The Premier League of Belize is the leading professional football tournament in Belize, a country located in Central America. With the birth of this tournament, Belize football has a new playground to develop and compete with other tournaments in the region. In this article, 2019 Southeast Asian Games will learn about the Premier League of Belize football tournament, from its formation history to information about the competition schedule, participation format, rankings and special features of the tournament. this tournament.
What is the Premier League of Belize?
The Premier League of Belize (also known as PLB) is the leading professional football tournament in Belize. This tournament is organized by the Belize Football Federation (FFB) and was established in 2011. Initially, the tournament only had 6 teams participating, but later expanded to 8 teams from the 2012- two thousand and thirteen.
The goal of the PLB football tournament is to create a professional playground for football clubs in Belize, giving them the opportunity to compete and develop. In addition, the tournament also plays an important role in selecting young talents to be included in Belize’s national team.
History of formation and development of the Premier League of Belize football tournament
Before the PLB, Belize football only had two official tournaments: the National Championship and the National Cup. However, with the growth of football in Belize, football leaders decided to establish a new league to increase competition and attract fan interest.
The Premier League of Belize was established in 2011, with the initial name of the Belize Professional Football League. However, the tournament was later renamed Premier League of Belize to match other football tournaments around the world.
Since the 2012-2013 season, the tournament has expanded to 8 participating teams. Clubs participating in the Premier League of Belize football tournament come from all regions and cities of Belize, including Belmopan, Belize City, Dangriga, San Ignacio and Orange Walk.
Premier League of Belize soccer tournament schedule for the 2023-2024 season
The 2023-2024 season is a special season for the Premier League of Belize football tournament, as this tournament will officially become the top professional league in Belize. Therefore, this season’s competition schedule is also expected and paid more attention than ever.
The 2023-2024 season of the PLB football tournament is expected to take place from August 2023 to May 2024. According to the schedule, the tournament will include 2 stages: group stage and final round.
Group stage
The group stage of the Premier League of Belize football tournament will take place from August 2023 to March 2024. During this period, 8 teams will compete against each other in a two-legged round-robin schedule. . In total, each team will have to play 28 matches.
After the end of the group stage, teams will be ranked according to accumulated points. The top team in the group will automatically qualify for the final round, while the second and third placed teams will have to compete in play-offs to compete for a place in the final round.
Final round
The final round of the Premier League of Belize football tournament is expected to take place from April to May 2024. Teams will compete in a knockout format, with matches consisting of two legs and two legs. The winning team will be determined after calculating the total number of goals in the two matches.
Format for participation in the Premier League of Belize football tournament
To participate in the Premier League of Belize, football clubs in Belize must meet a number of facilities, financial and management requirements. Additionally, they must also register and submit an application to participate in the tournament before the season begins.
Currently, there are 8 clubs participating in the PLB football tournament, including:
- Belmopan Bandits
- Belize Defense Force
- Freedom Fighters
- Police United
- Verdes FC
- Wagiya FC
- San Pedro Pirates
- Placencia Assassins
Latest rankings of the Premier League of Belize football tournament
After the end of the group stage of the 2022-2023 season, the latest rankings of the PLB football tournament were announced. Accordingly, Belmopan Bandits won the championship, while Belize Defense Force and Freedom Fighters ranked second and third respectively.
Below is the detailed rankings of the Premier League of Belize football tournament for the 2022-2023 season:
Teams participating in the PLB soccer tournament
As mentioned above, there are currently 8 football clubs participating in the Premier League of Belize football tournament. Below is information about these teams:
Belmopan Bandits
- Belmopan Bandits is the team leading the rankings of the Premier League of Belize football tournament in the 2022-2023 season. This is also the team that won this tournament in 2014 and 2015.
Belize Defense Force
- Belize Defense Force is a football team belonging to the Belize army, founded in 1980. This is the team with the best record in the history of the PLB football tournament, with 6 championship titles.
Freedom Fighters
- Freedom Fighters is a new team participating in the Premier League of Belize football tournament, established in 2018. However, this team had an impressive season when ranked third on the 2022-2023 season rankings.
Police United
- Police United is a football team belonging to the Belize police agency, founded in 2007. This is the team that won the PLB football championship in 2011 and 2017.
Verdes FC
- Verdes FC is a team founded in 2004 and has participated in the Premier League of Belize since 2011. This is the team that won this tournament in 2015 and 2016.
Wagiya FC
- Wagiya FC is a team founded in 2008 and has participated in the Premier League of Belize since 2012. This is the team with the best results in the history of this tournament, achieving two runner-up finishes (five times). 2013 and 2014).
San Pedro Pirates
- San Pedro Pirates is a new team participating in the PLB football tournament, established in 2018. This is the first team from San Pedro Island, one of Belize’s famous tourist destinations.
Placencia Assassins
- Placencia Assassins is a team founded in 2009 and has participated in the Premier League of Belize football tournament since 2012. This is the team with the worst performance in the history of this tournament, having only won one runner-up finish ( year 2018).
Outstanding players of the Premier League of Belize football tournament
The Premier League of Belize is not only a playground for football teams, but also a place for young players to have the opportunity to develop and prove their talent. Below are the outstanding players of this tournament:
Elroy Smith (Belize Defense Force)
- Elroy Smith is one of the best players in the history of the PLB football tournament. He won 6 championship titles with the Belize Defense Force and is considered the symbol of this team.
Deon McCaulay (Belmopan Bandits)
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- Deon McCaulay is one of the top players of the Belmopan Bandits. He once scored 11 goals in a match and is currently the player with the most goals in the history of the Premier League of Belize football tournament.
Jarret Davis (Police United)
- Jarret Davis is one of the important players of Police United. He helped this team win the Premier League of Belize football championship in 2011 and 2017.
Harrison Roches (Verdes FC)
- Harrison Roches is one of the key players of Verdes FC. He helped this team win the Premier League of Belize soccer championship in 2015 and 2016.
John King (Wagiya FC)
- John King is one of the prominent players of Wagiya FC. He won the PLB Football Player of the Year title in 2013 and 2014.
Memorable events of the Premier League of Belize football tournament
The PLB has had many memorable events in its history. Here are some of them:
Establishment of the Premier League of Belize (1991)
- In 1991, the Premier League of Belize football tournament was established with the original name “Belize Premier Football League”. This is an important event marking the development of professional football in Belize.
Changed the name of the tournament to “Premier League of Belize” (2008)
- In 2008, this football tournament officially changed its name to “Premier League of Belize”, to create consistency with other football tournaments around the world.
Belize Defense Force’s first championship (1992)
- In 1992, the Belize Defense Force won the PLB football championship for the first time in its history.
Belize football teams participating in the CONCACAF Champions League (2014, 2016)
- In 2014 and 2016, Belmopan Bandits and Verdes FC became the first Belize teams to participate in the highest tournament in the CONCACAF region – CONCACAF Champions League.
The future of PLB football
Currently, the Premier League of Belize football tournament is growing and attracting the attention of many football fans. Clubs are also making efforts to improve the quality of the tournament and attract more young talents.
In the future, the PLB football tournament will likely expand the number of participating clubs and further enhance its facilities and expertise. This will help Belize football grow and contribute to increasing this country’s influence on the world football map.
Conclude
Above is basic information about the Premier League of Belize football tournament, from the history of formation and development to participating teams, outstanding players, memorable events and the future of the tournament. Hopefully this article has helped you better understand football in Belize and the country’s most important tournament. Thank you for reading!