2021–22_FFB_Top_League
2021–22 FFB Top League
Football league season
The 2021–22 FFB Top League was the inaugural and only season of the FFB Top League, sanctioned by the Football Federation of Belize (FFB), taking over from the Premier League of Belize (PLB) as the highest competitive football league in Belize. There were two seasons spread over two years, the opening (played towards the end of 2021) and the closing (played at the beginning of 2022).
| Season | 2021–2022 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 23 October 2021 – 24 April 2022 |
| Champions | Opening: Verdes Closing: Verdes |
| CONCACAF League | Verdes |
| Matches played | 60 |
| Goals scored | 181 (3.02 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Opening: Krisean Lopez Junior Vargas Sean Young (7 goals) Closing: Juan Carlos Lopez Krisean Lopez Andres Orozco (5 goals) |
| Longest winning run | Opening: 9 matches Verdes Closing: 9 matches Verdes |
| Longest unbeaten run | Opening: 10 matches Verdes Closing: 10 matches Verdes |
| Longest winless run | Opening: 10 matches Caesar Ridge Closing: 8 matches Caesar Ridge |
| Longest losing run | Opening: 6 matches Caesar Ridge Closing: 6 matches Caesar Ridge |
The FFB Top League was put in place by the FFB due to the PLB being subject to restrictions mandated by the Supreme Court of Belize.[1] The formation of the league will fulfil the requirement made by FIFA to restart football in Belize, as well as protecting the participating berth for the FFB for the 2022 CONCACAF League.[2]
The FFB expected to only administer the 2021–22 tournament, providing that the PLB legal matters will be resolved during this time.[3]
Six teams were successful in meeting all of the requirements to compete in the inaugural season. From the 2019–20 Premier League of Belize closing season, four teams joined the opening season of the FFB Top League. These were Altitude, San Pedro Pirates, Verdes and Wagiya. The additional two teams were made up of Caesar Ridge from Belize City, who previously competed in amateur level competitions in the country, and Garden City, a newly formed team from Belmopan.[4]
On 17 October 2021 the most successful team in the PLB era, Belmopan Bandits, released a statement confirming that they will not participate in the FFB Top League. The Bandits refused to sign a participation agreement created by the FFB, citing several reasons.[5]
For the opening season, all games were played at the Isidoro Beaton Stadium in Belmopan with no fans in attendance, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[3] For the closing season, games were played at various stadiums around the country, including the FFB Stadium in Belmopan. 500 fully vaccinated fans were allowed to attend per game.[6]
| Team | City |
|---|---|
| Altitude | Independence |
| Caesar Ridge | Belize City |
| Garden City | Belmopan |
| San Pedro Pirates | San Pedro |
| Verdes | San Ignacio |
| Wagiya | Dangriga |
The team that accumulates the most points at the end of the ten rounds of games will be crowned as the opening season champion. The opening season commenced on 23 October 2021.[7]
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Verdes (C) | 10 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 34 | 8 | +26 | 28 | Qualification for the 2022 CONCACAF League |
| 2 | Altitude | 10 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 20 | 9 | +11 | 20 | |
| 3 | San Pedro Pirates | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 11 | 9 | +2 | 15 | |
| 4 | Garden City | 10 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 14 | 15 | −1 | 13 | |
| 5 | Wagiya | 10 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 12 | 19 | −7 | 6 | |
| 6 | Caesar Ridge | 10 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 9 | 40 | −31 | 2 |
Results
| Home \ Away | ALT | CAE | GAR | SPE | VER | WAG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Altitude | 5–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 2–1 | |
| Caesar Ridge | 0–6 | 2–3 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 1–3 | |
| Garden City | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 5–2 | |
| San Pedro Pirates | 0–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | |
| Verdes | 3–2 | 13–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 3–2 | |
| Wagiya | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–3 | 1–2 |
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
Season statistics
Top scorers
Hat-tricks
| Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Junior Vargas |
Verdes | Caesar Ridge | 13–1 (H) | 24 October 2021 |
 Krisean Lopez4 |
- Notes
4 Player scored 4 goals
Awards
The individual awards for the opening season were announced after the final game on 19 December 2021.[8]
| Award | Recipient | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Most Goals | Krisean Lopez |
Verdes |
| Junior Vargas |
Verdes | |
| Sean Young |
Caesar Ridge | |
| MVP | Krisean Lopez |
Verdes |
| Best Young Player | Wilfredo Galvez |
Garden City |
| Best Forward | Sean Young |
Caesar Ridge |
| Best Midfielder | Jordy Polanco |
Verdes |
| Best Defender | Asrel Sutherland |
San Pedro Pirates |
| Best Goalkeeper | Woodrow West |
Verdes |
| Best Coach |  David Pérez Asensio |
Verdes |
| Best Manager | Lorin Frazer |
Verdes |
The format will be the same as the opening season, with the team that accumulates the most points at the end of the ten rounds of games being crowned as the closing season champion. The closing season commenced on 5 February 2022.[6]
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Verdes (C) | 10 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 28 | 2 | +26 | 28 | Qualification for the 2022 CONCACAF League |
| 2 | Altitude | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 15 | 8 | +7 | 18 | |
| 3 | San Pedro Pirates | 10 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 15 | 7 | +8 | 17 | |
| 4 | Garden City | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 19 | −12 | 9 | |
| 5 | Caesar Ridge | 10 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 9 | 26 | −17 | 7 | |
| 6 | Wagiya | 10 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 19 | −12 | 5 |
Results
| Home \ Away | ALT | CAE | GAR | SPE | VER | WAG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Altitude | 1–1 | 2–0 | 4–2 | 0–0 | 3–0 | |
| Caesar Ridge | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 0–7 | 4–3 | |
| Garden City | 2–2 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–4 | 1–1 | |
| San Pedro Pirates | 1–0 | 1–0 | 6–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | |
| Verdes | 2–0 | 5–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 5–0 | |
| Wagiya | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 |
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
Season statistics
Top scorers
| Rank | Player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Juan Carlos Lopez |
Verdes | 5 |
| Krisean Lopez |
Verdes | ||
 Andres Orozco |
Altitude | ||
| 4 | Jovaunn Ramos |
Verdes | 4 |
| 5 | Horace Avila |
San Pedro Pirates | 3 |
| Mario Chimal |
San Pedro Pirates | ||
| Moises Hernandez |
San Pedro Pirates | ||
| Warren Moss |
Wagiya | ||
| Edwin Villeda |
Verdes | ||
| Sean Young |
Garden City |
- "Football strife; Bandits not happy with FFB". Amandala. 20 October 2021. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
- "New national football competition begins this weekend; SP Pirates FC plays home away game". The San Pedro Sun. 19 October 2021. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
- "Football Federation of Belize announces Top League Tournament 2021/2022". Breaking Belize News. 19 October 2021. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
- "FFB Top League under way at Isidoro Beaton Stadium". Amandala. 30 October 2021. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
- "Belmopan Bandits issues press release". Amandala. 20 October 2021. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
- "Fans to be allowed as Football Federation Top League Tournament kicks off on Saturday". Breaking Belize News. 3 February 2022. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
- "San Pedro Pirates FC beat Garden City FC at opening of FFB Top League tournament". The San Pedro Sun. 26 October 2021. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
- "Verdes undefeated Top League champs; Altitude sub-champs". Amandala. 25 December 2021. Retrieved 10 January 2022.