Football in Singapore

Association football, known more popularly as football, is the national sport of Singapore. The sport reached its peak in the 1980s and 1990s during the Singapore Lions' participation in the Malaysia Cup, where they dominated the competition. Singapore is home to the Football Association of Singapore, the oldest football association in Asia with its roots coming from The Football Association in England. The national teams include the men's, women's and youth.

Football In Singapore
1st game
British Engineers XI A vs British Engineers XI B [1]
(1889)
Governing bodyFootball Association of Singapore
Top leagues (National Leagues)Singapore Premier League
FAS National Football League
FAS Island Wide League
FAS Women's Premier League
FAS Women's National Football League
National CupSingapore Cup
FA CupSingapore FA Cup
Season starterSingapore Community Shield
International
1st international
Singapore men's 2–3 South Korea 
(Singapore; 12 April 1953)
Men's teamSingapore
Women's teamSingapore ♀
Boys' team (youth)Singapore U15s & 16s
StadiumNational Stadium
(Capacity: 55,000)
International honours
Youth Olympics Bronze (1) – 2010 (boys' U16)
AFF Championship Gold (4) – 1998, 2004, 2007, 2012 (men's)
AFC Women's Cup Bronze (2) – 1977, 1983 (women's)
Lion City Cup Silver (1) – 2011 (boys' U16)
 Bronze (1) – 2011 (boys' u15)

The Singapore Lions, the team which plays in the Malaysia Cup, is not counted due to the team being more like a club, since there is the allowance of foreign players or transfers in the team, and the Malaysia Cup being a club competition among Malaysian states and Singapore. Singapore left the Malaysia Cup in 1994 and came back in 2012.[2] The current champions of Singapore in football is Brunei DPMM.

History

The first football match in Singapore were between two teams of British engineers in 1889. The Singapore Amateur Football Association (SAFA), under its current name Football Association of Singapore (FAS), was formed in 1892 by a group of British in colonial Singapore.

Competitions

League system
Main article: Singapore football league system
TierProfessional and Semi-Professional/ Top Amateur Men's Football Leagues
1Singapore Premier League[3][4]
2Singapore National Football League Division 1[5]
3Singapore National Football League Division 2[6]
4 Singapore Island Wide League (3rd Division)[7]
TierTop Amateur Men's Football League
Nil Cosmopolitan Football League[8]
Nil Equatorial Amateur Football League[9]
TierWomen's Football Leagues
1FAS Women’s Premier League
6 clubs
2FAS Women's National Football League
10 clubs
TierYouth's Football Leagues
1Centre of Excellence U19 Developmental League
2Centre of Excellence U16 Developmental League Tier 1
3Centre of Excellence U16 Developmental League Tier 2

Professional league
Main article: Singapore Premier League
Professional league
Founded1996 (1996) (as S.League)
2018 (2018) (as Singapore Premier League)
Country Singapore
Other club(s) from Brunei
Japan
ConfederationAFC (Asia)
Number of teams9
Level on pyramid1
Relegation toNational Football League
Domestic cup(s)Singapore Cup
Community Shield
Singapore FA Cup (for reserves teams)
International cup(s)AFC Cup
AFC Champions League Qualification
Websitespl.sg

The Singapore Premier League is a professional league for men's association football clubs in Singapore, governed by the Football Association of Singapore. The semi-professional FAS Premier League was replaced by the professional S.League in 1996 when Singapore FA left the Malaysia Cup in 1994, due to disputes with the Football Association of Malaysia.[10] The league adopted its current name in 2018.

Although the SPL is the highest level of domestic football competition in Singapore, it fails to attract supporters, with the dwindling attendees to matches and television view ratings.[11] The FAS has invited foreign clubs to participate in the league, in attempt to increase competitiveness and attract more fans. There is no promotion and relegation in the current Singapore football league system. The reserves team of the SPL clubs compete in the Prime League formed in 1997.

Since its inception in 1996, seven clubs have been crowned champions. Geylang United claim the first league title. Warriors FC hold the most with nine. In 2010, Étoile FC became the first foreign side to win the competition.[12]

Singapore National Football League
Main article: Singapore National Football League
National Football League
Founded1975 (1975)
Country Singapore
ConfederationAFC
Level on pyramid2–3
Promotion toNo Promotion
Relegation toSingapore Island Wide League
Domestic cup(s)Singapore FA Cup
Websitefas.org.sg/competitions/nfl/

The Singapore National Football League, or more commonly known as the NFL is a semi-professional competition organised for football clubs which are affiliated with the Football Association of Singapore, FAS which was previously known as the Singapore Amateur Football Association, SAFA. It was the premier football league of Singapore until the FAS premier league was formed in 1988. The history of NFL can be traced back to as earl as the early 20th century.

