S.League

S.League
Country SingaporeSingapore
Other club(s) from JapanJapan
BruneiBrunei
Confederation AFC (Asia)
Founded 1996 (1996)
Number of teams 9
Level on pyramid 1
Domestic cup(s) Singapore Cup
Singapore League Cup
Singapore Community Shield
International cup(s) AFC Champions League
AFC Cup
Current champions Brunei DPMM (1st title)
(2015)
Most championships Warriors FC (9 titles)
TV partners StarHub TV
Website Official website
2016 S.League

The S.League is a Singaporean professional league for men's association football clubs. At the highest level of domestic football competition in Singapore, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by nine clubs, it consists of three rounds in which each team plays every other team once. Clubs from Brunei, China, France, Japan and Korea have been invited to take part in the league to raise its level of competitiveness and profile.[1]

The S.League is run by the Football Association of Singapore. Seasons run from February to October, with teams playing 24 matches each, totalling 108 matches in the season. It is currently sponsored by Great Eastern Life and YEO'S, and thus officially known as the Great Eastern YEO'S S.League for sponsorship reasons.

Since the inception of S.League in 1996, a total of 6 clubs have been crowned champions. Warriors have been the most successful club with 9 titles, followed by Tampines Rovers (5), Geylang International (2) and Home United (2). Etoile (1) became the first foreign club to win the competition in 2010. The current champions are Brunei DPMM, who won the title in the 2015 season.

History

Singapore had been represented in the Malaysia (Malaya) 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[2] 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 the professional S.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.[3] 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 feeder club in the 2004 S.League. The club proved to be one of the most successful foreign sides in the S.League, drawing on the support of Japanese expats. They still play in the S.League as of 2016.

Sporting Afrique FC, a club made up of African players, and Super Reds FC, a side composed of South Korean players, became the third and fourth foreign clubs to join the competition in 2006 and 2007 respectively. Sporting Afrique were refused entry into the 2007 S.League due to off-field controversies and poor performance. In 2010, Super Reds were denied a place 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 poor performances and disciplinary issues.

Bruneian club DPMM FC joined the S.League in 2009 before being pulled from the league as a result of a FIFA ban. They re-entered the league from 2012. They were the first club to base themselves outside of Singapore.

In 2010, French club Etoile FC became the first foreign side to win the S.League. Etoile pulled out of the S.League prior to the 2012 season to focus on grassroots football and youth development.

Malaysia national youth sides Harimau Muda A and Harimau Muda B were the most recent sides to join the S.League following an agreement between the Football Association of Singapore and Football Association of Malaysia to send their representative sides into their respective domestic competitions. Singapore side LionsXII returned to the Malaysian competitions in 2012.

20th season

The league took on a number of changes for the 2015 season in order to increase its competitiveness.[4][5] The number of clubs was reduced from 12 to 10, with the withdrawal of Tanjong Pagar United due to financial problems, and the merger of Woodlands Wellington and Hougang United.[4][6] The league returned to a three-round format used from 2001 to 2011.[4] The foreign player quota remained at five per club but incentives were given to those who signed an under-21 player.[6] The passing time for the mandatory 2.4 km fitness test was lowered from 10 mins to 9 mins 45 s.[4] A new rule on age restrictions – a maximum of five players aged 30 and above and a minimum of three under-25 players for clubs with a 22-man squad, a maximum of four players aged 30 and above and a minimum of two under-25 players for clubs with a 20-man squad – was later reversed.[6][7]


Competition Format

Competition

Teams received three points for a win and one point for a draw. No points were awarded for a loss. The champion is crowned at the end of the season. Teams are ranked by total points, then goal difference, goals scored, and then number of wins. If still equal, the same tiebreakers are used on head-to-head records between the teams, followed by better fair play record. There is no relegation or promotion system in the league. Clubs enter the S.League by invitation of the Football Association of Singapore.

SeasonsNo. of
Clubs
Matches
per Club
Notes
1996 8 14 x 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 9 24

Qualification for Asian competitions

S.League winners qualify for the AFC Champions League and Singapore Cup winners qualify for the AFC Cup. In the event of the same club winning both the S.League and Singapore Cup, the runners-up of the league takes up the AFC Cup qualification spot. Foreign clubs are ineligible to represent the Football Association of Singapore in AFC continental competitions. The qualification spot is given to the next best-placed club in the league if a foreign club wins any of the two competitions.

Clubs

A total of 25 clubs have played in the S.League from its inception in 1996 up to and including the 2014 season. The following 9 clubs are competing in the S.League during the 2016 season.

