2018 Singapore Premier League

The 2018 Singapore Premier League (also known as the Great Eastern Hyundai Singapore Premier League due to sponsorship reasons) was the inaugural season of the Singapore Premier League, the top-flight Singaporean professional league for association football clubs. The season began on 31 March 2018,[1] and concluded on 3 October 2018. Albirex Niigata (S) won the league and successfully defended their title.

Singapore Premier League
Season2018
Dates31 March 2018 – 3 October 2018
Champions Albirex Niigata (S) (3rd title)
Community Shield Albirex Niigata (S)
AFC Champions LeagueHome United
(S.League runners-up)
AFC CupTampines Rovers
(S.League 4th Place)
Matches played79
Goals scored248 (3.14 per match)
Top goalscorer Shuhei Hoshino (18 goals)
Biggest home win Albirex Niigata (S) 5–0 Balestier Khalsa
(28 May 2018) Albirex Niigata (S) 5–0 DPMM FC
(3 June 2018)
Biggest away win Home United FC 1–6 Albirex Niigata (S)
(18 April 2018)
Highest scoring Geylang International 2–6 DPMM FC
(10 June 2018)
Longest winning run17 matches
Albirex Niigata (S)
Longest unbeaten run24 matches
Albirex Niigata (S)
Longest winless run13 matches
Hougang United FC
Longest losing run5 matches
Geylang International
← 2017
2019 →

Each team will receive $888,200 if they meet key performance indicators that will be made known to them before the March 31 kick-off. This represents a "19 per cent reduction from the 2017 season", but funding for the league has been secured for the next five years.[2]

It is the league's first season after rebranding from the S.League to the Singapore Premier League. A major overhaul from the new FAS management is being made from this season onwards to improve the standard of Singapore football.[3]

An emphasis on youth development from the ground up is underway.

Rules

The following key changes are being made to the rules for the 2018 season:[4]

  1. It is compulsory for each of the SPL's six local clubs to recruit at least six Under-23 footballers for their squad, with a minimum of three Under-23 players to feature in the starting 11 for each match. The first U-23 player must be replaced by another, if the substitution occurs in the 1st half. Beyond this, any U-23 players can be replaced by any other players.
  2. Depending on the squad size, each team is to sign at least eight local players aged 24 to 30. A 25-man squad will need to have nine local U-23 players and 10 local players aged 24 to 30.[5]
  3. Introduction of age quotas, with teams allowed to sign only two to six players above the age of 30, depending on squad size. For example, for squad between 19 and 22 players, there must be minimum of six under-23 players and 8 under-30 players. This will apply to all club except Young Lions and Albirex Niigata (S).
  4. Young Lions can sign a maximum of 33 players for the season.
  5. The foreign player quota for clubs will be reduced from three to two with no age restriction placed on them.
  6. Albirex Niigata (S) has age restrictions imposed by the FAS for the new season. The squad will be made up of 50% of U23 players, 50% of U21 players and one player of any age. This is excluding 2 Singapore U-23 players which they can choose to sign.[6][7]
  7. The Singapore Premier League lineup for 2018 will remain the same as Young Lions are set to compete in 2018.
  8. The Prime League will be scrapped with the National Football League (NFL) set to be installed as the second-tier competition.
  9. Yo-yo test will replace the current mandatory 2.4 km test, and players will be tested three times a year in the pre-season, midseason and off-season.
  10. All matches will be played during weekends at 5:30 p.m.

Teams

A total of 9 teams compete in the league. Albirex Niigata (S) and DPMM FC are invited foreign clubs from Japan and Brunei respectively. Despite large criticism and discussion against the Young Lions project, the Young Lions will continue to compete till 2019 for the purposes of training and preparing for the 2019 SEA Games.[8] The criticism mainly focused on the poor performances every season by the largely youth team made up of Singapore Football's brightest prospects. Season-long consecutive losses against the rest of the more mature teams inflicts serious long-term consequences on the morale of the players, considering that most of these players are in the developmental ages of their footballing career. The new age restrictions imposed on the rest of the Singapore Premier League clubs could be seen as giving the Young Lions a better advantage in terms of seniority, but most critics and fans of Singapore football are still wanting the FAS to abolish the FAS-managed Young Lions and have them developed under the guidance of genuine local clubs.

