The Singapore Football League (SFL) is a semi-professional
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
tournament for clubs that are affiliated to the
Football Association of Singapore
The Football Association of Singapore (FAS) is the governing body responsible for the administration of football in Singapore. Established in 1892 as the Singapore Football Association (SFA), it is the oldest football association in all of As ...
. It makes up the second and third tier of football in
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
after the professional
Singapore Premier League
The Singapore Premier League, commonly abbreviated as SPL, officially known as the AIA Singapore Premier League for sponsorship reasons, is a men's professional football league sanctioned by the Football Association of Singapore (FAS), which re ...
, which was established in 1996 and before the FAS Island Wide League.
The teams are also eligible to compete in the
Singapore FA Cup
The Singapore FA Cup, (also known as the Singapore Pools FA Cup for sponsorship reasons), is an annual football competition in Singapore.
Initially held for clubs from the S.League from 1996-1998, the Football Association of Singapore decided to ...
.
Although it is semi-professional competition organized by the FAS, several former
Singapore internationals and ex-
S.League
The Singapore Premier League, commonly abbreviated as SPL, officially known as the AIA Singapore Premier League for sponsorship reasons, is a men's professional football league sanctioned by the Football Association of Singapore (FAS), which r ...
players have played in the NFL such as
Jonathan Xu
Jonathan Xu (born 7 September 1983) is a Singaporean footballer who plays for Project Vaults Oxley SC as a midfielder.
Club career
Geylang International
Xu started his footballing career in 2009 when he signed for Geylang International.
Ta ...
,
Indra Sahdan (Eunos Crescent),
Yazid Yasin
Yazid Yasin is a retired Singapore footballer who played most of his career in S.League
He is one of a rare handful of players who had won every single title available in the domestic league since its inauguration in 1996.
Club career
As a ...
(Gymkhana FC) and
Zulkiffli Hassim
Zulkiffli Hassim (born March 26, 1986) is a Singaporean professional footballer who currently plays for Tanjong Pagar United. He plays as a forward.
Career Gombak United
Zulkiffli played for Woodlands Wellington and Gombak United reserve teams ...
(Yishun Sentek Mariners).
History
The history of NFL can be traced back to the earliest 20th century during the British colonization of Singapore, whereby the Singapore Amateur Football Association (SAFA), now known as
Football Association of Singapore
The Football Association of Singapore (FAS) is the governing body responsible for the administration of football in Singapore. Established in 1892 as the Singapore Football Association (SFA), it is the oldest football association in all of As ...
was formed in year of 1892. The then SAFA was responsible for organising the top tier football leagues in Singapore. The NFL was a top tier football league from early 20th century, until the formation of
FAS Premier League
The Football Association of Singapore Premier League was a semi-professional football league competition held in Singapore between 1988 and 1995. The Premier League succeeded the National Football League Division One as the top tier of the Singapor ...
in 1988. It was previously made up of Division 1, Division 2 and Division 3, with the bottom team of Division 3 being relegated to the
FAS Island Wide League.
As of 2018, it makes up provisional tiers 2 and 3, behind the professional Singapore Premier League, with rules of promotion and relegation applied for teams in NFL Division One and NFL Division Two. Teams play two-round league home-away format. League features promotions and relegations for all the teams in both divisions, where the top two teams of a division will be promoted to the upper division, and the last two relegated to the lower division.
Division 1 clubs
*
Balestier United RC
Balestier Khalsa Football Club is a Singaporean professional football club that competes in the Singapore Premier League. Founded in 1898, the club is considered as the oldest football club in the country.
History
Tracing their origins all th ...
* Siglap FC
*
Eunos Crescent FC
Eunos Crescent Football Club is a Singaporean association football club based in Eunos, Singapore, that competes in the Singapore National Football League.
History
The club was established in 1975. In 2006 they won Division Two of the National ...
*
Katong FC
* Police Sports Association
* SAFSA
* Singapore Khalsa Association
* Tiong Bahru FC
*
Yishun Sentek Mariners FC
Yishun Sentek Mariners FC is a football club based in Yishun, Singapore, that plays in the National Football League Division 1.
In 2016, then Yakob Hashim, the coach of Yishun Sentek Mariners, had expressed his unhappiness at the lack of finan ...
