Stallion Laguna Football Club is a Filipino professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club based in Biñan, Laguna. The club competes in the

Philippines Football League The Philippines Football League (PFL) is a men's professional association football, football league in the Philippines. Sanctioned by the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) and organized by Liga Futbol Inc., it is the country's Football in t ...

, the top tier of

football in the Philippines Football in the Philippines is administered by the Philippine Football Federation (PFF), the governing body of football in the country. Football in the Philippines is a sport played at professional and amateur levels across the country. Foot ...

. In 2002, the club was founded as Stallion Football Club. The club competed in the Metro Manila-based United Football League, earning promotion to Division 1 after finishing as runners-up in the 2011 season. The club proceeded to compete in the UFL Division 1 from 2012 to 2016, winning one United Football League title and one

UFL Cup The United Football League Cup, commonly known as UFL Cup, was a Filipino association football competition. It was played on a multistage format that culminated in a knockout stage (single elimination). Clubs eligible to compete for the cup wer ...

, both in the 2012–2013 UFL season. Originally based in

Barotac Nuevo, Iloilo Barotac Nuevo, officially the Municipality of Barotac Nuevo (, ), is a municipality in the province of Iloilo, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 58,176 people. The town is officially known as the ''Football ...

, the club moved to the Biñan Football Stadium in Biñan, Laguna in 2016, after submitting its application to join the Philippines Football League. Stallion Laguna also used 4,500-capacity

McKinley Hill Stadium McKinley Hill Stadium is a 2,000-seater football stadium at McKinley Hill in Taguig, Metro Manila, Philippines. History McKinley Hill Stadium was erected by real estate developer Megaworld Corporation and constructed by All Asia Structures, Inc ...

for some home games.

History

In 2001, a group of football enthusiasts from

thought of establishing a club that would regularly compete in football tournaments held in the town. The name of the club was conceptualized during a drinking session where most of the group were drinking Red Horse Stallion beer. The group decided to name the club Stallion Football Club after Tamasak, the town's folklore hero, a pure white stallion known for its strength. The club made its debut in the 2001 Barotac Nuevo Football Club (BNFC) Seven-a-Side Football Tournament. They played under the name Stallion Aqua Sports at the 2002 Cocomangas Beach Football Tournament in Boracay due to sponsorship deal with Aqua Sport Shop Boracay. They returned to the BNFC as the Stallion Bulalo Soldier in 2003. Stallion was formally established as a proper club in 2006, and continued to participate in various local competitions in the Philippines including the Siniki Football Festival and other tournaments in

Cebu Cebu ( ; ), officially the Province of Cebu (; ), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 167 surrounding islands and islets. The coastal zone of Cebu is identified as a ...

Boracay Boracay (; sometimes shortened by non-natives as Bora) is a resort island in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines, located off the northwest coast of Panay, Panay Island. It has a total land area of , under the jurisdiction of thre ...

, Subic,

Metro Manila Metropolitan Manila ( ), commonly shortened to Metro Manila and formally the National Capital Region (NCR; ), is the capital region and largest List of metropolitan areas in the Philippines, metropolitan area of the Philippines. Located ...

and

Capiz Capiz (), officially the Province of Capiz (Capiznon language, Capiznon/Hiligaynon language, Hiligaynon: ''Kapuoran sang Capiz''; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the central part of the Western Visayas Regions of the Philippines ...

. Initially the club culture revolved around building friendship among its members and Red Horse Stallion drinking session usually held after each match of the club. However the club decided to begin catering to a wider demographic in order to develop football in their locale. Stallion organized the first edition of its own football tournament, the Stallion Football Club Seven-a-Side Football Tournament in order to promote football in Barotac Nuevo and in early 2019 set up Stallion Kids, a football development program for the youth. It began competing in national football tournaments and leagues such as the United Football League (UFL) in 2010 and the 2011 PFF-Smart Club Championships. In the later tournament, the club lost to San Beda in the quarterfinals, 2–1.

2010–11: Promotion to UFL Division 1

Stallion FC finished as one of the top three teams in the

UFL Division 2 The United Football League Division 2, often referred to as UFL Division 2 or UFL 2, was the second-tier association football league in the Philippines. During its existence, it is the second-highest division of football in the Philippines after ...

during the 2011 United Football League season. This automatically earned the club a

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to the UFL Division 1 along with Manila Nomads and

Pasargad Pasargadae (; ) was the capital of the Achaemenid Empire under Cyrus the Great (559–530 BC), located just north of the town of Madar-e-Soleyman and about to the northeast of the city of Shiraz. It is one of Iran's World Heritage Site, UNESCO ...

