The 2016 United Football League was the seventh and last season of the UFL since its establishment as a semi-professional league in 2009. Division 2 is disbanded for this season with all teams competing in one division.[1]
| Season | 2016 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Global |
| AFC Cup | Global Ceres |
| Matches played | 102 |
| Goals scored | 544 (5.33 per match) |
| Best Player |  Hikaru Minegishi |
| Top goalscorer |  Adrián Gallardo(30 goals) |
| Best goalkeeper |  Nelson Gasic |
| Highest scoring | 17 goals Kaya 16–1 Manila Nomads |
| Longest winning run | 10 games Global |
| Longest unbeaten run | 15 games Global |
| Longest winless run | 11 games Pasargad |
| Longest losing run | 8 games Pasargad |
← 2015 | |
The league competition which started on April 30 and ended on October 24 will followed a pure double round robin match with no play-offs.[1]For this edition the foreign player cap is reduced to four from five foreign players in a playing squad of 18 players, including 7 substitutes. At least one of the four maximum allowable foreign players must be from the Asian country. This was to align to the guidelines followed at the AFC Cup and AFC Champions League. However, a club with more than 25 players may have more than four foreign players in their whole squad provided that they comply with the 4-player foreign player limit rule during match day.[1]
Global F.C. won the league with one game to spare.
The 2016 season was the last UFL season following the appointment of UFL President Randy Roxas as part of the task force for the upcoming Philippines Football League which had its inaugural season in 2017.[2]
Venue
Matches are played at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.[1]
Clubs
The league is composed of 12 clubs.
| Club | Head Coach | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agila | Richard Leyble | Shinji Shozu | LGR Sportswear | None |
| Ceres |  Risto Vidaković | Juan Luis Guirado |  Puma | Ceres Liner |
| Forza | Arvin Jay Soliman | Stephen Burda | LGR Sportswear | Orient Freight International |
| Global |  Leigh Manson | Misagh Bahadoran | LGR Sportswear | None |
| Green Archers United | Rodolfo Alicante | Tating Pasilan | LGR Sportswear | Globe Telecom |
| JP Voltes | Yu Hoshide | Masaki Yanagawa | LGR Sportswear | JK Mart |
| Kaya | Chris Greatwich | Alexander Borromeo | LGR Sportswear | LBC Express |
| Laos | Jovanie Villagracia |  Badreldin Elhabib | LGR Sportswear | None |
| Loyola Meralco Sparks | Simon McMenemy | James Younghusband |  Under Armour | Meralco |
| Manila Nomads |  Ronaldo Luis Bernardo |  Ubiam Ugochukwu Okoro | LGR Sportswear | True Blue Tools |
| Pasargad | Joel Villarino | Jean Claude Delos Reyes | LGR Sportswear | None |
| Stallion | Ernest Nierras | Ruben Doctora | Vizari | Giligan's Restaurant |
Managerial changes
| Team | Outgoing head coach | Manner of departure | Incoming head coach |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kaya |  Fabien Larry Lewis | End of contract | Chris Greatwich |
| JP Voltes | Shinichiro Maeno | End of contract | Yu Hoshide[3] |
| Laos | Rudy Del Rosario | End of contract | Jovanie Villagracia |
| Forza | Jun Mark Saraga | End of contract | Arvin Jay Soliman |
| Agila | Ramon Vicente Roxas | End of contract | Richard Leyble |
| Pasargad | Mike Agbayani | End of contract | Joel Villarino |
| Ceres | Ali Go | New coach under contract | Risto Vidaković |
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Global (C) | 19 | 15 | 2 | 2 | 80 | 15 | +65 | 47 | Qualification to the 2017 AFC Champions League Preliminary round 1 or 2017 AFC Cup Group stage[a] |
| 2 | Ceres (Q) | 19 | 13 | 2 | 4 | 109 | 18 | +91 | 41 | Qualification to the 2017 AFC Cup Group stage |
| 3 | Loyola Meralco Sparks | 19 | 13 | 2 | 4 | 83 | 23 | +60 | 41 | |
| 4 | JP Voltes | 19 | 13 | 2 | 4 | 51 | 16 | +35 | 41 | |
| 5 | Kaya | 19 | 12 | 1 | 6 | 78 | 25 | +53 | 37 | |
| 6 | Stallion | 19 | 8 | 7 | 4 | 43 | 28 | +15 | 31 | |
| 7 | Green Archers United | 19 | 6 | 3 | 10 | 29 | 48 | −19 | 21 | |
| 8 | Forza | 19 | 4 | 2 | 13 | 20 | 82 | −62 | 14 | |
| 9 | Manila Nomads (D, E) | 11 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 20 | 65 | −45 | 9 | Withdrew from the tournament[b] |
| 10 | Laos | 19 | 2 | 1 | 16 | 22 | 111 | −89 | 7 | |
| 11 | Agila (D, E) | 11 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 6 | 56 | −50 | 4 | Withdrew from the tournament[b] |
| 12 | Pasargad (D, E) | 11 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 4 | 58 | −54 | 1 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal Difference; 3) Goals Scored
(C) Champions; (D) Disqualified; (E) Eliminated; (Q) Qualified for the phase indicated
Notes:
Positions by round
| Leader | |
| 2017 AFC Cup group stage |
Results
Season statistics
Top goalscorers
| Rank | Name | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adrián Gallardo | Ceres | 30 |
| 2 | Phil Younghusband | Loyola Meralco Sparks | 21 |
| 3 | Stephan Schröck | Ceres | 18 |
 Robert Lopez Mendy | Kaya | ||
| 5 | Hikaru Minegishi | Global | 17 |
Hat-tricks
4 Player scored four goals
5 Player scored five goals
6 Player scored six goals
8 Player scored eight goals
Own goals
| Player | For | Club | Own goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ronnie Aguisanda | Loyola Meralco Sparks | Green Archers United | 2 |
| JP Voltes | |||
 Christian Nana | Global | Stallion | 1 |
| Michael Atienza | Global | Laos | |
| Jayson Cutamora | Global | JP Voltes | |
| Rezziel Villaespin | Agila | Laos | |
| John Lloyd Bastasa | Loyola Meralco Sparks | Laos | |
| Fidelis Nnabuife | Loyola Meralco Sparks | Manila Nomads | |
| Joseph Rigoberto | Global | Forza |
Honors
- Player
- Golden Boot:
Adrián Gallardo (Ceres)[4] - Golden Glove:
Nelson Gasic (JP Voltes)[4] - Golden Ball:
Hikaru Minegishi (Global)[4] - Best Midfielder: Matthew Hartmann (Global)[4]
- Best Defender: Masaki Yanagawa (JP Voltes)[4]
- Team
- Fairplay: Stallion F.C.[4]