Seven teams led by Ceres-Negros FC are taking part in the inaugural season of the 2019 Philippine Premier League Football tournament.
PPL Commissioner Bernard Sumayao said the participants will join both the League Competition and Paulino Alcantara Cup.
Matches will begin with a double header on March 30 at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium.
Also joining are Green Archers United Globe FC, Kaya-Iloilo FC, Mendiola FC, Philippine Air Force FC, Stallions-Laguna FC and Global Cebu FC.
Organizers are taking on the challenges of forming a new club-league football tournament.
The PPL recently replaced the Philippines Football League and boasts of an increase of participants from six to eight teams when action kicks off this month.
Sumayao believes that many factors will make things happen for the PPL.
This includes the involvement of sponsors and the introduction and inclusion of local government units which have football in their sports programs.
The changes in club-level football competition took place following the withdrawal of the Davao FC Aguilas late last year.
Among these changes include efforts to do away with a franchise scheme.
Here, teams will instead pay an annual registration fee that will be a fraction of the cost from the last two years.
Then, there’s the triple round-robin format.
Games will not be purely home-and-away and there will be matches played in 3-4 grounds in and around Metro Manila.
And, the University of Makati, which is a new artificial turf, will be one of the main venues.