2011–12: Debut in first division

At the start of the

2012 United Football League The 2012 United Football League was the third season of the UFL since its establishment as a semi-professional league in 2009. Global FC won their first Division 1 league title on goal difference against runners-up Kaya, after a 1–1 draw with ...

season, in the club's first match in the UFL Division 1, Stallion defeated

Philippine Navy The Philippine Navy (PN) () is the naval warfare service branch of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. It has an estimated strength of 24,500 active service personnel, including the 10,300-strong Philippine Marine Corps. It operates 91 combat ...

, 6–0. In their next match, the team defeated the

2011 UFL Cup The 2011 United Football Cup was the third edition of the United Football Cup that ran from mid-October to mid-December 2011. This edition consisted of 28 teams which were separated into seven groups with the top two teams of the group advancin ...

and then current league champions

Philippine Air Force The Philippine Air Force (PAF) () is the aerial warfare service branch of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Initially formed as part of the Philippine Army as the Philippine Army Air Corps (PAAC) in 1935, the PAAC eventually saw combat ...

, 4–1. In addition, the club also scored a 3–2 win against eventual 2012 season champions

Global FC Global may refer to: General *Globe, a spherical model of celestial bodies *Earth, the third planet from the Sun Entertainment * ''Global'' (Paul van Dyk album), 2003 * ''Global'' (Bunji Garlin album), 2007 * ''Global'' (Humanoid album), 198 ...

. To close the season, Stallion defeated

Philippine Army The Philippine Army (PA) () is the main, oldest and largest branch of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), responsible for ground warfare. , it had an estimated strength of 143,100 soldiers The service branch was established on December ...

in their last couple of games. With these two wins, the club secured the fourth spot of the top division.

2012–13: New signings and affiliate team

In preparation for the 2013 season, aside from sharing its

coaching staff The coaching staff is a group of non-athletes tied to a sports team. A coaching staff can be existent at all levels of athletics. It is led by a head coach (known as a manager or senior coach in some sports) and consists of one or more assistant ...

with an affiliate Sta. Lucia-owned club, Stallion signed footballers Rhante Bayquin and Won Hyung Lee to beef up their lineup for the

2012 UFL Cup The 2012 United Football League Cup was the fourth edition of the United Football League Cup that ran from September 15 to December 17, 2012. This edition consisted of 28 teams which separated into four groups of five. Starting this edition, th ...

. In addition, the club also got the services of Spanish

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

Rufino Familiar Sanchez and defender Joaquin Canas Garcia from Internacional de Madrid CF, an association football club from Moraleja de Enmedio in

Community of Madrid The Community of Madrid (; ) is one of the seventeen autonomous communities and 50 provinces of Spain, provinces of Spain. It is located at the heart of the Iberian Peninsula and Meseta Central, Central Plateau (); its capital and largest munici ...

, Spain that plays in the

Tercera División Tercera División () was the fourth tier of the Spanish football league system. Until 1977, it was the third tier of the Spanish football league system. Founded in 1929, it was below the ''Primera División'' (also known as La Liga), the ''Segund ...

. In August 2012, Stallion announced that it has signed Filipino international player and

Philippines national under-23 football team The Philippines national under-23 football team represents the Philippines in international football competitions in the Olympic Games, Asian Games, Southeast Asian Games and any other under-23 international football tournaments. It is control ...

captain

Jason de Jong Jason Nicolas Maria Dantes de Jong (born 28 February 1990) is a Filipino footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for North West Sydney Spirit FC in Australia. He has also represented the Philippines at international level. De Jong has p ...

for the upcoming season. De Jong, who also represents the

Philippines national football team The Philippines national football team () represents the Philippines in men's international association football, football, governed by the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) and has been playing internationally since 1913. Prior to World W ...

in the international level, was initially offered to play for Stallion in March 2012, but then he was offered a trial with

Ayr United Ayr United Football Club are a football club in Ayr, Scotland, who play in the , the second tier of the Scottish Professional Football League. Formed in 1910 by the merger of Ayr Parkhouse and Ayr F.C., their nickname is The Honest Men, fro ...

. Eventually, due to financial constraints, the

Scottish First Division The Scottish Football League First Division was the second tier in the Scottish football league system between 1975 and 2013. It was replaced by the Scottish Championship. History The First Division was introduced in 1975–76 in Scottish footb ...

side was forced to let De Jong go, which enabled Stallion to finally sign him to a contract.

