2018–19 Premier League of Belize

The 2018–19 Premier League of Belize is the eighth season of the Premier League of Belize, the highest competitive football league in Belize, after it was founded in 2011. There are two seasons which are spread over two years, the opening (which will be played towards the end of 2018) and the closing (which will be played at the beginning of 2019).

Premier League of Belize
Season2018–19
Dates22 July 2018 – 18 May 2019
ChampionsOpening:
Belmopan Bandits
Closing:
San Pedro Pirates
CONCACAF LeagueBelmopan Bandits
Matches played124
Goals scored399 (3.22 per match)
Top goalscorerOpening:
Georgie Welcome (17)
Closing:
Elroy Smith (11)
Biggest home winVerdes 7-0 Wagiya
(29 July 2018)
Biggest away winFreedom Fighters 0-6 Police United
(19 August 2018)
Highest scoringFreedom Fighters 4-5 Altitude
(30 September 2018)
Longest winning runVerdes (6)
Longest unbeaten runBelmopan Bandits (12)
Longest winless runBelize Defence Force
Freedom Fighters
Police United
Wagiya (6)
Longest losing runBelize Defence Force
Freedom Fighters (6)

Team Information
Team City Stadium Head coach Captain
Altitude Independence Michael Ashcroft Stadium Wilmer Garcia Ashley Torres
Belize Defence Force Belize City MCC Grounds Charlie Slusher Blake Tejada
Belmopan Bandits Belmopan Isidoro Beaton Stadium Shane Orio Dalton Eiley
Freedom Fighters Punta Gorda Victor Sanchez Union Field Charles Gutierrez Evan Mariano
Police United Belmopan Isidoro Beaton Stadium Dale Pelayo Sr. Andres Makin Jr.
San Pedro Pirates San Pedro Ambergris Stadium Jorge Nunez Jesse Smith
Verdes San Ignacio
Santa Elena		 Norman Broaster Stadium
Santa Elena Sporting Complex		 Marvin Ottley Elroy Smith
Wagiya Dangriga Carl Ramos Stadium Dennis Serano Erwin Middleton

Opening Season

From the 2017–18 Premier League of Belize closing season, 7 teams continued to play in the opening season of 2018–19, with Altitude taking over the franchise of Placencia Assassins.

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 22 July 2018.[1]

League table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Belmopan Bandits 14 10 3 1 39 9 +30 33 Advance to Playoffs
2 Verdes 14 11 0 3 37 13 +24 33
3 San Pedro Pirates 14 7 1 6 24 18 +6 22
4 Police United 14 5 3 6 22 28 −6 18
5 Altitude 14 6 0 8 20 34 −14 18
6 Freedom Fighters 14 4 2 8 30 43 −13 14
7 Wagiya 14 4 1 9 20 35 −15 13
8 Belize Defence Force 14 3 2 9 16 28 −12 11
Source: Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

Results
Home \ Away ALT BDF BEL FRE POL SPE VER WAG
Altitude 2–1 0–3 3–2 2–3 0–4 1–2 2–1
Belize Defence Force 0–1 0–0 2–3 2–0 1–2 2–4 0–3
Belmopan Bandits 4–0 5–0 4–1 4–4 0–1 1–0 5–0
Freedom Fighters 4–5 2–2 2–5 0–6 3–4 3–0 3–1
Police United 2–1 1–3 0–3 2–2 1–0 0–5 1–1
San Pedro Pirates 6–1 0–1 0–0 1–3 0–1 1–2 2–1
Verdes 1–0 2–1 0–1 5–0 3–0 3–1 7–0
Wagiya 1–2 3–1 1–4 3–2 2–1 1–2 2–3
Updated to match(es) played on 25 November 2018. Source: Soccerway
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Playoffs
  Semifinals Finals
                         
1 Belmopan Bandits 1 1 2  
4 Police United 1 0 1  
    1 Belmopan Bandits 4 1 5
  2 Verdes 2 2 4
2 Verdes 4 1 5
3 San Pedro Pirates 1 2 3  

Semifinals

Game One[2]

