Fourteen ideas for a more awesome UFL, Part 2

Bob Guerrero

To read Part 1 of this post, click here.

Craft identities for the teams – The league should give fans a reason to support their teams by granting each of them an identity that is as unique as possible. Some teams already have one. Air Force and Army, for example, are all-homegrown squads that will appeal to fans from Iloilo, Negros and Mindanao. Kaya gets natural support from the upper echelons of society.

It gets fuzzy after that. You can go with the ethnic route. Pasargad is an Iranian team, Stallion used to be Ilonggo-Korean.

At any rate, the league and teams should sit down with advertising and PR people to try and create identities and stories for the teams that position them towards different demographics and psychographics of society. Then articles, blogs, and even TV spots can push these identities. It's the best way to engender passionate, loyal support.

If presidential candidates can do it, so should Football teams.

Play the UFL Cup Final in a provincial city every year – A Cup final is a special occasion that deserves a special venue. I think that Panaad Stadium in Bacolod, with its eucalyptus trees surrounding the stands, is an absolutely gorgeous venue with its share of history. Cebu's Abellana Field and the Iloilo sports complex are other alternatives.

Why have it in the province? Because a Cup Final is an important game that should be played in front of a packed stadium full of appreciative fans. And if you hold this game in the province, in front of fans starved of top-flight Football, then the chances of that happening increase.

It was painful to watch the last two Cup Finals in front of thousands of empty seats. The game deserves the best atmosphere possible.

Of course an added benefit is that it spreads the popularity of the league all over the nation, which is obviously a good thing.

The UEFA Champions League final is in a different city every year. With the help of Football-loving provincial governments across the nation, we could do something similar.

ALSO READ: UAAP Men's Football: UP comes back to down FEU, seals Finals date with Ateneo.

Build new Filipino stars – Right now only the Azkals like Phil and James Younghusband are recognizable stars. The league has to promote stars the way the NBA has done so well for decades.

The league also has to create Filipino stars, especially homegrown ones. Like it or not, many fans want to see homegrowns succeed against foreign players. If we can prove that Filipinos can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with players from around the world, then Filipinos just might start warming up to the league some more.

Tating Pasilan (Archers), Balot Doctora (Stallion), Patrick Deyto (Archers), Ansing Gustilo (Air Force) and Janrick Soriano (Kaya), are just some of the Philippine-born players who have the game to attract new fans.

The league should put these guys front and center in their advertising and promotional efforts.

ALSO READ: UAAP Women's Volleyball: The Final Four breakdown and season breakdown.

Get a sponsor for the referees. Officiating has been one of the most neglected aspects of Football in the Philippines since the Azkals of 2010 revived the game. The community has seen new pitches, new leagues, TV coverage, and more matches for the national team than ever before.

But referees continue to be undertrained, underpaid, and disrespected by players and fans alike.

Why not get a sponsor to pay for their training, increase their pay, and in exchange get their logos on their black shirts? Naturally it can't be a sponsor of any of the teams.

This is not an original idea: travel company Expedia sponsors the men in the middle for the English Premier League.

ALSO READ: Petron hands Ginebra third straight loss; Aces win.

Have an All-Star Weekend. In 2011 the UFL had an All-Star game with the league's best against the Azkals. The UFL's finest won 4-3.

I wouldn't have just one game in the All-Star weekend. How about two or three or even four?

I'd like to see a Negros vs Iloilo all-star game. Or how about Div 1 league champs against Div 2 All-stars? League All-Stars versus the Azkals is still a good idea. U23 team against UFL's 32 and above stars will be intriguing. Barotac Nuevo against The Rest of The World sounds good. The possibilities are endless.

Amd how about skills challenges? Headers, volleys, bicycle kicks, etc. With small cash prizes, of course. Another idea: the UFL Fastest Man competition. We can hold it in Rizal Memorial (where there is already a rubberized track.) Each team enters 2 runners for a 100m dash. We can have two heats and then a final race. It should be fun.

ALSO READ: Barako no longer “manong brigade.”

Charge admission. Right now it's free to watch the league. Perhaps that needs to change.

Once the grandstand at The Empy is fixed, I hope the league charges a a small fee for the right to sit there, perhaps P40. Then maybe P20 for the open bleachers.

I can hardly imagine anyone not wanting to go to a game because of a P20 ticket.

If my calculations are correct, a full house can draw in P50,000 to P60,000 in gross ticket sales revenue for one playdate. That's not bad at all. And the money can be funneled to youth development. Perhaps to fund the teams' youth squads.

Encourage the formation of Ultras for every team. Ultras, or superfan groups, add an energy to every game, since they cheer from the opening whistle all the way to the last kick of the ball.

Right now Kaya has the best, and most organized Ultras group, with scarves, drums and shirts.

I haven't always agreed with everything they have done, but their commitment to the team is just amazing. Every team deserves a group like them.

The best part: during Azkals games the Air Force Ultras and Kaya Ultras merge to form Ultras Filipinas.

Follow Bob on Twitter @bhobg333. Follow the UFL on @UFLphilippines.

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