UFL Cup champions

The club started in the group stages and topped

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with 9 points (3 wins, 1 loss) to qualify in the knockout stage. In the quarterfinals of the cup's

knockout stage A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...

, Stallion defeated General Trias FC on penalty shoot out with 5–4 result. In the

semi-finals A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, ...

, the club edged

Green Archers United Green Archers United Futbol Club, formerly known as Alabang Grins Futbol Club, was a Filipino professional association football club based in Lipa, Batangas, Lipa, Batangas, Philippines. The team last played in the 2019 Philippines Football Le ...

with a scoreline of 3–1, booking them for the finals. On 17 December 2012, Stallion FC defeated

on the

finals Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

of the UFL Cup in the

Rizal Memorial Stadium The Rizal Memorial Track and Football Stadium (simply known as the Rizal Memorial Stadium) is a stadium in Manila, Philippines. Part of the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex which is designated by the National Historical Commission of the Philippin ...

, Manila with a score of 2–1, getting the cup title and its first UFL crown. Team captain Ruben Doctora and Spanish striker

Rufo Sánchez Rufino "Rufo" Familiar Sánchez (born 27 December 1986) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for Pontevedra CF as a forward. Club career Born in Madrid, Rufo represented CD Coslada and CF Rayo Majadahonda as a youth, and made his sen ...

scored one goal apiece to upset previous league champions Global. Doctora won the Golden Ball award, the tournament's equivalent to the

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...

award, while Wilson Muñoz bagged the Golden Glove trophy as the best goalkeeper in the competition.

PFF Championship early exit

To prepare for the second season of the

PFF National Men's Club Championship The Philippine Football Federation National Men's Club Championship was an annual association football, football competition organized by the Philippine Football Federation and contested by Football in the Philippines, Filipino clubs. It lasted ...

, Stallion enlisted the services of American soccer midfielder Jeremy Taylor Hohn and

Goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

Cyrus Andre Mohseni, who was part of the under-18 team of the

U.S. Soccer Development Academy The U.S. Soccer Development Academy (DA) was an American soccer league. Formed in 2007, the league featured youth academies and youth clubs from various organizations, including Major League Soccer and the United Soccer League. The DA's mission ...

. On 13 January 2013,

Negros Occidental Negros Occidental (; ), officially the Province of Negros Occidental (; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Negros, Negros Island. Its capital is the city of Bacolod, of which it is geographically s ...

-based club Ceres FC pulled a stunning 1–0 upset over Stallion FC, eliminating the

champions from the

2013 PFF National Men's Club Championship Thirteen or 13 may refer to: * 13 (number) * Any of the years 13 BC, AD 13, 1913, or 2013 Music Albums * ''13'' (Black Sabbath album), 2013 * ''13'' (Blur album), 1999 * ''13'' (Borgeous album), 2016 * ''13'' (Brian Setzer album), 2006 * ...

UFL Division 1 campaign

After a disappointing run in the

, Stallion signed several foreign football players to bolster its lineup including Colombian-born American

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

Diego Barrera Diego Barrera (born March 25, 1987) is an American soccer player. Born in Colombia, Barrera represented the United States at a youth level. Career College and amateur Barrera was born in Bogotá, Colombia. His family moved to California when ...

, Argentinian

Matthias Bonvehi, Japanese midfielder Yuuri Ishizuka, Brazilian-Japanese midfielder

Daniel Matsunaga Daniel Kenji Silva Matsunaga (born November 28, 1988) is a Brazilian former model, actor, professional footballer, host and businessman. He became known in the Philippines by appearing in ''Cosmopolitan Philippines''’ September 2009 "Cosmo Me ...

, and Australian defender Jesse Martindale. In addition, several players from local clubs transferred to Stallion such as Brazilian

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

Guilherme Hasegawa from Team Socceroo FC and

Shirmar Felongco from Ceres FC. On 13 June 2013, Stallion clinched the

Division 1 Division 1 or Division One may refer to: Association football * Azadegan League, the second-tier professional football league in Iran * Brisbane Premier League Division 1, the second-tier professional football league in Brisbane, Queensland, Austr ...

championship of the

2013 United Football League The 2013 United Football League was the fourth season of the UFL since its establishment as a semi-professional league in 2009. Global FC are the defending champions, having won the previous Division 1 of the 2012 United Football League sea ...

