Will soccer become as popular as baseball in the Dominican Republic? The new football league is expected to launch its inaugural season with at least 10 teams that will be selected among the 25 requests received by the recently created Dominican Professional Football League.
The promoters of the league say that the long-term goal of the league is to build facilities that will be designed specifically for football matches. But, in the meantime, existing football fields and baseball fields could be used to host league games.
The football tournament would start in March 2015 and therefore not conflict with the popular winter baseball season that ends in late February.
Locally, the Dominican Football Federation (Fedofutbol) promotes the Dominican Professional Football League with the backing of the International Federation of Associated Football (FIFA), the world football-governing body.
As reported in Listin Diario, requests for the league franchises have come from professional baseball teams — Licey, Aguilas Cibaenas, Leones del Escogido, Toros del Este and the Estrellas Orientales. Other applications to participate in the new league have been received from ISA (Superior Agriculture Institute – Santiago) and several business groups in major cities throughout the country, including Santiago, Moca, La Vega, San Cristobal, Puerto Plata, San Francisco de Macoris, La Romana and Santo Domingo. Local football clubs, such as Bob Soccer, Bauger Futbol Club, FCEScola, Deportivo Pantoja have expressed interest in participating in the new league.
Listin Diario reports that the league is drafting the rules for the tournament, creating the league’s logo and establishing the league’s legal framework. Reportedly, a FIFA commission recently visited the Dominican Republic to consult with the organizers of the league, which is led by Felix Ledesma of the Dominican Football Federation. The FIFA authorities discussed a wide range of issues with the Dominican Football Federation leaders, including potential marketing and broadcasting rights.
FIFA has been assisting the Dominican Republic since 2004 on the implementation of a 10-year plan to establish the football league. Ledesma said that players from Haiti would be recruited for the first years of the league.