The Alliance entered into discussions with the United Football Clubs Association for the possibility of establishing another top-flight football competition in the Philippines. Instead of creating a whole system and competition, the United Football Clubs Association agreed to partner with the Football Alliance in operating the United Football League (UFL), a semi-professional league. After the league's second season, AKTV became its official TV broadcaster with the signing of a ₱ 150 million (~$3.3 million or ~€2.5 million), five-year deal, which ensures the airing of two live matches every week. The deal was further improved with a new TV arrangement in which four live matches would be aired every week on primetime television on AksyonTV. On April 21, 2017, the Philippines Football League (PFL) was launched as the first professional football league and the highest level of men's club football in the country. The league is sanctioned by the Philippine Football Federation, and replaced the United Football League which was previously the "de facto" top-tier league. Unlike the UFL, teams joining the PFL will be representing cities and provinces, as well as, have their own certified home stadiums and youth teams. Six of the eight teams joining the inaugural season came from the UFL, namely Ceres–Negros, Global Cebu, JPV Marikina, Kaya FC–Makati, Loyola Meralco Sparks, and Stallion Laguna. Two new teams Davao Aguilas, and Ilocos United were formed to join the new league. The Philippine Football Federation has not been able to organize a national tournament since 2007, when they staged the PFF Centennial Men's Open Championship due to "variety of reasons". In January 2011, Smart Communications approached the PFF with an offer to finance a new local football cup competition, the PFF National Men's Club Championship. The proposed partnership was set to last 10 years, with Smart releasing ₱ 80 million in funds with the aim of providing more playing opportunities for football players, and the eventual creation of a national cup. In March 2011, the first season of the cup began. Since 2012, the Chinese Taipei Football Association (CTFA) requested if the PFF can host the third staging of the Long Teng Cup in the Philippines. It was then accepted, the Philippines which has been a regular participant since its inception in 2010, renamed the tournament the Paulino Alcántara Cup, then renamed it once again to the Paulino Alcántara Peace Cup.