8 December 2018 San Pedro Pirates1 – 4VerdesAmbergris Stadium, San Pedro
19:30 Eduardo Chavira  84' Darwin Bermudez  4', 32'
Nahjib Guerra  21'
Elroy Kuylen  75'
9 December 2018 Police United1 – 1Belmopan BanditsIsidoro Beaton Stadium, Belmopan
16:00 Carlton Thomas  61' (pen.) Jeromy James  26'

Game Two

12 December 2018 Verdes1 – 2
(5 – 3 agg.)		San Pedro PiratesNorman Broaster Stadium, San Ignacio
19:30 Elroy Smith  57' Eduardo Oliva  11'
Pablo Mendizabal  15'
13 December 2018 Belmopan Bandits1 – 0
(2 – 1 agg.)		Police UnitedIsidoro Beaton Stadium, Belmopan
20:00 Jeromy James  90+3'

Finals

Game One[3]

16 December 2018 Verdes2 – 4Belmopan BanditsNorman Broaster Stadium, San Ignacio
16:00 Elroy Kuylen  45'
Nahjib Guerra  68'		 Kevin Vicente  3'
Georgie Welcome  16', 64'
Trimayne Harris  73'		 Referee: Wálter López Castellanos (Guatemala)

Game Two[4]

22 December 2018 Belmopan Bandits1 – 2
(5 – 4 agg.)		VerdesIsidoro Beaton Stadium, Belmopan
20:00 Jeromy James  80' Desmond Wade  22'
Trevor Lennen  35' (o.g.)		 Referee: Mario Escobar Toca (Guatemala)
 2018–19 Opening Season Champions 
Belmopan Bandits
9th title

Season Statistics

Top scorers
Rank Player Team Goals*
1 Georgie Welcome Belmopan Bandits 17
2 Eduardo Chavira San Pedro Pirates 12
Alexander Peters Freedom Fighters
4 Nahjib Guerra Verdes 9
5 Jeromy James Belmopan Bandits 7
Krisean Lopez Verdes
Highking Roberts Wagiya
8 Jonard Castillo Wagiya 6
Trimayne Harris Belmopan Bandits
Jaren Lambey Freedom Fighters
11 Darwin Bermudez Verdes 4
Jarret Davis Verdes
Evan Mariano Freedom Fighters
Pablo Mendizabal San Pedro Pirates
Roberto Silva de Lima Verdes
Carlton Thomas Police United

* Includes playoff goals.

Hat-tricks
PlayerForAgainstResultDate
Nahjib GuerraVerdesWagiya7–0 (H)29 July 2018
Eduardo Chavira4San Pedro PiratesAltitude4–0 (A)19 August 2018
Georgie WelcomeBelmopan BanditsPolice United3–0 (A)26 August 2018
Highking RobertsWagiyaFreedom Fighters3–2 (H)26 August 2018
Georgie WelcomeBelmopan BanditsFreedom Fighters5–2 (A)2 September 2018
Eduardo ChaviraSan Pedro PiratesAltitude6–1 (H)20 October 2018
Jeromy JamesBelmopan BanditsWagiya4–1 (A)21 October 2018
Georgie WelcomeBelmopan BanditsFreedom Fighters4–1 (H)3 November 2018

4 Player scored 4 goals

Awards

In the post-game ceremonies of the final game of the season, the individual awards were announced.[4]

Award Recipient Team
Golden Boot Georgie Welcome Belmopan Bandits
MVP (Regular Season) Georgie Welcome Belmopan Bandits
MVP (Playoff) Jeromy James Belmopan Bandits
Best Young Player Krisean Lopez Verdes
Best Midfielder Kevin Vicente Belmopan Bandits
Best Defender Dalton Eiley Belmopan Bandits
Golden Glove Shane Orio Belmopan Bandits
Best Coach Kent Gabourel Belmopan Bandits
Best Manager Emeliano Rivero San Pedro Pirates

Closing Season

All 8 teams that participated in the opening season will participate in the closing season.

