2019–20_Premier_League_of_Belize
2019–20 Premier League of Belize
Football league season
The 2019–20 Premier League of Belize was the ninth season of the Premier League of Belize, the highest competitive football league in Belize, after it was founded in 2011. There were two seasons which were spread over two years.
| Season | 2019–20 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 27 July 2019 – 11 March 2020 |
| Champions | Opening: Verdes Closing: Season cancelled |
| CONCACAF League | Verdes |
| Matches played | 89 |
| Goals scored | 296 (3.33 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Opening: Mariano Landero (14) Closing: Georgie Welcome (8) |
| Biggest home win | Belmopan Bandits 11-0 Placencia Assassins (11 January 2020) |
| Biggest away win | Valley Pride Freedom Fighters 1-10 Verdes (6 October 2019) |
| Highest scoring | Valley Pride Freedom Fighters 1-10 Verdes (6 October 2019) Belmopan Bandits 11-0 Placencia Assassins (11 January 2020) |
| Longest winning run | San Pedro Pirates (4) |
| Longest unbeaten run | Verdes (15) |
| Longest winless run | Valley Pride Freedom Fighters (10) |
| Longest losing run | Valley Pride Freedom Fighters (7) |
← 2018–19 2022–23 → | |
| Team | City | Stadium | Manager | Captain |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Altitude | Independence | Michael Ashcroft Stadium |  Hilberto Muschamp |
Jose Urbina |
| Belize Defence Force | Belize City | MCC Grounds | Jerome Serano |
Osmar Duran |
| Belmopan Bandits | Belmopan | Isidoro Beaton Stadium |  Leroy Sherrier Lewis |
Dalton Eiley |
| Placencia Assassins | Placencia | Placencia Football Field | Robert Muschamp |
Ashley Torres |
| San Pedro Pirates | San Pedro | Ambergris Stadium |  Jorge Nunez |
Jesse Smith |
| Valley Pride Freedom Fighters[lower-alpha 1] | Dangriga | Carl Ramos Stadium | Gerson Voss |
Jacinto Bermudez |
| Verdes | San Ignacio | Norman Broaster Stadium |  Cesar Martin Dall'Orso |
Woodrow West |
| Wagiya | Dangriga | Carl Ramos Stadium | Francis Flores |
- Valley Pride Freedom Fighters did not compete in the closing season.
From the 2018–19 Premier League of Belize closing season, 7 teams continued to play in the opening season of 2019–20, with Placencia Assassins returning to the league to replace Police United. Freedom Fighters were also rebranded to Valley Pride Freedom Fighters and relocated to Dangriga from Punta Gorda.
There would be one league consisting of the 8 teams, who will play each other twice, with the top 4 teams advancing to the end of season playoffs. The opening season commenced on 27 July 2019.[1]
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Verdes | 14 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 45 | 15 | +30 | 33 | Advance to Playoffs |
| 2 | Belmopan Bandits | 14 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 35 | 13 | +22 | 28 | |
| 3 | San Pedro Pirates | 14 | 5 | 8 | 1 | 24 | 18 | +6 | 23 | |
| 4 | Altitude | 14 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 22 | 26 | −4 | 21 | |
| 5 | Wagiya | 14 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 22 | 16 | +6 | 19 | |
| 6 | Belize Defence Force | 14 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 21 | 21 | 0 | 19 | |
| 7 | Placencia Assassins | 14 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 15 | 36 | −21 | 6 | |
