Professional association football league in Singapore

Football league
The Singapore Premier League ( abbreviation : SPL ) is a men ‘s professional football league sanctioned by the Football Association of Singapore, which represents the sport ‘s highest flat in Singapore.

The league presently comprises 8 clubs, consisting of three rounds in which each team plays every other team once. Seasons run from late March to October, with teams playing 21 matches each, totalling 147 matches in the season. It is presently sponsored by AIA Group, and thus officially known as the AIA Singapore Premier League for sponsorship reasons. Since the origin of the league in 1996, 7 clubs have been crowned champions. Warriors FC have been the most successful club with 9 titles, followed by Tampines Rovers ( 5 ), Albirex Niigata Singapore FC ( 4 ), Lion City Sailors ( 3 ), Geylang International ( 2 ), DPMM FC ( 2 ) and Étoile FC ( 1 ) .

contest format [edit ]

structure [edit ]

Teams receive three points for a win and one distributor point for a draw. No points are awarded for a loss. Teams are ranked by total points, then finish remainder, and then goals scored. At the end of each season, the club with the most points is crowned league supporter. If the points, goal deviation, goals scored, and tete-a-tete results between teams are equal, tete-a-tete records between the teams are used, followed by a better average play phonograph record. There is no relegation or promotion system in the league. Clubs enter the Singapore Premier League by invitation of the Football Association of Singapore .

Seasons No. of
Clubs		 Matches
per Club		 Notes
1996 8 14 × 2 series One title playoff match between series winners at the end of the season.
1997 9 16
1998 11 20
1999, 2000 12 22
2001, 2002, 2003 12 33 In 2003, matches proceeded to a penalty shootout in the event of a draw. Shootout winners were awarded an extra point on top of the draw.
2004, 2005 10 27
2006 11 30
2007, 2008, 2009,
2010, 2011 		12 33 DPMM’s results were expunged towards the end of 2009 following a FIFA ban, officially leaving 11 teams playing 30 matches each.
2012 13 24
2013, 2014 12 27 The league was split into two-halves after matchday 22. Teams in each half play every other team from their half once, for an additional five matches. Results in the 2nd phase were added to that in the 1st phase for overall standings.
2015 10 27 The league returned to a three-round format.
2016, 2017 9 24
2018, 2019, 2020 9 24 S.League renamed to Singapore Premier League.
2021 8 21

qualification for asian competitions [edit ]

The league ‘s winners qualify for the AFC Champions League and Singapore Cup winners qualify for the AFC Cup playoff spot. In the event of the same clubhouse winning both the S.League and Singapore Cup, the runner-up of the league takes up the AFC Cup reservation spot. Foreign clubs are ineligible to represent the Football Association of Singapore in AFC continental competitions. The qualification spot is given to the following best-placed club in the league if a extraneous baseball club wins any of the two competitions .

history [edit ]

Origins [edit ]

Singapore had been represented in the Malaysia Cup through the Singapore Lions since 1921. The Lions were one of the most successful teams in the competition, having won it 24 times from 1921 to 1994. Following a dispute over gate receipts between the FAS and FAM [ 1 ] after winning the league and cup double in 1994, the Lions retire from the malaysian competitions. subsequently, the Football Association of Singapore decided to build a professional league system. however, as it was estimated to take about a class to put in invest the structure of a master league, the Singapore Lions were given match drill in what was then the circus tent flush of domestic football, the semi-professional FAS Premier League. This team won the last FAS Premier League championship, finishing the season unbeaten .

Inaugural season [edit ]

The S.League was founded in 1996. The FAS invited applications for clubs to compete in the newly formed league. Eight successful applications were made. Two clubs from the Premier League – power station Geylang International ( renamed Geylang United ; 6 straight Premier League titles ) and Balestier United ( renamed Balestier Central – joined six from the amateur National Football League – Police, Singapore Armed Forces, Tampines Rovers, Tiong Bahru United, Wellington ( renamed Woodlands Wellington ) and Sembawang Rangers ( amalgamation of Gibraltar Crescent and Sembawang SC ) – for the inaugural address edition of the S.League. The season was split into the two series. Tiger Beer Series winners Geylang United defeated Pioneer Series winners Singapore Armed Forces 2–1 in the end of season Championship Playoff to be crowned the 1st S.League champions. [ 2 ] The 30,000 crowd at the playoff remains the record attendance in the S.League .

expansion of the League [edit ]

Police FC renamed themselves as Home United for the 1997 season to reflect their representation of not only the Singapore Police Force, but besides other HomeTeam Departments of the Singapore Ministry of Home Affairs such as the SCDF and the ICA. NFL side Jurong Town FC, who renamed themselves Jurong FC, joined the competition taking the number of participating clubs to 9. The league switched from its previous format to a round-robin competition. Singapore Armed Forces won their first title. Gombak United and Marine Castle United joined the S.League in 1998, further taking the issue of clubs to 11. Tiong Bahru United renamed themselves to Tanjong Pagar United at the start of the temper. Singapore Armed Forces won their second consecutive deed. Clementi Khalsa joined the S.League in 1999 as a spokesperson of the Sikh community in Singapore. The league took on 12 teams for the adjacent five years. Home United won their beginning claim .