Stadiums and locations
Location of 2018 Singapore Premier League teams
Locations of the 2018 Singapore Premier League teams from Singapore
Team Stadium Capacity
Albirex Niigata (S) Jurong East Stadium 2,700
Balestier Khalsa Toa Payoh Stadium 3,800
DPMM FC Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium 28,000
Geylang International Bedok Stadium 3,800
Home United Bishan Stadium 3,500
Hougang United Hougang Stadium 3,400
Tampines Rovers Our Tampines Hub 5,000
Warriors FC Choa Chu Kang Stadium 4,000
Young Lions Jalan Besar Stadium 6,000

Personnel and sponsors

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Team Head coach Captain Kit manufacturer Main Shirt sponsor
Albirex Niigata (S) Kazuaki Yoshinaga Wataru Murofushi [9] Hummel [10] Canon
Balestier Khalsa Marko Kraljević Zaiful Nizam Mawin Jeep [11]
DPMM FC Renê Weber Shahrazen Said [12] Lotto –
Geylang International Hirotaka Usui Yuki Ichikawa FBT [13] Epson
Home United Aidil Sharin Izzdin Shafiq [14] Puma Lionco Investments
Hougang United Philippe Aw[15] Nurhilmi Jasni Vonda Assisi Hospice
Tampines Rovers Jürgen Raab[16] Fahrudin Mustafić Hummel [17] – [18] / ANA Courier Express
Warriors FC Mirko Grabovac Kento Fukuda Umbro Rhino Sports / Armaggeddon
Young Lions Fandi Ahmad Taufiq Muqminin Nike -

Note: 1) ANA Courier Express is Tampines Rovers's Singapore Cup jersey sponsor only 2) Hougang United had a partnership with Assisi Hospice via its donation drive. Assisi Hospice will be published on the jersey

Coaching changes
Team Outgoing Head Coach Manner of Departure Date of Vacancy Position in table Incoming Head Coach Date of appointment
DPMM FC Steve Kean Sacked [19] 30 November 2017 Pre-Season Renê Weber [20] 1 January 2018
Young Lions Vincent Subramaniam Redeployed [21][22] 14 December 2017 Pre-Season Fandi Ahmad [23] 14 December 2017
Warriors FC Razif Onn Redeployed [24] 1 January 2018 Pre-Season Mirko Grabovac [25] 15 January 2018
Geylang International Mohd Noor Ali Redeployed [26] 1 February 2018 Pre-Season Hirotaka Usui [27] 1 February 2018
Hougang United Philippe Aw Sacked [28] 10 June 2018 9th Clement Teo (Caretaker) 10 June 2018

Foreigners

The foreign player quota for clubs will be reduced from three to two.[29]

In addition, Albirex was reported to have declared their intention to have Singapore players in their squad for 2018 and is understood that a proposal is being put together for Albirex to take in local players and they will be allowed to sign two Singaporean U-23 players.[30][31] Only DPMM are allowed to sign up to three foreigners.[32]

Players name in bold indicates the player was registered during the mid-season transfer window.

Club Player 1 Player 2 Player 3 Youth Players 1 Youth Players 2 Former Players
Albirex Niigata (S) Shahul Rayyan [33] Adam Swandi [34]
Balestier Khalsa Vedran Mesec [35] Keegan Linderboom [36] Dusan Marinkovic Sanjin Vrebac [37]
DPMM FC Mojtaba Esmaeilzadeh [38] Brian McLean [39] Volodymyr Pryyomov [40]
Geylang International Yuki Ichikawa [41] Fumiya Kogure [42]
Home United Isaka Cernak [43] Song Ui-young [44] Sirina Camara [45]
Hougang United Antoine Viterale[46] Jang Jo-yoon [47] Adam Mitter [48][49]
Tampines Rovers Jordan Webb [50] Ryutaro Megumi [51]
Warriors FC Jonathan Béhé [52] Kento Fukuda [53]

League table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Albirex Niigata (S)[lower-alpha 1] 24 21 3 0 69 17 +52 66
2 Home United 24 12 7 5 48 36 +12 43 Qualification to
AFC Champions League Preliminary Round 1
3 DPMM FC[lower-alpha 1] 24 11 8 5 46 38 +8 41
4 Tampines Rovers 24 12 4 8 43 27 +16 40 Qualification to AFC Cup Group Stage
5 Warriors FC 24 7 7 10 32 35 −3 28
6 Balestier Khalsa 24 7 6 11 25 36 −11 27
7 Young Lions[lower-alpha 1] 24 5 6 13 25 46 −21 21
8 Geylang International 24 5 5 14 26 57 −31 20
9 Hougang United 24 2 6 16 22 44 −22 12
Updated to match(es) played on 29 September 2018. Source: Singapore Premier League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored; 4) number of wins
Notes:
  1. The two foreign clubs – Albirex Niigata (S) and DPMM FC – as well as the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) under-21 team, Young Lions, are ineligible for any AFC competition spots.

