The inaugural Global Premier Football League season opened on Wednesday October 25, 2023, with round 1 seeing a full round of games played out in ten major sporting arenas around the world.
Excitement was the key emotion at the start of round 1, as 20 new teams took to the field for the first time in this new league. The team and players didn’t disappoint as the goals flew in at the sort of pace that will have fans of this start-up league begging for more.
ROUND 1 ROUND-UP
Olympia Munchen put in the clear stand-out performance across the ten matches, which averaged more than three-and-a-half goals per game. A brace from forward, Andre Peters, backed up by a three assist effort from Brazilian livewire, Artur Maldonado, led Olympia to a 4-0, table topping victory over Singapore’s Marina Bay Flyers.
Also among the goals was Tokyo-Yokahama United‘s, Richard Casey, who struck the first GPFL hat trick in his team’s 5-3 defeat at LA Icons. The Icons were indebted to Adalberto Cortes and Bjorn Goudier, who both scored twice. Portugal’s Cortes also assisted on two goals for the biggest individual performance of the week.
Four other players also scored more than once during a set of games full of goals. Croatian play-maker, Patrik Terzic‘s, double helped Harbour City to a 4-2 win at Eternal Roma, with City’s final two goals coming after Eternal midfielder, Gerrit Conijnenbelt‘s 73rd minute red card.
Rico Cocci‘s early brace proved decisive for Union Buenos Aires, as they edged past Esportivo Rio 3-2 in a thrilling South American derby littered with yellow cards. Sebastiano Cruz netted the winner with five minutes remaining.
CF Azteca‘s Rafael Mayordomo seemingly set his team on the way with two first half goals against Ciudad de Madrid, but Italian forward, Ranieri Lettiere, matched his feat during the second half to ensure the points were shared at the Azteca.
In other games, London City FC won 2-1 at Al Qahirah Stars, Constantinople FC edged Shanghai Pearl 1-0 at home, and Paris Metro strolled to a 3-0 home win against Emirates United to sit in second spot after the first set of games. Alberto do Santos was the star for Paris with a goal and an assist.
New York Capitals and Toronto Athletic shared the points from the only game without a goal, after Athletic had two players sent off. Masane Conateh was shown red just after the hour mark, while Joseph Pellerin joined his team mate in the changing room with five minutes left. The Capitals ended with ten men after Samuel Fernandes was sent off in the scuffle that also saw Conateh exit the field.
Hong Kong Traders picked up a solid point at Johannesburg Rush following a 1-1 draw thanks to substitute, Mason Bond, who struck the equaliser late on.
Round 1 was amazing. What’s on the cards for next week?
 
2 - 4Stadio Olimpico, Rome ETERNAL ROMA vs HARBOUR CITY |
 
3 - 0Stade de France, Paris PARIS METROPOLE vs EMIRATES UNITED |
 
5 - 3SoFi Stadium, Los Angeles LA ICONS vs TOKYO YOKOHAMA UNITED |
 
0 - 0MetLife Stadium, New Jersey NEW YORK CAPITALS vs TORONTO ATHLETIC |
 
1 - 1FNB Stadium, Johannesburg JOHANNESBURG RUSH vs HONG KONG TRADERS |
 
3 - 2Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires UNION BUENOS AIRES vs ESPORTIVO RIO |
 
1 - 2Cairo International Stadium, Cairo AL-QAHIRAH STARS vs LONDON CITY FC |
 
2 - 2Azteca Stadium, Mexico City CF AZTECA vs CIUDAD DE MADRID |
 
1 - 0Ataturk Olympic Stadium, Istanbul CONSTANTINOPLE FC vs SHANGHAI PEARL |
 
4 - 0Allianz Arena, Munich OLYMPIA MUNCHEN vs MARINA BAY FLYERS |
Find out more about the Global Premier Football League's Clubs
AL-QAHIRAH STARS
CF AZTECA
CIUDAD DE MADRID
CONSTANTINOPLE FC
EMIRATES UNITED
ESPORTIVO RIO
ETERNAL ROMA
HARBOUR CITY
HONG KONG TRADERS
JOHANNESBURG RUSH
LA ICONS
LONDON CITY FC
MARINA BAY FLYERS
NEW YORK CAPITALS
OLYMPIA MUNCHEN
PARIS METROPOLE
SHANGHAI PEARL
TOKYO YOKOHAMA UNITED
TORONTO ATHLETIC