Manchester Football Association Welcomes Philippine United FC to the New International League 2012/13

As Manchester United and Manchester City dominate the premier league in England as well as the champions league in Europe; the Manchester FA has currently set up 2 new leagues for Division 1 and 2 to get more grass roots and international players into football. This is a great opportunity for PUFC, as it give us the chance to gain more experience and to develop as a team, so hopefully we can succeed in the same way as we did in the West Herts League in London from 2009 to 2011.

However, we need to take into consideration that the Manchester league is different and we will not be allowed to field a Filipino only team. An idea with which we think is very positive, as it means that we can all learn from each other.

Here is some other good news: we are now able to use 5 substitutes in every match, and it’s all roll on and off, so everybody will get the same amount of playing time.

To play in the league a player must be at least 16 years old – A strict rule set by Manchester FA because of insurance policies. If a player gets serious injured in a match or even training he will be covered by MFA; this is great as gives us all some peace of mind.

New players can not just turn up on match days and play unless registered by MFA. It can be done with a picture ID (passport sized) and 48 hours it’s as easy as that!

Division 1 will play matches every Sunday and Division 2 fortnightly on Sundays. Kick off either 12:30pm or 14:15 pm. PUFC have chose to start in Division 2, as we can develop more from that league and also it gives us time for more training sessions on some of the Sundays when are not playing. Players under 16 can join us here, as many of them will be the future of Philippine Football.

Our league starts on September 23rd and all matches will be played @ Wright Robinson Sports College, Abbey Hey Lane, Gorton Manchester M18 8RL and the fixtures will appear here shortly. Also a new link will be set up – Parkin space- where our coach Norm Parkin will give his review once a month on the league and our progress. Please also if you have the time, read our history on how it all started.

Welcome to Philippine United FC!

Mabuhay!