Current clubs

The five clubs in bold above: Balestier Khalsa, Geylang International, Home United, Tampines Rovers, and Warriors have played in all 20 seasons of the S.League as of 2015.

Woodlands Wellington and Hougang United will merge for the 2015 season, however the club name will remain as Hougang United.


Singapore
Location of 2016 S.League team Brunei DPMM

Former clubs

Years in brackets indicates seasons active in the S.League.

Past champions

The S.League has seen five clubs win the title since its inception. Warriors FC (formerly SAF FC) hold the most titles at nine. In 2010, Etoile FC became the first foreign side to win the competition.[8]

SeasonWinnersRunners-up
1996* Singapore Geylang United (1)Singapore Singapore Armed Forces
1997 Singapore Singapore Armed Forces (1)Singapore Tiong Bahru United
1998 Singapore Singapore Armed Forces (2)Singapore Tanjong Pagar United
1999 Singapore Home United (1)Singapore Singapore Armed Forces
2000 Singapore Singapore Armed Forces (3)Singapore Tanjong Pagar United
2001 Singapore Geylang United (2)Singapore Singapore Armed Forces
2002 Singapore Singapore Armed Forces (4)Singapore Home United
2003 Singapore Home United (2)Singapore Geylang United
2004 Singapore Tampines Rovers (1)Singapore Home United
2005 Singapore Tampines Rovers (2)Singapore Singapore Armed Forces
2006 Singapore Singapore Armed Forces (5)Singapore Tampines Rovers
2007 Singapore Singapore Armed Forces (6)Singapore Home United
2008 Singapore Singapore Armed Forces (7)South Korea Super Reds
2009 Singapore Singapore Armed Forces (8)Singapore Tampines Rovers
2010 France Etoile (1)Singapore Tampines Rovers
2011 Singapore Tampines Rovers (3)Singapore Home United
2012 Singapore Tampines Rovers (4)Brunei Brunei DPMM
2013 Singapore Tampines Rovers (5)Singapore Home United
2014 Singapore Warriors (9)Brunei Brunei DPMM
2015 Brunei Brunei DPMM (1)Singapore Tampines Rovers

* The inaugural 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

Club Winners Runners-up Winning years
Singapore Warriors
9
4
1997, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2014
Singapore Tampines Rovers
5
4
2004, 2005, 2011, 2012, 2013
Singapore Home United
2
5
1999, 2003
Singapore Geylang International
2
1
1996, 2001
Brunei Brunei DPMM
1
2
2015
France Etoile
1
0
2010
Singapore Tanjong Pagar United
0
3
South Korea Super Reds
0
1

Awards

Note nationality of players at presentation of award. A number of foreign players were naturalised to play for Singapore later in their career.

Top Scorers

Season NameClub Goals
1996Croatia Jure EresSingapore Armed Forces28
1997Croatia Goran PaulicBalestier Central21[9]
1998England Stuart YoungHome United22[9]
1999Croatia Mirko GrabovacSingapore Armed Forces23
2000Croatia Mirko GrabovacSingapore Armed Forces19
2001Croatia Mirko GrabovacSingapore Armed Forces42^
2002Singapore Mirko GrabovacSingapore Armed Forces36^
2003Brazil Peres de OliveiraHome United37^
2004Singapore Egmar GoncalvesHome United30
2005Singapore Mirko GrabovacTampines Rovers26
2006Morocco Laakkad AbdelhadiWoodlands Wellington23
2007Singapore Aleksandar ĐurićSingapore Armed Forces37
2008Singapore Aleksandar ĐurićSingapore Armed Forces28
2009Singapore Aleksandar ĐurićSingapore Armed Forces28
2010France Frédéric MendyEtoile21
2011Bosnia and Herzegovina Mislav KaroglanSingapore Armed Forces33
2012France Frédéric MendyHome United20
2013Singapore Aleksandar Đurić
South Korea Moon Soon-Ho
Tampines Rovers
Woodlands Wellington
15
2014
Brazil Rodrigo Tosi[10]Brunei DPMM
24
2015Brazil Rafael RamazottiBrunei DPMM21

* Mirko Grabovac was a naturalised Singapore player from 2002 until he renounced his Singapore citizenship in 2008.
^ Goals in all domestic competitions, including the S.League and Singapore Cup.

Source:"S.League leading scorers". S.League. 