Statistics

Top scorers
As of 3 October 2018.
Rank Player Club Goals
1 Shuhei Hoshino Albirex Niigata (S) 19
2 Jonathan Behe Warriors FC 17
3 Volodymyr Priyomov DPMM FC 17
4 Khairul Amri Tampines Rovers 15
5 Shahril Ishak Home United 13

Clean Sheets
As of 3 October 2018.
Rank Player Club Goals
1 Yōsuke Nozawa Albirex Niigata (S) 10
2 Syazwan Buhari Tampines Rovers 9
3 Rudy Khairullah Home United 5
3 Mukundan Maran Warriors FC 5
5 Zaiful Nizam Balestier Khalsa 4

Hat-tricks
PlayerForAgainstResultDateReference
Taku Morinaga Albirex Niigata (S)Balestier Khalsa5–027 May 2018
Jonathan BéhéWarriors FCTampines Rovers3–217 June 2018
Khairul AmriTampines RoversBalestier Khalsa5–230 June 2018
Khairul AmriTampines RoversGeylang International4–121 July 2018
Abdul Azizi Ali Rahman Brunei DPMMHougang United3–118 August 2018
Song Ui-youngHome UnitedWarriors FC4–323 September 2018

Singapore Premier League Awards night winners
Awards Winners Club
Player of the Year Wataru Murofushi Albirex Niigata (S)
Young Player of the Year Adam Swandi Albirex Niigata (S)
Coach of the Year Kazuaki Yoshinaga Albirex Niigata (S)
Top Scorer Award Shuhei Hoshino Albirex Niigata (S)
Goal of the Year Zulfadhmi Suzliman Tampines Rovers
Fair Play Award Albirex Niigata (S)
Referee of the Year Nathan Chan
FansXI Team of the Year
Goalkeeper Yosuke Nozawa
( Albirex Niigata (S))
Defence Riku Moriyasu
( Albirex Niigata (S))		 Shuhei Sasahara
( Albirex Niigata (S))		 Kento Fukuda
(Warriors FC)		 Kenya Takahashi
( Albirex Niigata (S))
Midfield Hafiz Nor
(Home United)		 Wataru Murofushi
( Albirex Niigata (S))		 Song Ui-young
(Home United)		 Adam Swandi
( Albirex Niigata (S))
Attack Shahril Ishak
(Home United)		 Shuhei Hoshino
( Albirex Niigata (S))

References
  1. "New season to start in late March 2018".
  2. "FAS president Lim Kia Tong calls for change of mindset to improve S-League".
  3. Football: Goodbye S-League, welcome Singapore Premier League Straits Times, 21 March 2018
  4. "2018 changes".
  5. "Age quota set in stone for 2018".
  6. "Albirex hit with age restrictions too but Koh's calm".
  7. "Announcement of 2018 Season's Players Regulation Issued by Football Association of Singapore".
  8. "Young Lions to escape axe, will continue until 2019 SEA Games at least".
  9. "Albirex captain and vice captain announced".
  10. "Hummel to sponsor White Swan from 2016 to 2018".
  11. "Balestier Khalsa embark on Singapore Premier League journey with Jeep".
  12. "New Captain Appointed for the new season".
  13. "FBT continue sponsorship".
  14. "Izzdin the new captain for 2018".
  15. "Aw gets 2nd year with Cheetah".
  16. "Rabb on 3 years contract".
  17. "Hummels the new sponsor for the Stags for 2018 and 2019".
  18. "Tampines will not have a main shirt sponsor this year".
  19. "Kean leaving Wasps".
  20. "Weber the new DPMM Coach".
  21. "SEA Games coach Richard Tardy to leave FAS as part of coaching changes".
  22. "Subramaniam names FAS coaching instructor".
  23. "Fandi to take charge of the Young Lions". Archived from the original on 2017-12-14. Retrieved 2017-12-14.
  24. "Razif Oon redeployed as club eyes Mirko".
  25. "Football: Mirko Grabovac permitted to begin coaching Warriors".
  26. "Noor Ali joins Japanese side Yamaga".
  27. "Noor Ali head to Japan for attachment".
  28. "Media Release".
  29. "Foreigners cut".
  30. "Albirex to have 3 local players?".
  31. "Albirex to sign 2 local Singaporean".
  32. "DPMM participation for 2018 season". Archived from the original on 2018-01-14. Retrieved 2018-01-13.
  33. "Shahul the new keeper".
  34. "Adam the 1st "local" signing".
  35. "Verdan the new poacher on roar!".
  36. "NZ striker to lead the line for the Tiger!".
  37. "New blood may give Tigers fresh impetus".
  38. "DPMM FC set to sign Iranian striker Mojtaba".
  39. "McLean set for DPMM FC return".
  40. "Ukraine striker join DPMM for 2018 charge".
  41. "Yuki san recontract with the Eagles for 2018".
  42. "Fumiya joins the Japanese revolution in Bedok".
  43. "Robbie Kruse and Ken Ilso got me to the Singapore League".
  44. "Song extends contract".
  45. "Camara retained for 2018".
  46. "Prime League foreign striker promoted".
  47. "Hougang United sign Chang Jo Yoon".
  48. "Adam Mitter the final foreigner in puzzle". Archived from the original on 2018-01-31. Retrieved 2018-01-31.
  49. "Adam Mitter out as Korean signed up".
  50. "Jordan Webb joins the Stags for his second stint".
  51. "Ryutaro Megumi extends his stay with the Stags!".
  52. "Warriors announced the signing of Jonathan Béhé for the 2018 Season!".
  53. "Kento retained as Mirko searched for new foreigner".
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