The format will be the same as the opening season with 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 closing season commenced on 12 January 2019.[5]

League table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 San Pedro Pirates 14 8 2 4 23 15 +8 26 Advance to Playoffs
2 Belmopan Bandits 14 7 4 3 25 15 +10 25
3 Verdes 14 6 6 2 19 9 +10 24
4 Belize Defence Force 14 6 4 4 19 15 +4 22
5 Police United 14 6 1 7 21 28 −7 19
6 Altitude 14 5 2 7 18 21 −3 17
7 Freedom Fighters 14 3 4 7 15 23 −8 13
8 Wagiya 14 2 3 9 13 27 −14 9
Source: Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

Results
Home \ Away ALT BDF BEL FRE POL SPE VER WAG
Altitude 2–2 1–3 0–1 2–1 0–1 1–3 4–1
Belize Defence Force 1–2 2–0 4–1 1–2 0–1 1–0 1–0
Belmopan Bandits 3–1 1–1 3–1 4–1 4–2 1–1 0–0
Freedom Fighters 0–1 0–0 1–2 3–1 1–1 0–0 5–3
Police United 1–0 2–2 1–3 3–1 1–2 1–2 3–2
San Pedro Pirates 2–1 1–2 2–1 3–1 0–1 1–1 4–1
Verdes 1–1 1–2 0–0 2–0 5–0 1–0 1–1
Wagiya 1–2 2–0 1–0 0–0 1–3 0–3 0–1
Updated to match(es) played on 28 April 2019. Source: Soccerway
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Playoffs
  Semifinals Finals
                         
1 San Pedro Pirates 1 6 7  
4 Belize Defence Force 0 1 1  
    1 San Pedro Pirates 0 2 2
  2 Belmopan Bandits 1 0 1
2 Belmopan Bandits 4 0 4
3 Verdes 3 0 3  

Semifinals

Game One[6]

28 April 2019 Belize Defence Force0 – 1San Pedro PiratesMCC Grounds, Belize City
16:00 Anderson Cordoba  85' (pen.)
28 April 2019 Verdes3 – 4Belmopan BanditsFFB Stadium, Belmopan
16:00 Elroy Smith  22' (pen.), 89' (pen.)
Elroy Kuylen  50'		 Trimayne Harris  12'
Georgie Welcome  57' (pen.), 68', 71'

Game Two[7]

4 May 2019 San Pedro Pirates6 – 1
(7 – 1 agg.)		Belize Defence ForceAmbergris Stadium, San Pedro
19:30 Facundo Garnier  19', 61', 68', 71'
Jesse Smith  34'
Anderson Cordoba  74' (pen.)		 Camilo Sanchez  51' (pen.)
4 May 2019 Belmopan Bandits0 – 0
(4 – 3 agg.)		VerdesIsidoro Beaton Stadium, Belmopan
20:00

Finals

Game One[8]

11 May 2019 Belmopan Bandits1 – 0San Pedro PiratesIsidoro Beaton Stadium, Belmopan
20:00 Humberto Requena  5' Referee: Bryan Lopez Castellanos (GUA)
Assistant referees: Marvin Diaz (GUA) & Ricardo Ake (BLZ)
Fourth official: José Colindres (BLZ)

Game Two[9]

18 May 2019 San Pedro Pirates2 – 0
(2 – 1 agg.)		Belmopan BanditsAmbergris Stadium, San Pedro
19:30 Facundo Garnier  67'
Mailson Moura  76'		 Referee: Sergio Reyna (GUA)
Assistant referees: Pablo Ramirez (GUA) & Ricardo Ake (BLZ)
Fourth official: Elfren Guy (BLZ)
 2018–19 Closing Season Champions 
San Pedro Pirates
1st title

Season Statistics

Top scorers
Rank Player Team Goals*
1 Elroy Smith Verdes 11
2 Camilo Sanchez Belize Defence Force 10
3 Andres Orozco Altitude 9
Highking Roberts Wagiya
5 Facundo Garnier San Pedro Pirates 8
6 Trimayne Harris Belmopan Bandits 7
Georgie Welcome Belmopan Bandits
8 Jaren Lambey Freedom Fighters 5
Harrison Roches Police United
10 Anderson Cordoba San Pedro Pirates 4
Jerry Palacios Belmopan Bandits
Carlton Thomas Police United
Luis Valdez San Pedro Pirates

* Includes playoff goals.

