Scoreboard
2000 APFL League Standings
APFL Asia Pacific Football League 2000
| Pos | Team | W | L | T | Pct | PF | PA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 |  Beijing Pandas | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 |
| 0 |  Hong Kong Dolphins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 |
| 0 |  Osaka Express | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 |
| 0 |  Shanghai Sharks | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 |
| 0 |  Taipei Dragons | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 |
| 0 |  Tokyo Typhoon | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 |
2000 APFL Schedule
APFL Asia Pacific Football League 2000
2001 APFL Planned Expansion
APFL Asia Pacific Football League 2001
| Pos | Team | W | L | T | Pct | PF | PA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 |  Bangkok Elephants | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 |
| 0 | Beijing Pandas | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 |
| 0 | Hong Kong Dolphins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 |
| 0 |  Manilla Fighting Cocks | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 |
| 0 |  Maui Hawaiian Warriors | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 |
| 0 | Osaka Express | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 |
| 0 |  Seoul Stallions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 |
| 0 | Shanghai Sharks | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 |
| 0 | Taipei Dragons | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 |
| 0 | Tokyo Typhoon | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | 0 | 0 |
Report
The Asia Pacific Football League was planned intiatilly for 1999, but the first season was postponed to 2000. The plan was for a Professional Gridiron Football League spanning the Pacific Rim, from Japan, China, Hong Kong and Taiwan to start with in 1999-2000 and expansion to South East Asia (Philippines, Thailand), Hawai’i and South Korea before eventual expansion to Australia, New Zealand, Continental USA and Canada.
The League’s owners, Texas Corporation, of Quorum Drive, Dallas, TX, had noted Gridiron Football was well established in Japan and South Korea, with the sport introduced from USA following the wars in the region.
The APFL had enlisted Preston Pearson, as per the website, a former National Football League (NFL) player with Baltimore Colts, Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys (1967-1980), as the APFL’s consultant.
After the League’s inaugural season in 1999 was postopned until 2000, and even though a schedule released in 2000 (with Hong Kong Dolphins renamed the Tigers; and Beijing Pandas renamed the Bears), the league folded without playing a down.
The initial steps had been set forth in 1993, when an American private investor hired Patrick Van Rooyen (APFL CEO) to research the feasability of playing a league in the Pacific Rim , thus forming the UFL (United Football League). By June 1994 Cheerleaders arrived to make appearances in shopping malls and in July 1994 a team of USA All-Stars played the Taipei Dragons at Chung Shan Stadium before 22,000 spectators. Negotiations between the UFL and Chinese investors broke down, however, and the UFL folded.
A new league was restructured under Van Rooyen, and in April 1997, the APFL was incorporated in Texas. By April 1998 the APFL had unveiled its’ official logo and website, and in March 1999 setting a tryout camp date.
The ambitious league, was not to be, however, and twice postponed it’s inaugural season, before fizzling out.
The ‘Land of the First Kick’ Shrine Stock Image
References
Asia Pacific Football League (2000) APFL Teams [Internet] Available from: http://www.apfl.com/teams.html [Accessed 21 March 2000][Broken Link][Available online at the Wayback Machine Web Archive at: https://web.archive.org/web/20000410212325/http://www.apfl.com/teams.html [Accessed 4 June 2025]
Asia Pacific Football League (1999) Preston Pearson [Internet] Available from: https://web.archive.org/web/19991115165455/http://apfl.com/prestonpearson.html [Accessed 4 June 2025]
Asia Pacific Football League (1999) APFL Timeline [Internet] Available from: https://web.archive.org/web/19991110003126/http://www.apfl.com/news2.html [Accessed 4 June 2025]
Asia Pacific Football League (1999) Season 2000 [Internet] Available from: https://web.archive.org/web/19991001062815/http://www.apfl.com/schedule2.html [Accessed 4 June 2025]
Asia Pacific Football League (1999) helmetfront [Internet] Available from: https://web.archive.org/web/20001002114409im_/http://apfl.com/gifs/helmetfront.jpg [Accessed 4 June 2025]
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Researched, compiled and written by Enda Mulcahy for the
Eirball | Irish North American and World Sports Archive
First Published: 4 June 2025. Last Updated: 4 June 2025
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