List of Filipino football champions
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The historical absence of a continuously operating national league and a multi-division football system has made it difficult to truly determine and recognize the highest level tournament in the Philippines. The Philippine Football Federation, the governing body of football in the Philippines, has held men's national championship tournaments in various forms since 1911. The winners of these tournaments are therefore considered the de facto football champions of the Philippines. The latest of these national competitions is the Philippines Football League, which began its inaugural season in 2017.
Given the complex history of football in the Philippines, this article takes into account all notable "national" football competitions organized by the Philippine Football Federation. Also included is the National Capital Region-based United Football League and the PFF Women's League.
Philippine Football Federation competitions
National championship (1911–present)
Various tournaments and leagues have been directly organized by the Philippine Football Federation, such as the Philippine Football League, the Manila Premier Football League (MPFL), the P-League, the National Men's Open Championship, the National Men's Club Championship and currently the Philippines Football League. The majority of these leagues were often short-lived, and thus do not have a champions list readily available. The champions of these tournaments are lumped together in the following tables as "national champions".
Philippine Football League (1995)
First attempt of the Philippine Football League.
| Season | Champions | Score/s | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Makati | No playoffs | Lipa-Pasay |
Manila Premier Football League (1997)
| Season | Champions | Score/s | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Philippine Air Force | Philippine Army | |
P-League (1998–2000)
Second attempt of the Philippine Football League. Renamed as the P-League in 1998.
| Season | Champions | Score/s | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | National Capital Region-South | 3–1 | Negros Occidental F.A. |
| 1999 | National Capital Region-B (Navy and Air Force combination) | Davao | |
| 2000 | National Capital Region-South | 3–1 | Negros Occidental F.A. |
National Men's Open Championship (2005–2007)
| Season | Champions | Score/s | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | National Capital Region F.A. | 0–0 Penalties: 4–3 | Negros Occidental F.A. |
| 2006 | Negros Occidental F.A. | 2–1 | National Capital Region F.A. |
| 2007 | National Capital Region F.A. | 2–1 | Negros Occidental F.A. |
Filipino Premier League (2008)
The Filipino Premier League was planned to be held in three regional tournaments; one for Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, and culminate with the Filipino Premier League National Championships to be held in late 2009. However, the Visayas and Mindanao regional tournaments that was planned for the first half of 2009 was canceled, as well as the subsequent national championship. Thus, the Luzon tournament winner, Philippine Army, is not considered a "national champion".[10]
| Season | Champions | Score/s | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Philippine Army | 2–0 | Giligan's F.C. |
National Men's Club Championship (2011–2015)
| Season | Champions | Score/s | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Teknika F.C. | 3–0 0–2 Aggregate: 3–2 | Smart–San Beda F.C. |
| 2012–13 | Ceres F.C. | 1–0 | PSG F.C. |
| 2013–14 | Ceres F.C. | 2–1 1–0 Aggregate: 3–1 | Global F.C. |
| 2014–15 | Loyola Meralco Sparks F.C. | 2–0 | Global F.C. |
Philippines Football League (2017–present)
| Season | Champions | Score/s | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Ceres–Negros | 4–1 | Global Cebu |
| 2018 | Ceres–Negros | No playoffs | Kaya–Iloilo |
| 2019 | Ceres–Negros | No playoffs | Kaya–Iloilo |
| 2020 | United City | No playoffs | Kaya–Iloilo |
| 2021 | Not held due to COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines | ||
| 2022–23 | Kaya–Iloilo | No playoffs | Dynamic Herb Cebu |
| 2024 | Kaya–Iloilo | No playoffs | Dynamic Herb Cebu |
| 2024–25 | Kaya–Iloilo | No playoffs | Manila Digger |
| 2025–26 | Manila Digger | No playoffs | One Taguig |
Performance by club
Only Philippine clubs are listed in the table.