Hat-tricks
PlayerForAgainstResultDate
Trimayne HarrisBelmopan BanditsAltitude3–1 (A)19 January 2019
Camilo SanchezBelize Defence ForceFreedom Fighters4–1 (H)7 April 2019
Highking RobertsWagiyaFreedom Fighters3–5 (A)14 April 2019
Georgie WelcomeBelmopan BanditsVerdes4–3 (A)28 April 2019
Facundo Garnier4San Pedro PiratesBelize Defence Force6–1 (H)4 May 2019

4 Player scored 4 goals

Awards

In the post-game ceremonies of the final game of the season, the individual awards were announced.[9]

Award Recipient Team
Golden Boot (Regular Season) Andres Orozco Altitude
Highking Roberts Wagiya
Camilo Sanchez Belize Defence Force
Elroy Smith Verdes
Golden Boot (Overall) Elroy Smith Verdes
MVP (Regular Season) Georgie Welcome Belmopan Bandits
MVP (Playoff) Facundo Garnier San Pedro Pirates
Best Young Player Warren Moss Wagiya
Best Midfielder Jesse Smith San Pedro Pirates
Best Defender Dalton Eiley Belmopan Bandits
Golden Glove Rodrigo Vasquez Verdes
Best Coach Jorge Nunez San Pedro Pirates
Best Manager Tony Maldonado San Pedro Pirates

Aggregate table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Belmopan Bandits (Q) 28 17 7 4 64 24 +40 58 CONCACAF League preliminary round[lower-alpha 1]
2 Verdes 28 17 6 5 56 22 +34 57
3 San Pedro Pirates 28 15 3 10 47 33 +14 48
4 Police United 28 11 4 13 43 56 −13 37
5 Altitude 28 11 2 15 38 55 −17 35
6 Belize Defence Force 28 9 6 13 35 43 −8 33
7 Freedom Fighters 28 7 6 15 45 66 −21 27
8 Wagiya 28 6 4 18 33 62 −29 22
Source: Soccerway Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(Q) Qualified to the phase indicated.
Notes:
  1. As champions with better aggregate record (BLZ1)

List of foreign players in the league

This is a list of foreign players in the 2018–19 season. The following players:

  1. Have played at least one game for the respective club.
  2. Have not been capped for the Belize national football team on any level, independently from the birthplace.

Each team can have a maximum of five foreign players in their roster.

Altitude
  • Miguel Garcia
  • Andres Orozco
  • Darwin Sarmiento
  • Ronaldo Vergara
Belize Defence Force
  • Jose Tinoco
Belmopan Bandits
Police United
  • Jehoshaphat Nnadi
San Pedro Pirates
  • Eduardo Chavira
  • Facundo Garnier
  • Pablo Mendizabal
  • Mailson Moura
  • Anderson Cordoba
  • Carlos Pertuz
  • Selvin Zeron Sagastume
Verdes
  • Darwin Bermudez
  • Dilmer Castillo
  • Edlin Gutierrez
  • Alan Leandro
  • Selvin Zeron Sagastume
  • Roberto Silva de Lima
  • Yoras Silva
  • Rodrigo Vasquez
  • Edwin Villeda
Wagiya
  • Cristhian Cruz

(player released during the Opening season) (player released between the Opening and Closing seasons) (player released during the Closing season)

References
  1. "Premier League Opening Season kickoff, and upcoming international matches". Amandala. 25 July 2018. Retrieved 27 July 2018.
  2. "Verdes FC eyes Premier League finals". The Guardian. 14 December 2018. Retrieved 16 December 2018.
  3. "Bandits, 4-2, over Verdes in 1st leg of PLB Championship Finals". Amandala. 19 December 2018. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
  4. "Belmopan Bandits SC, champions; Verdes FC, sub-champions of PLB 2018-2019 Opening Season". Amandala. 29 December 2018. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
  5. "Southern teams stand strong in Week 1 of PLB 2018-2019 Closing Season". Amandala. 16 January 2019. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  6. "Road teams, Bandits and Pirates gain 1st leg victories in PLB semifinals". Amandala. 1 May 2019. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  7. "Bandits vs Pirates to clash in PLB Closing Season finals". Amandala. 8 May 2019. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  8. "The Big Dance! Pirates host Bandits in 2nd leg of PLB Championship final on Saturday in San Pedro". Amandala. 15 May 2019. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  9. "San Pedro Pirates are first time National Football Champions of Belize". Amandala. 22 May 2019. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
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