Inaugural Semi-Pro Football League Promises Thrilling Finish

The inaugural season of the Saint Lucia Semi-Professional Football League (SPFL) is about to conclude with what fans expect to be thrilling playoff games.

Launched in March, the league aims to economically empower young men by compensating them for playing football.

Organisers described the level of play as impressive, with more than 250 goals scored across the two tiers. 

In a recent statement before the playoffs, SPFL Chief Executive Officer Francis Daniel highlighted the positive outcomes of the competition so far.

“To date, we’ve had 81 games. 81 beautiful games, I must say. We’ve had something like 130 goals scored in Tier 1. Likewise, we’ve had somewhere in the region of 122 goals scored in tier 2. We have 11 of our players who are participating in the SPFL, also participating on the national team,” Daniel noted.

The final phase will utilise the “Page Playoff System.”

This format, similar to the one used in franchise cricket, involves four teams and provides a significant advantage to the top two teams from the league stage.

Here is how it works:

Qualifier 1: The teams that finish in the top two positions in the league stage face each other in Qualifier 1. The winner of this match advances directly to the final.

Eliminator: The teams that finish in the third and fourth positions compete in the Eliminator. The loser of this match is eliminated from the tournament.

Qualifier 2: The loser of Qualifier 1 and the winner of the Eliminator face off in Qualifier 2. The winner of this match advances to the final.

Final: The winners of Qualifier 1 and Qualifier 2 compete in the final to determine the champion.

The first qualifiers will be held with a doubleheader with a Tier 2 battle between South Castries and Anse La Raye followed by a Tier 1 fixture with table toppers Central Castries facing Gros Islet.

These fixtures will occur on Saturday, September 21, at the Dennery Playing Field. 

The Eliminator games for both leagues will be held on September 22 with Roseau facing Vieux Fort South and Dennery battling La Clery, also at the Dennery Playing Field. 

Organisers plan to announce details about the finals and Qualifier 2 for both leagues later.

They will conduct a post-competition analysis once the season ends and have encouraged Saint Lucians to come out and support the athletes and their communities, as the historic league season draws to a close. 

The SPFL is a collaborative effort between the Saint Lucia Football Association and the Government of Saint Lucia through the Ministry of Youth Development & Sports.