Manila Digger Football Club is a Filipino professional football club based in Taguig, Manila which currently plays in the Philippines Football League. The club was founded in 2018.
History Foundation and early years Manila Digger's foundation can be traced back in 2017 when a community of Chinese migrants in Manila who were working and studying in the Philippines formed an amateur football club. In 2018, a group led by Chinese investor Sha Shuo splintered from this amateur team over internal disagreements to form Manila Digger F.C.. The team was named "digger" to reflect the Chinese founders' aspiration to make a good living in the country.
Manila Digger competed in the weekend amateur leagues during its early years playing both in the standard 11-a-side and the 7-a-side formats. A women's team was also formed. Originally an all-Chinese team, Manila Digger began recruiting Filipinos and non-Chinese foreigners.
Entry to the PFL Manila Digger began their journey in professional football in the 2023 edition of the Copa Paulino Alcantara. They did not advanced from the group stage.
They then earned a license on January 17, 2024 as documented on Sha's Bilibili account "Caogen Zuqiu Jingli" () where he paid the relevant registration fee, for his club be eligible to compete in the Philippines Football League (PFL). The account was used to build a fanbase for Manila Digger.
Manila Digger made their PFL debut in the 2024 season. In the leadup to their eventual debut in March, Sha and Diao Su recruited players through their personal connections with scouts and relied on informal methods such as leads the club got through social media. A WeChat fan group was also instrumental to Manila Digger's recruitment. Diao himself was also a player and became the first Chinese player to debut in the PFL in April 2024. The team finished eight out of fifteen teams in the league table.
Rise to prominence 2024–25 season During the 2024–25 season, Manila Digger fell one point away to eventual league champions Kaya–Iloilo, but nonetheless qualified for the 2025–26 AFC Champions League Two qualifying play-off against Indonesian champions Persib Bandung. The club also participated in the Finals Series, beating One Taguig in the semi-final following a late goal from Ousman Gai in the 83rd minute winning 2–1. The club would eventually lose to Cebu 0–1 missing out on the ASEAN Club Championship.
Continental debut
On 13 August 2025, Manila Digger made their continental debut against Persib Bandung in the AFC Champions League Two qualification play-off round where they would eventually lose 2–1, but Modou Joof made history becoming the first Digger player to score in a continental competition. Following AFC's continental competition format, Manila Digger qualified in the AFC Challenge League as the losers of the qualification play-off in AFC Champions League Two where they were drawn in group D, alongside Laotian club Ezra, Mongolian club SP Falcons and Cambodian club Preah Khan Reach Svay Rieng.
2025–26 AFC Challenge League On 26 October 2025, the club made history by winning their first AFC Challenge League match against Ezra 3–1, becoming the first Filipino side to win a match in the AFC competition since Ceres in 2014. Ousman Gai and Dilane Wamba scored in the first half and Baboucarr Touray would follow up a third goal for Manila Digger in the second half. Manila Digger would win their second match against Mongolian side SP Falcons 2–0 with a goal from Saikou Ceesay in the first half and then followed by a final goal by fellow Gambian compatriot Gai in the second half to finish off the game. Manila Digger qualified for the knockout stage. Manila Digger finished runners up in group D after drawing 2–2 against Preah Khan Reach Svay Rieng. The club faced Indonesian Dewa United Banten in the knockout stage and hosted the first leg, where Manila Digger went on to win 1–0. Manila Digger would secure a 2–2 draw in Indonesia, winning on a 3–2 aggregate score to advance in the semi-finals, where they lost to Preah Khan Reach Svay Rieng.
Crest and colors The club traditionally plays in yellow and red kits, the colors of the Chinese flag, to signify its Chinese roots. The club's crest features a shield shape with yellow and red base colors and a monicker of the club's name is placed in the center.
Kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors PeriodKit manufacturerSponsor2023–2024 UCAN OKFly12024–2025 Zealand Metal1 OKFly22025–present Zealand Metal1 Prime Rehabilitation, Starbalm2 Yison3
1 Major sponsor 2 Secondary sponsor 3 Sleeves
Players Current squad
Technical staff
PositionStaffTeam manager Ying ChenHead coach Joan EstevaAssistant coach Mengyang Liu Shuo Sha Su Diao Joan Esteva Jr.Goalkeeper coach Kim VersalesChief analyst Shengyang Song
Coaching history NamePeriod Lerche Njang2023 Pong Liman2023–2024 Oriol Mohedano2024 Juan Manuel Saez2024–2025 Kim Versales2025 Haijun Li2025–2026 Joan Esteva2026–Present
Honors League Philippines Football League Winners (1): 2025–26 Runners-up (1): 2024–25
Cup Philippines Football League Finals Series Runners-up (1): 2024–25
Records SeasonDivisionLeague PositionCopa Paulino Alcantara2023Did not participateGroup stage2024PFL7th–2024–252nd (League)–2nd (Final series)–
Continental record Competition AFC Champions League Two 2 AFC Challenge League 2 ASEAN Club Championship 1Total 5
SeasonCompetitionRoundClubHomeAwayAggregate2025–26AFC Champions League TwoPreliminary stage Persib1–2AFC Challenge LeagueGroup stage Ezra3–12nd SP Falcons2–0 PKR Svay Rieng2–2Quarter finals Dewa United Banten 1–02–23–2Semi finals PKR Svay Rieng0–31–11–42026–27AFC Champions League TwoPreliminary stage Persib0–1AFC Challenge LeagueGroup stage Shan UnitedTBATBC Hang YuanTBA KasukaTBAASEAN Club ChampionshipQualifying play-offs Kasuka5–14–19–2Group A BorneoTBC Ratchaburi Buriram United Tampines Rovers Kuching City Cong An Ho Chi Minh City
See also Manila Digger (women)
References