Player of the Year Award

SeasonNameClub
1996Croatia Ivica RagužSingapore Armed Forces
1997Singapore Nazri NasirBalestier Central
1998Singapore S. SubramaniTanjong Pagar United
1999Hungary Zsolt BücsHome United
2000Croatia Mirko GrabovacSingapore Armed Forces
2001England Daniel BennettTanjong Pagar United
2002Thailand Therdsak ChaimanSingapore Armed Forces
2003Brazil Peres de OliveiraHome United
2004Thailand Surachai JaturapattarapongHome United
2005Singapore Noh Alam ShahTampines Rovers
2006Morocco Laakkad AbdelhadiWoodlands Wellington
2007Singapore Aleksandar ĐurićSingapore Armed Forces
2008Singapore Aleksandar ĐurićSingapore Armed Forces
2009Cameroon Valery HiekHome United
2010Singapore Shahril IshakHome United
2011Bosnia and Herzegovina Mislav KaroglanSingapore Armed Forces
2012Singapore Aleksandar ĐurićTampines Rovers
2013South Korea Lee Kwan-WooHome United
2014Singapore Hassan Sunny[10]Warriors
2015Japan Fumiya KogureAlbirex Niigata (S)

Young Player of the Year

SeasonNameClub
1996Singapore Robin ChitrakarGeylang United
1997Singapore Ahmad Latiff KhamaruddinGeylang United
1998Singapore Lim Soon SengTanjong Pagar United
1999Singapore Yazid YasinHome United
2000Singapore Indra Sahdan DaudGeylang United
2001Singapore Indra Sahdan DaudHome United
2002Singapore Noh Alam ShahSembawang Rangers
2003Singapore Baihakki KhaizanGeylang United
2004Serbia Fahrudin Mustafić*Tampines Rovers
2005Canada Issey Nakajima-FarranAlbirex Niigata (S)
2006Cameroon Kengne LudovickBalestier Khalsa
2007Singapore Shariff Abdul SamatTampines Rovers
2008Singapore Khairul AmriTampines Rovers
2009Nigeria Gabriel ObatolaGombak United
2010Singapore Hariss HarunYoung Lions
2011Japan Tatsuro InuiAlbirex Niigata (S)
2012Malaysia Wan Zack HaikalHarimau Muda A
2013France Sirina CamaraHome United
2014Argentina Nicolás Vélez[10]Warriors
2015Brunei Azwan AliBrunei DPMM

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

Coach of the Year

SeasonNameClub
1996Singapore Vincent SubramaniamSingapore Armed Forces
1997Singapore Vincent SubramaniamSingapore Armed Forces
1998Singapore Jita SinghSembawang Rangers
1999Netherlands Robert AlbertsHome United
2000Singapore Fandi AhmadSingapore Armed Forces
2001South Korea Jang JungGeylang United
2002Malaysia M. KarathuWoodlands Wellington
2003Australia Scott O'DonellGeylang United
2004Thailand Vorawan ChitavanichTampines Rovers
2005Thailand Vorawan ChitavanichTampines Rovers
2006Singapore Richard BokSingapore Armed Forces
2007Singapore Richard BokSingapore Armed Forces
2008Japan Hiroaki HiraokaAlbirex Niigata (S)
2009Singapore Richard BokSingapore Armed Forces
2010Thailand Vorawan ChitavanichTampines Rovers
2011Japan Koichi SugiyamaAlbirex Niigata (S)
2012Croatia Vjeran SimunićBrunei DPMM
2013South Korea Lee Lim-SaengHome United
2014Croatia Marko Kraljević[10]Balestier Khalsa
2015Scotland Steve KeanBrunei DPMM

People's Choice Award

SeasonNameClub
2002Serbia Sead MuratovićTampines Rovers
2003Singapore Indra Sahdan DaudHome United
2004Singapore Agu CasmirYoung Lions
2005Singapore Zulkarnaen ZainalTampines Rovers
2006Singapore Khairul AmriYoung Lions
2007Singapore Aleksandar ĐurićSingapore Armed Forces
2008Cameroon Kengne LudovickHome United
2009Nigeria Gabriel ObatolaGombak United
2010Singapore Shahril JantanSingapore Armed Forces
2011Singapore Safuwan BaharudinYoung Lions
2012Malaysia Wan Zack HaikalHarimau Muda A
2013Guinea Mamadou M. DialloHougang United

Fair Play Award

SeasonClub
1996Singapore Singapore Armed Forces
1997Singapore Singapore Armed Forces
1998Singapore Singapore Armed Forces
1999Singapore Geylang United
2000Singapore Sembawang Rangers
2001Singapore Singapore Armed Forces
2002Singapore Singapore Armed Forces
2003Singapore Young Lions
2004Japan Albirex Niigata (S)
2005Singapore Young Lions
2006Singapore Young Lions
2007Japan Albirex Niigata (S)
2008South Korea Super Reds
2009Singapore Home United
2010Singapore Tampines Rovers
2011Japan Albirex Niigata (S)
2012Japan Albirex Niigata (S)
2013Japan Albirex Niigata (S)
2014Singapore Geylang International[10]
2015Singapore Geylang International

Special awards

200 S.League goals

Season Name Club
2005Singapore Mirko Grabovac*Tampines Rovers
2007Singapore Aleksandar ĐurićSingapore Armed Forces

Mirko Grabovac was a Singaporean when he won the 200 S.League Goals award in 2005.

