 | |
| Founded | 1996 (as S. League) 2018 (as Singapore Premier League) |
|---|---|
| Country | Singapore |
| Other club(s) from | Brunei Japan |
| Confederation | AFC |
| Number of teams | 9 |
| Level on pyramid | 1 |
| Domestic cup(s) | Singapore Cup Community Shield |
| International cup(s) | AFC Champions League AFC Cup |
| Current champions | DPMM FC (2nd title) |
| Most championships | Warriors FC (9 titles) |
| Most appearances | Daniel Bennett (518) |
| Top goalscorer | Aleksander Duric (321) |
| TV partners | Mycujoo 1 Play Sports Singapore Singtel TV Starhub Brunei RTB Japan J Sports |
| Website | spl |
 2020 Singapore Premier League | |
The Singapore Premier League (abbreviation; SPL) is a professional football league in Singapore. At the highest level of domestic football competition in Singapore, it is the country's primary football competition. Currently contested by nine clubs, it consists of three rounds in which each team plays every other team once.
The Singapore Premier League is run by the Football Association of Singapore. Seasons run from late March to October, with teams playing 24 matches each, totalling 108 matches in the season. It is currently sponsored by AIA Group, and thus officially known as the AIA Singapore Premier League for sponsorship reasons.
Since the inception 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 (3), Geylang International (2), Home United (2), DPMM FC (2) and Étoile FC (1).
Contents
- 1 History
- The Singapore Premier League (abbreviation; SPL) is a professional football league in Singapore. At the highest level of domestic football competition in Singapore, it is the country's primary football competition. Currently contested by nine clubs, it consists of three rounds in which each team plays every other team once.
The Singapore Premier League is run by the Football Association of Singapore. Seasons run from late March to October, with teams playing 24 matches each, totalling 108 matches in the season. It is currently sponsored by AIA Group, and thus officially known as the AIA Singapore Premier League for sponsorship reasons.
Since the inception 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 (3), Geylang International (2), Home United (2), DPMM FC (2) and Étoile FC (1).
Contents
- 1 History
- 2 Competition Format
- 3 Clubs
- 4 Past champions
- 5 Awards
- 5.1 Top scorers
- Football Association of Singapore. Seasons run from late March to October, with teams playing 24 matches each, totalling 108 matches in the season. It is currently sponsored by AIA Group, and thus officially known as the AIA Singapore Premier League for sponsorship reasons.
Since the inception 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 (3), Geylang International (2), Home United (2), DPMM FC (2) and Étoile FC (1).
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 withdrew 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 year to put in place the structure of a professional league, the Singapore Lions were given match practice in what was then the top level of domestic football, the semi-professional FAS Premier League. This team won the last FAS Premier League title, finishing the season unbeaten.
Inaugural season
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 – powerhouse Geylang International (renamed Geylang United; 6 consecutive 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 (merger of Gibraltar Crescent and Sembawang SC) – for the inaugural 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
Police FC renamed themselves as Home United for the 1997 season to reflect their representation of not only the Singapore Police Force, but also 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 number of clubs to 11. Tiong Bahru United renamed themselves to Tanjong Pagar United at the start of the season. Singapore Armed Forces won their second consecutive title.
Clementi Khalsa joined the S.League in 1999 as a representative of the Sikh community in Singapore. The league took on 12 teams for the next five years. Home United won their first title.
Foreign Clubs
The FAS decided to invite foreign 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 naturalised Singapore players.
J.League club Albirex Niigata entered their FAS Premier League. This team won the last FAS Premier League title, finishing the season unbeaten.
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 – powerhouse Geylang International (renamed Geylang United; 6 consecutive 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 (merger of Gibraltar Crescent and Sembawang SC) – for the inaugural 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
The league was rebranded as Singapore Premier League on 21 March 2018. A major revamp is being made to see a greater emphasis 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 overseas.[7]
Competition Format
A total of 25 clubs have played in the league from its inception in 1996 up to and including the 2014 season. The following 9 clubs are competing in the league during the 2019 season. There are two non-Singaporean clubs that currently competes in the Singapore Premier League: Albirex Niigata (S) (satellite team of the Japanese club of the same name) and DPMM of Brunei.
- The Singapore Premier League (abbreviation; SPL) is a professional football league in Singapore. At the highest level of domestic football competition in Singapore, it is the country's primary football competition. Currently contested by nine clubs, it consists of three rounds in which each team plays every other team once.