| 8 | Valley Pride Freedom Fighters | 14 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 14 | 53 | −39 | 4 |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
Results
| Home \ Away | ALT | BDF | BEL | PLA | SPE | VAL | VER | WAG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Altitude | 2–0 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 4–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | |
| Belize Defence Force | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 3–3 | 2–1 | |
| Belmopan Bandits | 3–1 | 2–0 | 6–0 | 0–0 | 6–2 | 1–4 | 3–1 | |
| Placencia Assassins | 2–3 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2–3 | 3–1 | 2–3 | 1–4 | |
| San Pedro Pirates | 1–1 | 3–3 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 2–2 | |
| Valley Pride Freedom Fighters | 2–4 | 0–4 | 0–7 | 3–2 | 1–2 | 1–10 | 0–1 | |
| Verdes | 5–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 7–1 | 3–3 | 3–0 | 2–0 | |
| Wagiya | 6–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 |
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
Playoffs
| Semifinals | Finals | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Verdes | 1 | 5 | 6 | |||||||||
| 4 | Altitude | 1 | 3 | 4 | |||||||||
| 1 | Verdes | 1 | 2 | 3 | |||||||||
| 2 | Belmopan Bandits | 1 | 0 | 1 | |||||||||
| 2 | Belmopan Bandits (a) | 2 | 0 | 2 | |||||||||
| 3 | San Pedro Pirates | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||||||||
Semifinals
Game One[2]
| 23 November 2019 | Altitude | 1 – 1 | Verdes | Michael Ashcroft Stadium, Independence |
| 19:30 | Andres Orozco  6' |
Everal Trapp 90+3' |
| 23 November 2019 | San Pedro Pirates | 1 – 2 | Belmopan Bandits | Ambergris Stadium, San Pedro |
| 19:30 | Jesse Smith 84' |
Roberto Silva de Lima 20' Nahjib Guerra 58' |
Game Two[3]
| 30 November 2019 | Belmopan Bandits | 0 – 1 (2 – 2 (a) agg.) | San Pedro Pirates | Isidoro Beaton Stadium, Belmopan |
| 20:00 | Mailson Moura 83' |
| 1 December 2019 | Verdes | 5 – 3 (6 – 4 agg.) | Altitude | Norman Broaster Stadium, San Ignacio |
| 16:00 | Elroy Smith 10' (pen.) Krisean Lopez 19', 77' Trimayne Harris 47', 83' |
Andres Orozco 4' Everal Trapp 31' (o.g.) Elroy Coe 90+5' |
Finals
Game One[4]
| 8 December 2019 | Belmopan Bandits | 1 – 1 | Verdes | Isidoro Beaton Stadium, Belmopan |
| 19:00 | Daniel Jimenez 45+1' |
Krisean Lopez 35' |
Referee: Ismael Cornejo (El Salvador) |
Game Two[5]
| 15 December 2019 | Verdes | 2 – 0 (3 – 1 agg.) | Belmopan Bandits | Norman Broaster Stadium, San Ignacio |
| 15:30 | Jeromy James 6' Elroy Smith 89' (pen.) |
Referee: Bryan Lopez Castellanos (Guatemala) |
Season statistics
Top scorers
| Rank | Player | Team | Goals* |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Mariano Landero |
Verdes | 14 |
| 2 |  Andres Orozco |
Altitude | 11 |
| 3 | Krisean Lopez |
Verdes | 9 |
| 4 | Roberto Silva de Lima |
Belmopan Bandits | 8 |
| 5 |  Facundo Garnier |
San Pedro Pirates | 7 |
| Edwin Villeda |
Verdes | ||
| 7 | Jesse August |
Belize Defence Force | 6 |
| 8 | Carlos Lino |
Valley Pride Freedom Fighters | 5 |
| Trimayne Harris |
Verdes | ||
| Henry Vivas |
San Pedro Pirates | ||
 Georgie Welcome |
Belmopan Bandits | ||
| 12 | Anderson Cordoba |
San Pedro Pirates | 4 |
| Miguel Garcia |
Altitude | ||
| Jaren Lambey |
Belize Defence Force | ||
| Camilo Sanchez |
Belize Defence Force | ||
| Ashton Torres |
Placencia Assassins |
* Includes playoff goals.