* Warwick Knights FC
Division 2 clubs
* Admiralty CSC
*
Admiralty FC
Admiralty Football Club, also commonly known as Admiralty FC, is a football club which plays in the Division 2 of the Singapore Football League, the third tier of football in Singapore.
History
Admiralty FC started off in 1987 as a participa ...
* Bishan Barx FC
* Jungfrau Punggol
*
Kaki Bukit
Kaki Bukit ( Jawi: كاكي بوكيت; ) is a small town in Perlis, Malaysia. It has an estimated population of 3,000. Kaki Bukit is located 26 kilometres (16 miles) north of the state capital, Kangar and a few miles away from Padang Besar, the ...
* Kembangan United
* Project Vaults Oxley SC
*
Singapore Cricket Club
The Singapore Cricket Club (SCC) is one of the premier sports and social clubs in Singapore.
Its clubhouse is located on Connaught Drive on the south end of the Padang in Singapore's central business district.
History
The SCC was estab ...
* South Avenue SC
Past champions
In 1975, the
Football Association of Singapore
The Football Association of Singapore (FAS) is the governing body responsible for the administration of football in Singapore. Established in 1892 as the Singapore Football Association (SFA), it is the oldest football association in all of As ...
revamped the existing league structure involving 118 teams into a two-tier league system.
For the 1987 season, the teams play each other once in a league format. The top eight placed teams in the league progressed to a knock-out stage to determine the champions. League stage winners Tiong Bahru defeated 4th-placed Tampines Rovers 2–1 in the final to clinch the championship. Reference:
The top tier of the football league system was replaced by the
FAS Premier League
The Football Association of Singapore Premier League was a semi-professional football league competition held in Singapore between 1988 and 1995. The Premier League succeeded the National Football League Division One as the top tier of the Singapor ...
from 1988, the
S.League
The Singapore Premier League, commonly abbreviated as SPL, officially known as the AIA Singapore Premier League for sponsorship reasons, is a men's professional football league sanctioned by the Football Association of Singapore (FAS), which r ...
from 1996 and the
Singapore Premier League
The Singapore Premier League, commonly abbreviated as SPL, officially known as the AIA Singapore Premier League for sponsorship reasons, is a men's professional football league sanctioned by the Football Association of Singapore (FAS), which re ...
from 2018.
NFL Division 1
NFL Division 2
NFL Division 3
Island Wide League
See also
*
FAS Premier League
The Football Association of Singapore Premier League was a semi-professional football league competition held in Singapore between 1988 and 1995. The Premier League succeeded the National Football League Division One as the top tier of the Singapor ...
*
Singapore Premier League
The Singapore Premier League, commonly abbreviated as SPL, officially known as the AIA Singapore Premier League for sponsorship reasons, is a men's professional football league sanctioned by the Football Association of Singapore (FAS), which re ...
*
Singapore FA Cup
The Singapore FA Cup, (also known as the Singapore Pools FA Cup for sponsorship reasons), is an annual football competition in Singapore.
Initially held for clubs from the S.League from 1996-1998, the Football Association of Singapore decided to ...
*
Singapore League Cup
The Singapore League Cup was an annual soccer competition in Singapore. It was launched in 2007, and was open to teams who play in the S.League.
The 2007 competition was sponsored by SingTel, and officially titled the SingTel League Cup. Eight of ...
*
Prime League
The Prime League was the reserve and youth team soccer league of Singapore's S.League. Teams involved in the league are primarily made up of youth players from the S.League clubs. The Prime League was founded in 1997. S.League clubs are required ...
*
List of football clubs in Singapore
list of football clubs based in Singapore.
Football clubs
1
* 1 Tanah Merah Latini FC
A
* Admiralty CSC
* Admiralty FC
* Admiralty Rangers FC
* Aioli Monkeys FC
* Albirex Niigata Singapore FC
* Andrew's Avenue FC
* Ang Mo Kio United FC
B
* ...
*
List of Singapore's football leagues winners
Football in Singapore started in the 1890s during the British colonial of Singapore. There have been various competitions over the years with the S.League as the leading national league of Singapore. It was founded in 1996 and took over the defunc ...
*
Singapore football league system The Singapore football league system organizes association football leagues in Singapore. Association football arrived in the city during the British colonial era. The first ever Nation's cup tournament was held in 1892. Football tournaments continu ...
References
{{Football in Singapore
2
Second level football leagues in Asia
Professional sports leagues in Singapore