It is now confirmed! In a press release issued by MMC Sportz Asia, they affirmed that an agreement has been signed for the transfer of ownership of the Ceres-Negros Football Company to a group of private investors managed by them.
Ceres-Negros FC is currently the #1 ranked team in Southeast Asia, and the three (03) times defending champion in the Philippines Football League (PFL).
“We would like to thank Mr. Yanson and his team for agreeing to the transfer of the Club into our name as this allows the players to continue participating in the Philippines Football League and hopefully also in the AFC Cup for the 2020 season”, according to Eric Gottschalk, CEO of MMC Sportz Asia, who will be the point of contact.
“We will now immediately apply for the permission with the PFF to re-name the Club to “United City Football Club” and request the PFF to support our statement of intent to continue participating in the AFC Cup ”, added by Gottschalk.
“We would like to honor the legacy which Mr. Yanson created when he founded the Ceres-Negros Club and we will try to continue the development of Philippines football, especially the professional league and the National Team. Our marketing activities are well under way, with the Fans at the heart of everything we do starting with a logo competition, with the final decision to come from the players and the Fans,” said the statement released by the club’s new owner.
MMC Sportz Asia said that players and staff have already committed to join the new team. The new club management also promised to give a clear insight into the new ownership structure in the coming days, as they believe transparency on all levels is key to the success of the new team and will unveil the names in due course.
The new club owner said that they received the commitment 16 from the original 21 registered Ceres-Negros players — not to include James Younghusband, who has retired recently from football — to play for the United City Football Club.
The services of almost the entire staff around General Manager Ace Bright will be retained, and the new owners showed intent to have Coach Risto return as the Head Coach.
The new football club will have its online presence felt via unitedcityfootballclub.com on the web, and @unitedcityfootballclub via Facebook.