How the Lipa Football League was Born

Action during the opening match of the Lipa Football League Season 1.

In the March 2017 management board meeting of the Lipa-based club ACF Real Molinillo, the concept for the Lipa Football League started to take shape. Because among the club’s self-proclaimed objectives was to promote the game of football in Lipa, a local league had been the subject of discussions on and off in previous board meetings.

Strangely enough, what hastened the birth of the league was an idiotic clique within the club that wanted to play separately in the annual De la Salle Lipa alumni cup. While this annoyed club chairman Rex Raymond Torrecampo no end, he nonetheless knew that to keep the members of the club glued together, they would have to play regularly in a football competition.

Playing in tournaments organized by others was considered but ultimately decided too expensive for a small club with limited funds like Real Molinillo. Thus, in that March 2017 meeting, it was finally decided by the club’s management board that the more viable alternative was to start a league in Lipa.

After the meeting, Torrecampo went on to write the concept paper for the league. Among the considerations were the smallness of the football community in Lipa; and the absence of funding for football teams. He wanted a tournament that would be inclusive rather than exclusive; and among the priorities was finding sponsorships.

Eventual LFL Season 1 champions FC Reigning Kickers pose for posterity on opening day.

By the club’s June meeting, preparations went into full gear. The club vice-president Gregg Atijon, because he was coaching the high school team of the Batangas College of Arts and Science and was, therefore, in touch with the football community, was given instructions by Torrecampo to start inviting coaches to an exploratory meeting.

Within a fortnight after the meeting, Atijon and the club’s president, Romualdo Yuson, sat down with coaches of several Lipa teams to broach the idea of starting a league. The idea was generally well-received.

Because the Lipa-campus of the University of Batangas was very much interested in joining, a deal was struck with the school whereby all league matches would be played on its football field. In return, the school would be considered as a co-presenter and its name and logo included in all advertising collaterals to be released by the league on social media.

The problem of the field was solved. However, there were other expenses still to worry about such as match equipment and officials. Sponsorship was needed, and for this Torrecampo turned to his former player at De la Salle Lipa, Erwin Sibayan. Sibayan agreed without hesitation to help the league in a financial sense, so the Lipa Football League was for all intents and purposes all systems go.

Action from the second opening day match of the LFL between BCAS FC and FC Reigning Kickers.

Five teams had agreed to be the founding members of the League: ACF Real Molinillo de Lipa, Kings FC of Stonyhurst International School of Lipa, BCAS FC, Brahman FC of UB-Lipa and eventual champions FC Reigning Kickers of the Kolehiyo ng Lungson ng Lipa.

On the 27^th of August, the Lipa Football League kicked off with two matches at the UB-Lipa Football Field without even holding opening ceremonies. ACF Real Molinillo defeated Kings FC 10-4 while BCAS FC and FC Reigning Kickers fought to a 5-all standoff.

The Lipa Football League was finally on its way.