Hat-tricks
| Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mariano Landero | Verdes | Altitude | 5–1 (H) | 15 September 2019 |
| Mariano Landero | Verdes | Belize Defence Force | 3–3 (A) | 22 September 2019 |
| Carlos Gonzalez | Belmopan Bandits | Valley Pride Freedom Fighters | 7–0 (A) | 10 November 2019 |
Awards
At an awards ceremony on 4 January 2020, the individual awards were announced.[6]
| Award | Recipient | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Golden Boot | Mariano Landero |
Verdes |
| MVP (Regular Season) | Edwin Villeda |
Verdes |
| MVP (Playoff) | Krisean Lopez |
Verdes |
| Best Young Player | Jesse August |
Belize Defence Force |
| Best Midfielder | Jordy Polanco |
Verdes |
| Best Defender | Elroy Smith |
Verdes |
| Golden Glove | Shane Orio |
Belmopan Bandits |
| Best Coach | Cesar Martin Dall'Orso |
Verdes |
| Best Manager | Lorin Frazer |
Verdes |
7 of the 8 teams that participated in the opening season will participate in the closing season, with Valley Pride Freedom Fighters not competing, as they were unable to meet their commitments.[7]
The format will be the same as the opening season with one league consisting of the 7 teams, who will play each other twice, with the top 4 teams advancing to the end of season playoffs. The closing season commenced on 11 January 2020.[8]
On 18 April 2020 a virtual meeting was held by the Premier League of Belize, and it was unanimously agreed by club owners to cancel the remainder of the closing season due to the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic. The league also stated that the safety of players, officials, fans and stakeholders had to be taken into consideration. It was also agreed that Verdes would represent Belize at the 2020 CONCACAF League. According to the league, the decision to allow Verdes to represent Belize was based on the fact that the club had won the 2019–20 opening season, and was the aggregate point leader with a total of 51 points at the initial juncture, when the season was suspended.[9]
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Verdes | 8 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 14 | 4 | +10 | 18 | Advance to Playoffs |
| 2 | Belmopan Bandits | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 26 | 4 | +22 | 13 | |
| 3 | San Pedro Pirates | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 13 | 11 | +2 | 12 | |
| 4 | Altitude | 8 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 7 | +1 | 11 | |
| 5 | Placencia Assassins | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 19 | −12 | 8 | |
| 6 | Wagiya | 8 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 18 | −11 | 6 | |
| 7 | Belize Defence Force | 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 18 | −12 | 4 |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
Results
| Home \ Away | ALT | BDF | BEL | PLA | SPE | VER | WAG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Altitude | 1–1 | – | – | 2–2 | 0–0 | 2–2 | |
| Belize Defence Force | – | 0–5 | 2–1 | 1–2 | – | – | |
| Belmopan Bandits | 0–1 | – | 11–0 | – | – | 5–0 | |
| Placencia Assassins | 0–1 | 3–0 | 0–3 | – | 1–1 | – | |
| San Pedro Pirates | 1–1 | – | 3–2 | 1–2 | – | 2–0 | |
| Verdes | 1–0 | 3–1 | 0–0 | – | 2–1 | 2–1 | |
| Wagiya | – | 3–1 | – | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–5 |
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
Season statistics
Top scorers
| Rank | Player | Team | Goals* |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Georgie Welcome |
Belmopan Bandits | 8 |
| 2 | Facundo Garnier |
Belmopan Bandits | 7 |
| Jesse Smith |
San Pedro Pirates | ||
| 4 | Krisean Lopez |
Verdes | 3 |
Hat-tricks
| Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Georgie Welcome | Belmopan Bandits | Placencia Assassins | 11–0 (H) | 11 January 2020 |
| Facundo Garnier | Belmopan Bandits | Wagiya | 5–0 (H) | 8 February 2020 |
- "PLB 2019-2020 Opening Season kicks off this weekend". Amandala. 24 July 2019. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
- "Bandits Sport one step closer to Premier League finals". The Guardian. 29 November 2019. Archived from the original on 11 December 2019. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
- "PLB semifinals over; Bandits vs Verdes for Opening Season Championship". Amandala. 4 December 2019. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
- "Bandits – Verdes, 1-1 in PLB Finals Game 1; Game 2 "for all the marbles" this weekend". Amandala. 11 December 2019. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
- "Verdes FC are PLB 2019-2020 Opening Season Champions". Amandala. 21 December 2019. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
- "Premier League of Belize 2019-2020 Opening Season Awardees". Amandala. 8 January 2020. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
- "Tight contests in Week 2 of PLB 2019-2020 Closing Season". Amandala. 22 January 2020. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
- "PLB on a stumbling start to 2019-2020 Closing Season". Amandala. 15 January 2020. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
- "Belize's semi-pro basketball and football leagues cancelled due to COVID-19". San Pedro Sun. 20 April 2020. Retrieved 29 April 2020.