The 2022–23 Premier League of Belize is the tenth season of the Premier League of Belize, the highest competitive football league in Belize, after it was founded in 2011. The league commenced in July 2022 and is scheduled to end in mid 2023. The season is divided into two halves (opening and closing), each crowning one champion.
Teams There were eight teams that participated in the 2022–23 season. From the 2021–22 FFB Top League, administered by the Football Federation of Belize, four teams returned to the league. These were Altitude, San Pedro Pirates, Verdes and Wagiya. After a brief hiatus from top level football, Belmopan Bandits also returned to the league. The three other teams were made up of Benque Viejo United, who played under the license of Police United, Progresso from Orange Walk, who previously competed in amateur level competitions in the country, and Port Layola, a newly formed team from Belize City.
Team City Stadium Capacity Altitude Independence Michael Ashcroft Stadium 2,000 Benque Viejo United Benque Marshalleck Stadium 2,000 Internacional FC Belmopan Isidoro Beaton Stadium 2,500 Port Layola Belize City MCC GroundsMarion Jones Sports Complex 2,0007,500 Progresso Orange Walk Orange Walk People's Stadium 4,500 San Pedro Pirates San Pedro Ambergris Stadium 1,500 Verdes San Ignacio Norman Broaster Stadium 2,000 Wagiya Dangriga Carl Ramos Stadium 3,500
Opening season The General Manager of the league, Wіlhеlm Міguеl ѕtated that thе format of the oреnіng sеаѕоn wіll initially fеаturе а dоublе rоund rоbіn рhаѕе. The top fоur ranked tеаmѕ will then quаlіfу for a hоmе аnd аwау ѕеmіfіnаls, with thе wіnnеrѕ mееting іn a twо-gаmе fіnаlѕ. The opening season commenced on 30 July 2022.
League table
Results
Playoffs
Semifinals
Game One
Game Two
Finals
Game One
Game Two
Season statistics
Top scorers RankPlayerTeamGoals1 Andres Orozco Altitude112 Luis Ibarra Verdes93 Horace Avila San Pedro Pirates7 Sean Young Port Layola5 Trimayne Harris Verdes6 Erick Izquierdo San Pedro Pirates7 Cion Augustine Wagiya5 Zamir Bonilla Progresso Desmond Wade Verdes
Includes playoff goals.
Hat-tricks Player For Against Result Date Jaren Lambey Belmopan Bandits Wagiya 4–2 (H) Ayrton Sisa Benque Viejo United Port Layola 3–1 (A) Desmond Wade Verdes Belmopan Bandits 4–0 (A)
Attendances
The average league attendance was 289:
# Club Average 1 San Pedro Pirates 427 2 Verdes 358 3 Altitude 347 4 Belmopan Bandits 293 5 Port Layola 271 6 Progresso 252 7 Wagiya 189 8 Benque Viejo United 177
Closing season All eight teams that participated in the opening season participated in the closing season.
The format will be the same as the opening season with one league consisting of the eight teams, who will play each other twice, with the top four teams advancing to the end of season playoffs. The closing season commenced on 14 January 2023.
In February 2023, part way through the closing season, Belmopan Bandits changed their name to Internacional Futbol Club, after striking a sponsorship deal with a team from Mexico.
Also in February 2023, the Football Federation of Belize Арреаlѕ Соmmіttее ruled thаt Port Layola fіеldеd аn іnеlіgіblе рlауеr in their 2–1 away win аgаіnѕt Verdes оn 29 January 2023. A 3–0 victory was subsequently awarded to Verdes. In addition, the goals scored from this game were annulled, meaning Michael Palacio and Gilroy Thurton from Port Layola and Marco Zavala from Verdes lose a goal each.
Internacional FC forfeited their game against San Pedro Pirates, scheduled for 18 March 2023 at the Ambergris Stadium. The Pirates were awarded a 3–0 victory.
Verdes were also originally awarded a 3–0 victory for their away game against San Pedro Pirates, scheduled for 8 April 2023. This was due to the Pirates failing to provide post-game accommodation to the Belize City based referees, even though the Pirates advised earlier in the week that accommodation was not available. San Pedro Pirates subsequently threatened to withdraw from the league, however a few days later decided to continue participating for the remainder of the closing season, as their prospective withdrawal would affect other teams financially. After a successful appeal by the Pirates, this game was played on 14 May 2023.
League table
Results
Playoffs
Semifinals
Game One
Game Two
Finals
Game One
Game Two
Season statistics
Top scorers RankPlayerTeamGoals1 Horace Avila San Pedro Pirates92 Jonard Castillo Progresso8 Michael Palacio Port Layola4 Daniel Jimenez Benque Viejo United7 Latrelle Middleton Port Layola Andres Orozco Altitude7 Ander Chi San Pedro Pirates6 Gilroy Thurton Port Layola Luis Valdez San Pedro Pirates10 Leston Garcia Wagiya5 Facundo Garnier San Pedro Pirates Nicolas Rocha Gomez Verdes Sean Young Port Layola
Includes playoff goals.
Hat-tricks Player For Against Result Date Horace Avila San Pedro Pirates Verdes 4–2 (A) Jonard Castillo4 Progresso Wagiya 8–0 (A) Andres Orozco Altitude Internacional FC 6–0 (A)
Notes 4 Player scored 4 goals
References