Stallion Laguna FC statement on the Philippine Premier League

On Friday, Stallion Laguna FC, along with Global Makati, held an emergency press conference on the eve of the opener of the Philippine Premier League.

The team then sent an official statement the next day. The full content of the statement is posted below.

After careful consideration Stallion Laguna FC will not be participating in the 2019 Philippine Premier League.  We held a press conference today where we shared our sentiments and disappointments.

We have been part of the Philippine Football scene since 2010. Regardless of all the challenges and hardships, we are confident that the future of Philippine Football is bright. But for this to happen we will need to partner with a League operator that will not only help develop the clubs but will also add value to the development of professional football in the Philippines.

Stallion Laguna FC will not be joining the PPL 2019 League competitions because of the following promises made by PPL under the Tournament Commissioner and PSG/Triple CH owner Bernard Sumayao:

    1. The PFF awarded Triple CH a license to operate the league.  Bernie told us that he owned the league, and later retracted it and acknowledged that he is the League Operator and not the League Owner.
    2. He stated on his Dec 2018 letter to the clubs that his plan is to collect P500K Participation Fee from each club, to be used to operate the league, and “if there is any shortfall the PPL owners will take responsibility of this and not the PFF”. During our Workshop it was disclosed that each club will be paying the following:
        a. P500K Participation Fee (to be used to operate the PPL)
        b. P100K insurance (the beneficiary being the PPL)
        c. P1.15Million in match day expenses broken down as follows
            i. P619,500.00 (league -double header) 15 matches total expense for each club
            ii. P203,250.00 (League-Stand Alone) 3 matches total expense for each club
            iii. P123,900.00 (Cup-Double header) 3 matches total expense for each club
            iv. P203,250.00 (Cup-Stand alone) 3 matches total expense for each club
        d. Total collection from the 7 clubs will be P12.250Million

If the clubs will be spending P12.250 Million to run and operate the league, what is Bernie’s contribution? Yet in his proposed Participation Agreement Bernie will get 60% of the profit? He promised that the clubs will be spending less to be part of the PPL. In 2018 PFL clubs did not pay for the franchise fee or any type our tournament fee. As per the proposed PPL budget, Stallion Laguna FC will end up spending 200% more on home matches in the PPL compared to the PFL.

    3. All competitions will be Centralized. Meaning on match days there will only be one playing venue. Yet the PPL claims to be compliant with PFF and AFC Rules and Regulations. AFC Rules and Regulations for Professional League competitions allows only for HOME AND AWAY type matches for professional league that will be sending teams for the AFC Cup and AFC Champions League. Why call us Stallion Laguna FC if we will be playing our home games in Batangas? How can we promote SLFC to our local fans in Biñan and Laguna if they cannot watch us play our home matches at our home pitch?
    4. They claim that the Champion of the PPL League will be sent to the AFC Champions League. As per AFC Champions League Rules and Regulations, the PFF is the only authorized body to recommend a professional team to represent the Top Tier Professional League in the Philippines to any AFC Club level competition.
    5. The PPL reduced our economic rights to almost nothing. Our marketing rights in the PPL have been limited only to what you will see on our jerseys. We cannot even promote our sponsors during the matches via A-boards or other collaterals.
    6. The only commitment the PPL made to raise funds for the league is “BEST EFFORTS”. All they are committing to is to TRY to bring in sponsors and funding.
    7. Bernie Sumayao was granted the right to operate the PFLlast July 2018. Since July 2018 to March 14,2019 he was not successful in producing the following deliverables :
        a. Produce a League Sponsor or Title Sponsor
        b. He did not produce the 8-12 Professional Licensed Teams as promised
        c. He did not complete his SEC registration until March 15, 2019.
        d. He was not able to submit the PPL Participation Agreement of PPL Competition Rules and Regulations until after March 15, 2019
    8. During the 2017 and 2018 PFL season the stakeholders (PFL,PFF, and club owners or representatives) met as a group at least once every 2 weeks. The clubs attended numerous workshops and seminars.
During the 9 months of PPL operations they have met with the PPL/PFF/Clubs together as a group ZERO times. We have had 1 workshop, met with Bernie twice, and got 2 responses from 7 emails sent.

