2018–19 Premier League of Belize

The 2018–19 Premier League of Belize was the eighth 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, the opening was played towards the end of 2018 and the closing was 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

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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

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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

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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

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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
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Playoffs

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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

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Game One[2]

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

Game Two

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

Finals

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Game One[3]

16 December 2018 Verdes 2 – 4 Belmopan Bandits Norman 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 Bandits 1 – 2
(5 – 4 agg.)
Verdes Isidoro 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

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Top scorers

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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

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Player For Against Result Date
  Nahjib Guerra Verdes Wagiya 7–0 (H) 29 July 2018
  Eduardo Chavira4 San Pedro Pirates Altitude 4–0 (A) 19 August 2018
  Georgie Welcome Belmopan Bandits Police United 3–0 (A) 26 August 2018
  Highking Roberts Wagiya Freedom Fighters 3–2 (H) 26 August 2018
  Georgie Welcome Belmopan Bandits Freedom Fighters 5–2 (A) 2 September 2018
  Eduardo Chavira San Pedro Pirates Altitude 6–1 (H) 20 October 2018
  Jeromy James Belmopan Bandits Wagiya 4–1 (A) 21 October 2018
  Georgie Welcome Belmopan Bandits Freedom Fighters 4–1 (H) 3 November 2018

4 Player scored 4 goals

Awards

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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

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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

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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

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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
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Playoffs

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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

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Game One[6]

28 April 2019 Verdes 3 – 4 Belmopan Bandits FFB 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 Pirates 6 – 1
(7 – 1 agg.)
Belize Defence Force Ambergris Stadium, San Pedro
19:30 Facundo Garnier   19', 61', 68', 71'
Jesse Smith   34'
Anderson Cordoba   74' (pen.)
Camilo Sanchez   51' (pen.)

Finals

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Game One[8]

11 May 2019 Belmopan Bandits 1 – 0 San Pedro Pirates Isidoro 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 Pirates 2 – 0
(2 – 1 agg.)
Belmopan Bandits Ambergris 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

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Top scorers

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Rank Player Team Goals*
1   Elroy Smith Verdes 11
2   Camilo Sánchez 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

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Player For Against Result Date
  Trimayne Harris Belmopan Bandits Altitude 3–1 (A) 19 January 2019
  Camilo Sanchez Belize Defence Force Freedom Fighters 4–1 (H) 7 April 2019
  Highking Roberts Wagiya Freedom Fighters 3–5 (A) 14 April 2019
  Georgie Welcome Belmopan Bandits Verdes 4–3 (A) 28 April 2019
  Facundo Garnier4 San Pedro Pirates Belize Defence Force 6–1 (H) 4 May 2019

4 Player scored 4 goals

Awards

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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

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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[a]
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 for the phase indicated
Notes:
  1. ^ As champions with better aggregate record (BLZ1)

List of foreign players in the league

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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
Wagiya
  •   Cristhian Cruz  

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

References

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  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. ^ a b "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. ^ a b "San Pedro Pirates are first time National Football Champions of Belize". Amandala. 22 May 2019. Retrieved 19 June 2019.