IT'S confirmed.
Ceres Negros FC is now the United City FC, which is under a new owner of a group of private investors managed by MMC Sportz Asia.
Ceres FC General Manager Ace Bright confirmed the news in a message.
In a press statement by the United City FC, Thursday’s signing of the agreement cemented the transfer of ownership of the Ceres-Negros Football Club -- currently, the No.1 ranked team in the Asean and three-time defending champion in the PFL.
"We would like to thank Mr. (Leo Rey) Yanson and his team for agreeing to the transfer of the club into our name as this allows the players to continue participating in the PFL and hopefully also in the AFC Cup for the 2020 season," a statement by Eric Gottchallk, chief executive officer of MMC Sports Asia.
"We will now immediately apply for the permission with PFF to rename the club to United City Football Club and request the PFF to support our statement of intent to continue participating in the ADC Cup," he added in a statement.
"We would like to honor the legacy which Mr. Yanson created when he founded the Ceres-Negros Club and we will try to continue the development of Philippines football, especially the professional league and the national team."
The United City FC stated that they will make additional announcements regarding the players and staff that have already committed to join the new team and give a clear insight into the new ownership structure in the coming days.
“We believe transparency on all levels is the key to the success of the new team and will unveil the name in due course,” it stated.
The new club is also proud to announce that it has received the commitment of 16 of the original 21 registered Ceres Negros players--excluding James Younghusband who has recently retired from football.
It added that it is also retaining almost the entire staff around led by GM Bright and it intents to have Coach Risto Vidakovic as the head coach.
"The aim is to keep the team and the staff together as much as possible and allow them a well-deserved chance to continue to play football amid all the challenges that everyone has been facing," it said.
Meanwhile, the United City marketing activities are well underway with the fans at the heart of everything we do starting with the logo competition, with the final decision to come from the players and the fans.