300 S.League goals

Season Name Club
2010Singapore Aleksandar ĐurićTampines Rovers


All-time S.League Table

The all-time S.League table is a cumulative record of all match results, points and goals of every team that has played in the S.League since its inception in 1996. The table that follows is accurate as of the end of the 2014 season. Teams in bold are part of the 2016 S.League.

Pos
Club
No. of
Seasons
Pld
W (PK)[11] D
L
F
A
GD
Pts
Pts PG
1 Singapore Warriors a 19 531 331 (2) 91 107 1223 648 +575 1088 2.05
2 Singapore Home United 19 531 301 (2) 95 133 1081 669 +412 1002 1.90
3 Singapore Tampines Rovers 19 531 282 (3) 104 142 1040 680 +360 956 1.80
4 Singapore Geylang International a 19 531 219 (3) 114 195 821 740 +81 777 1.48
5 Singapore Woodlands Wellington c 19 531 167 (4) 120 240 743 930 -187 623 1.19
6 Singapore Balestier Khalsa 19 531 150 (2) 118 261 692 963 -271 532 1.06
7 Japan Albirex Niigata (S) 11 324 133 83 108 514 440 +74 522 1.47
8 Singapore Tanjong Pagar United 13 345 125 (2) 70 148 508 581 -73 449 1.32
9 Singapore Gombak United 12 346 114 88 144 462 528 -66 432 1.25
10 Singapore Young Lions f 12 357 110 (1) 79 167 479 599 -120 406 1.15
11 Singapore Hougang United f 15 433 101 (8) 81 243 493 845 -352 395 0.87
12 Singapore Jurong 7 179 70 (7) 29 73 261 274 -13 253 1.41
13 Singapore Sembawang Rangers 8 207 53 (5) 47 102 256 409 -149 216 1.04
14 South Korea Super Reds 3 96 41 20 35 144 146 -2 143 1.49
15 Brunei Brunei DPMM d 3 78 39 16 23 153 103 +50 133 1.63
16 France Etoile e 2 66 42 11 13 119 59 +60 132 2.00
17 Singapore Clementi Khalsa 4 110 22 29 59 150 261 -111 95 0.86
18 China Sinchi b 3 87 22 (6) 13 46 109 167 -58 88 1.01
19 Malaysia Harimau Muda B 2 54 14 8 32 61 110 -49 50 1.11
20 Malaysia Harimau Muda A 1 24 13 3 8 37 23 +14 42 1.75
21 China Beijing Guoan Talent e 1 33 10 6 17 30 49 -19 31 0.94
22 China Liaonng Guangyuan 1 33 8 5 20 33 63 -30 29 0.88
23 Singapore Sporting Afrique 1 30 5 9 26 36 59 -23 24 0.80
24 China Dalian Shide Siwu 1 33 5 7 21 26 75 -55 22 0.67
25 Singapore Paya Lebar Punggol 1 27 1 1 25 23 78 -55 4 0.15

See also

References

  1. "Singapore League (S. League)". National Library Board. 14 June 2014.
  2. Joe Dorai (17 January 1995). "Malaysian states want 15 per cent levy to play at Kallang". The Straits Times. p. 31.
  3. "Geylang wins S-League's Championship match". The Straits Times. 10 November 1996.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Osman, Shamir (4 November 2014). "Only 10 teams in S.League next year". The New Paper. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
  5. Low, Lin Fhoong (6 November 2014). "Changes will make S-League ‘stronger, more competitive’". Today. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
  6. 1 2 3 Low, Lin Fhoong (5 November 2014). "Uncertainty over S-League’s changes for 2015". Today. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  7. Phua, Emmanuel (24 November 2014). "Players ambivalent about S-League U-turn". Today. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
  8. "S.League overview". S.League. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  9. 1 2 Eric Ding (29 August 2005). "Golden Boot". Today. p. 38.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Awards night signals end of 2014 S.League season". S.League. 7 November 2014. Retrieved 18 November 2014.
  11. The 2003 edition of the S.League saw the introduction of penalty shootouts if a match ended a draw. Shootout winners were awarded an extra point on top of the draw.

External links

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