Loyola F.C.


Loyola Football Club is a Filipino association football club based in Manila. The club has won one UFL Cup and one PFF National Men's Club Championship.
Founded as Loyola Agila Football Club in 2006, the club changed its name to Loyola Meralco Sparks in 2011 after it was acquired by Meralco and the MVP Sports Foundation, both owned by multimillionaire Manny V. Pangilinan. The club was a founding member of the United Football League —the de facto top-level league of Philippine football back then. They played in the UFL throughout its existence from 2010 to 2016. In 2017, the club changed its name to FC Meralco Manila upon joining the Philippines Football League, the official top flight of Philippine football. Rizal Memorial Stadium then became the club's home ground. In the 2017 PFL, the club finished at the top of the league table but ended up in third place after the playoffs. In January 2018, the club ceased its participation in the PFL due to the lack of investors. The club was then renamed Loyola Football Club, though only their youth teams and academy remain operational.

History

Loyola Agila FC (2006–2011)

The club was founded in 2006 as Loyola Agila Football Club by former student footballers of Ateneo de Manila University. The team is named after St. Ignatius of Loyola, the university's patron saint, while Agila is Tagalog for "eagle".
Loyola was one of the teams that joined the first season of the UFL which they finished in fourth place. The team was then sponsored by ATR Kim-Eng by the 2011 season, which they finished 5th place under their team captain Patrick Ozaeta.

Loyola Meralco Sparks FC (2011–2016)

2011 season

Straight from the 2011 National Club Championships, the brothers Phil and James Younghusband led the new signed players of the Sparks in early September 2011, along with brothers Darren, Matthew and Mark Hartmann. The team was eventually taken over by Meralco and the MVP Sports Foundation which is owned by Manuel V. Pangilinan.
The Loyola Sparks had a successful campaign in the 2011 UFL Cup, but eventually lost to the Philippine Air Force 2–0 in the finals.

2012 season

The Sparks started their 2012 United Football League campaign on a high note, topping all clubs at the end of the first round of competition. However, the club ended its league run in third place after a 1-all draw against eventual league champions Global FC.
After securing first place in the first round, the club was invited to play in the 2012 Singapore Cup. In the preliminary round on 18 May 2012, they played Geylang United FC, where they won 2–1 in added extra time, advancing them to the two-legged quarter-finals. They faced Burmese club Kanbawza in early July wherein they defeated them 5–3 on aggregate after a 3–1 win and a 2–2 draw in both legs. They faced Tampines Rovers FC in a two-legged semi-finals and lost 5–0 on aggregate. They lost the third-place match 4–0 to Gombak United.
The club also participated in the 2012 UFL Cup between September 15 to December 17, 2012. The club topped Group C, with Pachanga coming in a close second, to advance to the semi-finals of the cup. However, the team was eventually defeated by Global ending their run.

2013 season

The club qualified for the 2013 PFF National Men's Club Championship alongside other UFL clubs. The club played against Flame United FC in the knock-out stage. However, they were eliminated by fellow Division 1 UFL side Kaya in the quarterfinals. They've played with Harimau Muda B in the 2013 Singapore Cup opening match which ended in favor of the club. However, they only reach the quarterfinal round when they bowed out to Tanjong Pagar United in a 5–4 aggregate.
After the elimination at the Singapore Cup, the team marked their fifth appearance at the 2013 UFL Cup. They started their campaign at the group stages by beating Dolphins United in double digits. They also faced Navy with a huge 9–0 victory.
Last 30 October 2013, Loyola set a record with the most goals scored in the United Football League, they faced Blue Guards at the Emperador Stadium. Meralco defeated them by a margin of 33 points. It is regarded as the most lopsided win in the history of the United Football League since it began a semi-professional league in 2009. Because of that Phil Younghusband currently leads the top scorer of the cup at 18 goals and the team advances to the knockout stages of the tournament.

2014 season

The sparks ended their 2014 season as runners-up in the 2014 United Football League, finishing 13 points behind eventual champions Global and 3 points ahead Kaya.

FC Meralco Manila (2017)

After the announcement of the formation of the Philippines Football League, which was set to replace the United Football League as the country's top-tier football league, Loyola, along with 7 other UFL clubs, expressed their desire to enter the newly-founded league. On the PFL's launching on April 21, 2017, it was confirmed that the team changed their name to FC Meralco Manila and assigned Manila as their home city. The team designated the Rizal Memorial Stadium as their home venue.
On January 8, 2018, the club announced that they have ceased their participation in the league. The management stated that they attempted to find investors to keep the club's league participation possible but were unable to do so.

Loyola FC (2018–)

In mid-January 2018, the club now called "Loyola Football Club" announced that their youth academy would continue operations. Their youth teams will continue their participation in the Youth Football League and they have entered a youth squad at the 7s Football League.

Crest

The club's crest is a variation of the Ateneo de Manila University seal, from which the club traces its roots. However, the seal's origin is the Shield of Oñaz-Loyola, a symbol of St. Ignatius family's Oñaz lineage.
The crest's colors are gold, maroon, and blue – representing nobility, strength, and loyalty respectively. The left side of the crest consists of seven maroon bars going diagonally from the upper left to the lower right on a gold field. The right side of the crest features a pair of rampant gray wolves flanking each side of a cooking pot. The "Loyola" name was a contraction of the words Lobo y Olla which literally meant "wolf and pot" in Spanish. The wolves are a symbol of nobility, and represents the players and fans of the club.
On 2017, the gray wolves was replaced by a sea-lion which is a representation of Manila.

Players

Invitational tournament record

Honors

Domestic

League

Head coaches

NamePeriod
Kim Chul-soo2011–2013
Vincent Santos2013–2014
Simon McMenemy2014–2016
Jose Ariston Caslib2016–2018