after

Kaya Kaya may refer to: People *Kaya (given name) * Kaya (surname) Places *Kaya, Burkina Faso, a town in Burkina Faso, capital of the department * Kaya Airport, serving the town * Kaya Department, a department or commune of Sanmatenga Province in cen ...

came away with a 3–2 victory against

Global Global may refer to: General *Globe, a spherical model of celestial bodies *Earth, the third planet from the Sun Entertainment * ''Global'' (Paul van Dyk album), 2003 * ''Global'' (Bunji Garlin album), 2007 * ''Global'' (Humanoid album), 198 ...

at the Emperador Stadium in Mckinley Hill,

Taguig Taguig (), officially the City of Taguig (), is the List of cities in the Philippines, fifth-most populous city in the Philippines situated on the eastern shores of Metro Manila, the national capital region. It is a center for culture, finance ...

Philippines Football League

Stallion were set to participate at the inaugural season of the

(PFL) in 2017. They designated

Biñan Football Stadium The Biñan Football Stadium is a track and field and football venue in Biñan, Laguna, Philippines. On October 28, 2015, the Biñan city government and the Philippine Football Federation signed a memorandum of understanding agreeing that the ...

as their home turf and by mid-January 2017 already started pre-season training and tryouts in the venue. The club renamed themselves as Stallion Laguna as part of their participation in the PFL. In 2019, Stallion Laguna joined the

Philippine Premier League The Philippine Premier League (PPL) was a short-lived top-flight association football league in the Philippines sanctioned by the Philippine Football Federation (PFF). It was intended as a successor league to the Philippines Football League (PFL ...

(PPL), a league which was meant to replace the PFL. However they along with United Makati withdrew from the league on 26 April 2019, a day before the first match day of the league citing concerns regarding what the Stallion management see as a lack of professionalism and transparency regarding the league's management. Stallion Laguna then participated in the 2019 PFL season which was held in lieu of the dissolved PPL.

AFC Cup debut

Stallion Laguna finished the

2022–23 Philippines Football League The 2022–23 Philippines Football League was the fifth season of Philippines Football League (PFL), the professional football league of the Philippines. This is the second season of the PFL under the sponsorship of Qatar Airways. The season be ...

season in the third place which earns them the qualified to the

2023–24 AFC Cup The 2023–24 AFC Cup was the 20th edition of the AFC Cup, Asia's secondary club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the final edition under the AFC Cup title, as the competition was revamped under the nam ...

. The club was then place in Group G alongside Australian club

Central Coast Mariners Central Coast Mariners Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Gosford, on the Central Coast of New South Wales. It competes in the A-League Men, under licence from the Australian Professional Leagues (APL). The Mar ...

, Malaysian club

Terengganu Terengganu (; Terengganu Malay: ''Tranung'', formerly spelled Trengganu or Tringganu) is a sultanate and States and federal territories of Malaysia, federal state of Malaysia. The state is also known by its Arabic honorific, ''Dāru l-Iman (c ...

and Indonesian club

Bali United Bali United Football Club (; , ''æklub’ sépak bola Bali United'') is a professional football club based in Gianyar, Bali, Indonesia. The club competes in the Liga 1, the top tier of Indonesian football. Bali United emerged in 2015 as the ...

. On 26 October 2023, Stallion Laguna earn their first ever point in the AFC competition after drawing 2–2 with Terengganu.

Youth

Stallion Laguna runs a youth football academy known as the Stallion Youth Academy. Starting the 2019 season the academy would be merging with the Makati Football Club (MFC) with the existing academy of the club to be renamed as the Stallion MFC Youth Academy. MFC was managed by Stallion former player Selu Lozano who would be rejoining the club as a player and corporate manager for the 2019 season.

Kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors

* ¹Major shirt sponsor ''(names located at the front of the shirt)''. * ²Secondary sponsor ''(names mostly located at the back of the shirt)''.

Players

Coaching staff

Head coaches

Honors

Leagues

* United Football League Division 1 **Winners:

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

* United Football League Division 2 **''Runners-up:''

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

Cups

**Winners:

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

Other honors

*Stallions FC Invitational Cup **Winners: 2017

Records

Continental record

''All results (away, home and aggregate) list Stallion's goal tally first.''

Performance in AFC competitions

* AFC Cup/AFC Champions League Two: 1 appearance :: 2023–24: Group stage

Notes

References

External links

Stallion F.C.
at the United Football League (archived 21 November 2011) {{Calabarzon Sports Stallion Laguna Stallion Laguna Association football clubs established in 2002 2002 establishments in the Philippines Sports in Iloilo