Foreign Clubs [edit ]

The FAS decided to invite alien clubs to the league to improve diminishing interest. Sinchi FC, a side composed of chinese players became the first foreign club to participate in 2003. Shi Jiayi and Qiu Li went on to become naturalize Singapore players. J.League clubhouse Albirex Niigata entered their feeder club in the 2004 S.League. The club proved to be one of the most successful alien sides in the S.League, drawing on the support of japanese expats. They however play in the Singapore Premier League as of 2021. Sporting Afrique, a clubhouse made up of African players, and Super Reds, a side comprising confederacy korean players, became the third base and fourth extraneous clubs to join the rival in 2006 and 2007 respectively. Sporting Afrique were resist entrance into the 2007 S.League ascribable to off-field controversies and inadequate performance. In 2010, Super Reds were denied a identify after three seasons following attempts to convert into a team of local players. chinese Super League clubs Liaoning FC ( 2007 ), dalian Shide FC ( 2008 ) and Beijing Guoan FC ( 2010 ) entered their feeder clubs in the S.League. All three clubs each lasted one season before being pulled out of the league due to inadequate performances and corrective issues. bruneian club DPMM FC joined the S.League in 2009 before being pulled from the league as a resultant role of a FIFA bachelor of arts in nursing. They re-entered the league from 2012. They were the first clubhouse to base themselves outside of Singapore. In 2010, french club Étoile FC became the foremost foreign side to win the S.League. Etoile pulled out of the S.League anterior to the 2012 season to focus on grassroots football and young development. Malaysia national young person sides Harimau Muda A and Harimau Muda B were the most late sides to join the S.League following an agreement between the Football Association of Singapore and Football Association of Malaysia to send their spokesperson sides into their respective domestic competitions. Singapore side LionsXII returned to the malaysian competitions in 2012.

20th season [edit ]

The league took on a numeral of changes for the 2015 season to increase its competitiveness. [ 3 ] [ 4 ] The number of clubs was reduced from 12 to 10, with the withdrawal of Tanjong Pagar United due to fiscal problems, and the amalgamation of Woodlands Wellington and Hougang United. [ 3 ] [ 5 ] The league returned to a three-round format used from 2001 to 2011. [ 3 ] The alien actor quota remained at five per club, but incentives were given to those who signed an under-21 player. [ 5 ] The communicate time for the compulsory 2.4 kilometer fitness test was lowered from 10 mins to 9 mins 45 mho. [ 3 ] A new dominion on age restrictions – a utmost of five players aged 30 and above and a minimum of three under-25 players for clubs with a 22-man team, a maximal of four players aged 30 and above and a minimal of two under-25 players for clubs with a 20-man squad – was late reversed. [ 5 ] [ 6 ]

Rebranding [edit ]

The league was rebranded as Singapore Premier League on 21 March 2018. A major vamp is being made to see a greater stress on local youth players in a bid to strengthen the national side ; this, in effect, has resulted in a number of senior and foreign stars being released or transferred oversea. [ 7 ]

Clubs [edit ]

A sum of 25 clubs have played in the league from its origin in 1996 up to and including the 2014 season. The following 8 clubs are competing in the league during the 2021 season. There are non-Singaporean clubs that presently competes in the Singapore Premier League : Albirex Niigata ( S ) ( satellite team of the japanese golf club of the like name ) .
Balestier Khalsa, Geylang International, Lion City Sailors FC, Tampines Rovers, and Warriors have played in all 24 seasons of the Singapore Premier League as of 2019 .

former clubs [edit ]

Years in brackets indicate seasons active in the league .

Foreign clubs [edit ]

Years in brackets indicate seasons active in the league .

past champions [edit ]

The league has seen five clubs win the claim since its origin. Warriors FC ( once Singapore Armed Forces FC ) hold the most titles at nine. In 2010, Étoile FC became the first foreign side to win the contest. [ 8 ]
* The inaugural address season of the S.League was split into two series. The winners of each series completed in a Championship play-off in which Geylang United defeated Singapore Armed Forces to claim the first S.League title .

performance by Clubs [edit ]

Awards [edit ]

peak scorers [edit ]

* Mirko Grabovac was a naturalize Singapore actor from 2002 until he renounced his Singapore citizenship in 2008. informant : “ S.League leading scorers ”. S.League .

player of the Year Award [edit ]

Young Player of the class [edit ]

* Fahrudin Mustafić held serbian citizenship before being naturalised to play for Singapore in 2007 .

coach of the year [edit ]

People ‘s Choice Award [edit ]

Fair Play Award [edit ]

special awards [edit ]

100 S.League goals [edit ]

200 S.League goals [edit ]

300 goals [edit ]

All-time league board [edit ]

The all-time Singapore Premier League table is a accumulative record of all meet results, points and goals of every team that has played in the league since its origin in 1996. The table that follows is accurate as of the end of the 2014 season. Teams in bold are part of the 2019 season .

See besides [edit ]

References [edit ]