| Club | Winners | Winning seasons |
|---|---|---|
| Bohemian Sporting Club | 10 | 1912, 1913, 1915, 1916, 1917, 1918, 1920, 1921, 1922, 1927 |
| National Capital Region F.A.[a] | 6 | 1998, 1999, 2000, 2004, 2005, 2007 |
| United City[e] | 6 | 2012–13, 2013–14, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 |
| San Beda Athletic Club | 5 | 1928, 1930, 1931, 1932, 1933 |
| Philippine Air Force | 4 | 1982–83, 1985, 1989, 1997 |
| Kaya–Iloilo[c] | 4 | 2003, 2022–23, 2024, 2024–25 |
| San Miguel Corporation | 3 | 1978–79, 1980, 1983–84 |
| Meralco Reddy Kilowatts | 2 | 1968, 1972 |
| Philippine Navy | 2 | 1981–82, 1991 |
| Philippine Army | 2 | 1992, 2001 |
| Negros Occidental F.A. | 2 | 2002, 2006 |
| All Manila | 1 | 1911 |
| Manila Nomads | 1 | 1914 |
| International | 1 | 1925 |
| Ateneo F.C. | 1 | 1926 |
| University of Santo Tomas | 1 | 1934 |
| Manila Lions | 1 | 1967 |
| Dragons | 1 | 1970–71 |
| Barotac Nuevo F.C. | 1 | 1979 |
| CDCP | 1 | 1980–81 |
| Dumaguete F.C. | 1 | 1987 |
| M. Lhuillier Jewelers F.C. | 1 | 1988 |
| Bacolod F.C. | 1 | 1990 |
| Davao City F.C. | 1 | 1993 |
| Pasay | 1 | 1994 |
| Makati | 1 | 1995 |
| Global F.C.[d] | 1 | 2011 |
| Loyola F.C.[f] | 1 | 2014–15 |
| Manila Digger | 1 | 2025–26 |
- National Capital Region was also known as National Capital Region-B and National Capital Region-South.
- National Capital Region-B was a combination of Navy and Air Force.
- Kaya–Iloilo was known as Kaya until 2017 and Kaya–Makati until 2018.
- Global was competing under the name Teknika for sponsorship reasons in 2011.
- United City were known as Ceres until 2017 and Ceres–Negros until 2020.
- Loyola F.C. was known as Loyola Meralco Sparks until 2017 and Meralco Manila until 2018.
Women's competitions
Philippine Ladies' Football National League (1981)
| Season | Champions | Score/s | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981[11] | University of the Philippines | No playoffs | Philippine Air Force |
PFF National Women's Open Football Championship
| Season | Champions | Score/s | Runners-up | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Davao F.A. | No information (won by penalties) | National Capital Region F.A. | [12] |
| 2005 | Davao F.A. | 5–0 | Cebu F.A. | [13] |
| 2006 | National Capital Region F.A. | 3–1 | Negros Oriental F.A. | [12] |
PFF Women's League (2016–present)
| Season | Champions | Score/s | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016–17 | De La Salle University | No playoffs | University of Santo Tomas |
| 2018 | De La Salle University | No playoffs | University of Santo Tomas |
| 2019–20 | De La Salle University | No playoffs | Far Eastern University |
| 2020 | Not held due to COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines | ||
| 2021 | |||
| 2023 | Kaya–Iloilo | 1–0 | Manila Digger |
| 2025 | Kaya–Iloilo | No playoffs | Stallion Laguna |
Other competitions
Manila Football League (1930–1967)
The Philippine Football Federation did not hold a national tournament from 1936 to 1966. Only the Manila Football League was organized. This league began in 1930 and was restricted to clubs from the Manila metropolitan area. The winners of the Manila Football League are not considered "national champions". Its final competition was in 1967.
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United Football League (2009–2016)
The United Football League Division 1 was based in the National Capital Region of the Philippines and established as a "premier league" in 2009. The league was a round-robin format and also had a second division. The winners listed below do not include the winners of the UFL Cup, a knockout-tournament which allowed teams to participate regardless of their division. In a season, the cup competition was held first from mid-October to mid-December, followed by the league competition from January to June of the following year. The winners of the United Football League are not considered "national champions".
| Year | Champions | Runners-up | Third place | Leading goalscorer | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Philippine Air Force | Kaya | Union |  Izzo Elhabbib (Kaya) |
14 |
| 2011 | Philippine Air Force | Global | Philippine Army | Izzo Elhabbib (Global) |
7 |
| 2012 | Global | Kaya | Loyola |  Phil Younghusband (Loyola) |
23 |
| 2013 | Stallion | Global | Loyola |  Rufo Sánchez (Stallion) |
18 |
| 2014 | Global | Loyola | Kaya | Mark Hartmann (Global) |
27 |
| 2015 | Ceres | Global | Loyola | Adrián Gallardo (Ceres) |
18 |
| 2016 | Global | Ceres | Loyola | 30 |
Philippines Football League Finals Series (2017, 2024–25)
The Finals Series has been a separate competition from the PFL regular season and features the top 4 teams in the league table. It is held after the conclusion of the season.
| Season | Champions | Score/s | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Same as league champions (Finals Series part of league proper) | ||
| 2018–2024 | Not held | ||
| 2024–25 | Dynamic Herb Cebu | 1–0 | Manila Digger |
PFF U16 National Boys' Championship (2026–present)
| Season | Champions | Score/s | Runners-up | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | National Capital Region F.A. | 4–1 | Iloilo-Guimaras R.F.A | [14] |