Team finishing first position at the conclusion of the Regular Season will have the option to play the 1st leg Semi-final (Fixture 1) either at home or away.
The Loser of Fixture 1 will be entitled to host the 3rd/4th Place match and the winner of Fixture 1 will have the option to host the Final. The selection however will be made by the PFL based on variety of factors including, but not limited to, venue availability, commercial and marketing considerations.
Procedure to Determine the Winner – Semi Final Stage, Finals & 3rd/4th
As per Article 2.14 of the Regulations, the winner of the semifinals will be determined by the highest number of goals over the two legs or the highest number of away goals scored (away goal rule) over the two legs.
If the winning team cannot be decided by the above criteria, Article 2.15 A. of the Regulations provides for an extra time (two equal periods of fifteen minutes played) immediately after the end of the 2nd leg match. Article 2.16 of the Regulations also states that at the conclusion of the extra-time, and no goals are scored, penalty kicks will be taken to determine the winner, else if both teams score the same number of goals, the away team will advance under the away goal rule.
For the Final and the 3rd/4th Place match, Articles 2.17 and 2.18 of the Regulations provide for an extra-time of two periods if the scores are tied after the conclusion of the match. If scores are tied after extra-time, penalty kicks will be taken to determine the winner.
The final match between Global Cebu FC vs. Ceres Negros FC on 28 November 2017 will decide the final positioning of the four clubs in the League Standing for the Regular Season. You could catch this match via livestreaming.
On behalf of the PFL, I would like to wish the top four teams good luck as we look forward in crowning the first Philippines Football League champions.
Lazarus J. Xavier
http://philippinesfootballleague.com/2017/11/24/weekly-ceo-column-pfl-finals-series/
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