2012 Philippine Peace Cup
The 2012 Philippine Peace Cup was the inaugural edition of the tournament, four-nation international football competition organized by the Philippine Football Federation (PFF). It was originally slated for October 12–16 but the PFF moved it to September 25–29 to give way to the participation of local side Loyola Meralco Sparks in the 2012 Singapore Cup. ABS-CBN covered the games on Studio 23.
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country | Philippines |
| Dates | September 25–29 |
| Teams | 4 (from 1 confederation) |
| Venue(s) | 1 (in 1 host city) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Philippines (1st title) |
| Runners-up | Chinese Taipei |
| Third place | Guam |
| Fourth place | Macau |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 6 |
| Goals scored | 19 (3.17 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Denis Wolf (4 goals) |
| Best player(s) | Denis Wolf |
| Best goalkeeper | Eduard Sacapaño |
The tournament was due to be the third annual Long Teng Cup, however, the organizers, the Chinese Taipei Football Association (CTFA), withdrew from staging the 2012 edition and requested the PFF to host it. The PFF then renamed it as the Paulino Alcántara Cup, after Filipino–Spanish football legend who played for FC Barcelona. It was again renamed to the Paulino Alcántara Peace Cup and eventually to the Philippine Peace Cup as the Philippine Sports Commission, which operates the Rizal Memorial Stadium where the tournament will be held, has a rule against events named after an individual. The month of September is also peace month in the Philippines and the tournament saw involvement of the office of the presidential adviser on the country's peace process.
After 99 years, the Philippines won their first international title since the 1913 Far Eastern Games.