    9. Based on these facts, Stallion Laguna FC has 0 confidence in the ability of the Bernie Sumayao to operate a professional league in the Philippines to its completion

It is the right of any participating club to ask questions and request for information regarding the league you will be joining. If a club is unclear as to the financial viability of a league, how money will be spent, and how will the league operate financially from day 1/ Then something must be wrong.

We made a public statement last Monday that we are ready to play our 1st game in the PPL as scheduled. We were informed on Thursday that we were removed from the schedule because we did not sign the PPL Participation Agreement nor pay the Participation Fee. We have been requesting the PPL for the Tripartite Participation Agreement approved by the PFF, but to this day we have not received the approved agreement.

The PPL Tournament Rules and Regulations must be approved by the PFF, since the PPL is purportedly the qualifying tournament for all AFC Professional Club competitions. We have yet to receive the approved Rules and Regulations.

We therefore decide that it will be to the best interest of our fans, sponsors, host city and supporters, that we pull out of the 2019 PPL season.

We’ve sent numerous questions and emails to the PPL from 2018 to 2019. Most of them were never answered. It was only during the last few weeks that Mr. Sumayo responded to my emails. Here is the summary of questions we sent them:

QUESTIONS: Questions in Blue were eventually answered.

    1. Who are the sponsors of the PPL?
    2. What is they peso value of sponsorship? Where is the contract?
    3. Who are the licensed club teams that are joining the PPL? Who are the unlicensed teams?
    4. Who is the PPL’s network partner?
    5. How many games are live and when?
    6. The PPL cannot issue club licenses, nor can they send teams to the AFC. What will happen if only 4 teams have their National Club license?
    7. What will be P500K be used for? Why is there an ACCELERATION CLAUSE?
    8. Where is the approved Participation Agreement, and Tournament Regulations?
    9. When will the PPL present their total proposal?
        a. Projected FS
        b. Breakdown of projected expenses
        c. Plans for the league
    10. What are the financial responsibilities of the PPL? Based on the submitted Participation Agreement, the PPL has no financial responsibilities to the league. The clubs are paying for majority of the expenses. PPL will only do “BEST EFFORTS”?
    11. How come the MOA with the PFF was not even referenced in the Participation Agreement?
    12. What is the Organizational Structure of the PPL?
    13. Is the owner of the PPL registered with the SEC? Where is the GIS if it is registered?>
    14. What qualified Bernie to be the Tournament Chairman?
    15. What is the justification for the profit sharing? Majority of expenses will be paid by the clubs, then why is Bernie getting 60%?
    16. What will happen is the PPL is not sanctioned by the PFF, and the champion of the league cannot represent the league in AFC?
    17. Who will be responsible for the liabilities of the PPL? Where is it stated on the participation agreement?
    18. How come all the communications of the PPL are not official? No email address? No approval from the PFF?
    19. Why is the PPL not transparent with the clubs?
    20. How come the PPL releases statements to the press without talking to the Clubs or the PFF?
    21. Why is the PPL claiming to be the owner of the league when it is only a LEAGUE OPERATOR?
    22. I want to be clear that we are TEAM OWNER’s and not team operators, to be granted rights to operate by the PPL. We own our teams, and our players are contracted to us. We own our marketing rights, as well as images and collaterals of our club.  We own our logo, our club name, and we own the contracts we have with our sponsors. The PPL cannot issue rights to operate our teams, since we are duly registered with the PSE already, licensed by the PFF,  recognized by GAB as a Professional Football Team, and are privately funded.

Global Makati's statement was released through their Facebook page.



Meanwhile, the Philippine Premier League pushed through as schedule with a doubleheader at Rizal Memorial, with matches scheduled to take place at the Aboitiz Field in Lipa.