The 2021 Copa Paulino Alcantara was the third edition of the
Copa Paulino Alcantara
The Copa Paulino Alcantara, also known as the PFL Cup, is a football tournament in the Philippines, organized by the Philippine Football Federation (PFF). It is contested by the clubs of the Philippines Football League (PFL), along with guest clu ...
, the domestic football cup competition of the
Philippines
The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
.
United City
United City is a group of businesses based within Greater Manchester, England, who supported proposals for congestion charging in Greater Manchester via the Greater Manchester Transport Innovation Fund bid for £3 billion. The bid was rejec ...
(then called Ceres–Negros) won the previous edition in
2019
This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year.
Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...
, but withdrew from the 2021 edition.
Kaya–Iloilo won their second title by defeating the
Azkals Development Team
The Azkals Development Team, commonly referred to as ADT, is a Philippine developmental football club that last competed in Philippines Football League, before officially withdrawing from the competition in May 2023.
Founded in 2020, the team ...
1–0 in
the final. All matches were played at the
PFF National Training Center
The PFF National Training Center or the National Football Center is a football ground at the San Lazaro Leisure and Business Park in Carmona, Cavite.
History
Plans to construct a football facility in Carmona, Cavite were announced as early as ...
in
Carmona, Cavite
Carmona (), officially the City of Carmona (), is a Cities of the Philippines, component city in the Philippine Province, province of Cavite, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 106,256 people.
Carmona is also th ...
.
Scheduling
The Copa Paulino Alcantara was not held in the 2020 season due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, with the league tournament held under a
bubble format.
There were initially plans to hold the cup tournament earlier in the year, but it was cancelled in March 2021 (along with several postponements to the
2021 Philippines Football League
The 2021 Philippines Football League (known as The Philippines Football League brought to you by Qatar Airways for sponsorship reasons) was to be the fifth season of Philippines Football League (PFL), professional association football, football ...
).
The tournament was revived once again in October 2021, after the league season was cancelled,
and now scheduled to take place during November 7–19.
Participating clubs
All six clubs in the
2020 Philippines Football League
The 2020 Philippines Football League, also known as The Philippines Football League brought to you by Qatar Airways, due to the league's title sponsorship, was the fourth season of the Philippines Football League (PFL), the professional football ...
were eligible to participate in the tournament. Cebu which was given a provisional license and also eligible to join. However the PFF added that only clubs willing to spend for their participation would take part in the tournament.
[ Maharlika Manila decided not to enter.]2022 AFC Cup
The 2022 AFC Cup was the 19th edition of the AFC Cup, Asia's secondary club association football, football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
This season was the last in an all-year-round (spring-to-autumn) schedule; ...
had they entered.
Format
Competition
The Copa Paulino Alcantara will consist of two rounds; the group stage and the knock-out stage. For the group stage, the six participating clubs were divided into two groups of three. The top two teams from each group will advance to the semifinals. There will also be a third place play-off for the losing semifinalists. The third placed teams in the group stage were supposed to play-off in the Plate final, but this was cancelled due to an absence of a third team in Group A after United City's withdrawal.
The winners will qualify for the 2022 AFC Champions League
The 2022 AFC Champions League was the 41st edition of Asia's premier club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the 20th under the current AFC Champions League title.
This edition was the last in an all-y ...
qualifying play-offs. Kaya–Iloilo, Mendiola and Stallion Laguna are eligible to qualify as holders of an AFC club license.
The tiebreaker used for the tournament is as follows: lowest number of red cards accumulated, lowest number of yellow cards or through a coin toss.
Draw
The draw was held on October 27, 2021.
Group stage
Group A
Group B
Knock-out stage
Semi-finals
Third place play-off
Final
Top scorers
Awards
Source:
References
{{2021 in Philippine football
Copa Paulino Alcantara seasons
2021 in Philippine football