Singapore Island Wide League
Island Wide League
Country Singapore
ConfederationAFC
Level on pyramid4
Promotion toSingapore National Football League
WebsiteWebsite

Cosmopolitan Football League
Cosmopolitan Football League
Founded1975 (1975)
Country Singapore
ConfederationAFC
Level on pyramid3-4
Domestic cup(s)Cosmo Cup
Websitecosmoleague.com

The Singapore Cosmopolitan Football League was founded in the year 1975 by soccer section members of the Singapore Cricket Club. It is currently the longest standing amateur football league in Singapore with many ex-professional football players coming to take part in the league. It is also a league for expatriate players in Singapore who are not involved in top league such as the S.League and the NFL.

Equatorial Football League

Equatorial Football League is a multi-national amateur football league founded in 2006. The Primary objective of the league is to build an integrated and cohesive society, to promote youth development. Just like the Cosmoleague, the league consists of expatriate amateur footballers and most of the clubs participating in the league are also participating in the Cosmoleague. The league was sanctioned by Football Association of Singapore and mainly played on private properties pitches.

Equatorial Football League
Founded2006 (2006)
Country Singapore
ConfederationAFC
Level on pyramid3-4
Promotion toNil
Domestic cup(s)EFL Cup
Websitehttps://www.gamedayapp.co/tournaments/equatorial-football-league

ESPZEN
ESPZEN Football League
Country Singapore
ConfederationAFC
Level on pyramid6–10
Domestic cup(s)ESPZEN FA Cup
ESPZEN Champion Cup
Websitewww.espzen.com

ESPZEN is a football organisation affiliated to the Football Association of Singapore founded by an English banker Lee Taylor back in the early 2000s. It is dedicated to revolutionising the amateur football scene in Singapore and is currently the biggest amateur football league in Singapore with over 4000 players and over 180 teams. Its main categories are the Sunday League (6 divisions), Saturday League (4 divisions) and Midweek League (2 divisions). It also organises the veteran league, junior league (for kids) and the ESPZEN futsal league. It is one of the top amateur football league in Singapore together with the Cosmo League and it also has a significant number of ex-professional football players taking part in the tournament. It is also regarded by many to be the most well organised and systematic amateur football league in Singapore. All the clubs which took part in the league are amateur clubs whereby they have to be registered by the organisation and be approved to be able to take part in the league. The rules of promotion and relegation only apply through the divisions within the ESPZEN and top team do not promote to the Island Wide League or the NFL. However several teams such as the SCC Tigers and TGA Football Club have taken part not just in ESPZEN but also in the Cosmo League simultaneously through different section under the same club.

D2D Sports
D2D Football League
Country Singapore
ConfederationAFC
Websitewww.d2dsports.com

Goal 2010

Goal 2010 was an objective, set by then-Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong in 1998,[13] for the Singapore national team to reach the 2010 FIFA World Cup finals in South Africa. However, the goal was not met.

"Look at the French World Cup football team. In the final against Brazil, I picked Zidane as the most outstanding French player. He is of Algerian descent. Of the 22-players, more than half did not look "French". They looked Argentinian, Armenian, Basque, Caribbean, Ghanaian, New Caledonian. Some were born in France, but of immigrant parents. Others are first generation French citizens. When they went up to receive their medals, President Chirac embraced all of them as Frenchmen. He sent a strong political signal for multi-racialism and against xenophobia: that in France, so long as you contribute to the French cause, it does not matter what colour your skin is or where you were born. Last year I told you Singapore would never have a chance in the World Cup, because the rules require all players to be citizens. But after watching the French victory, I have changed my mind. Maybe if we change our immigration criteria to bring in top football talent and make them citizens, then one day we too can get into the finals. In fact we intend to do just this, to bring in sports talent."[14]

— Goh Chok Tong, National Day Rally 1998 Speech, commenting further on GOAL 2010

Malaysia Cup
Main article: Malaysia Cup

Joining the Malaysia Cup in 1921, known as the Malaya Cup at that time, Singapore were the champions of the inaugural competition. They would further succeed in getting 24 titles for themselves during their time in the competition from 1921 to 1994, a span of 74 years.

In this competition, and the Malaysia league, Singapore submitted a representative team, which operated like a football club more than a national football team. It was called the Singapore FA in the country's 74 years in Malaysian football. The competition helped bring the likes of Fandi Ahmad and Dollah Kassim, with the former being the only Singaporean to have played for European clubs – he played for FC Groningen and OFI Crete.

National teams
Main articles: Singapore national football team, Singapore women's national football team, and Singapore national youth football team

The Football Association of Singapore organises the men's, women's and youth national football teams. The men's senior team is the second most successful team in the AFF Championship with 4 titles, winning in 1998, 2004, 2007 and 2012. The youth team claim bronze in the football event of the inaugural Youth Olympic Games, and runners-up and second runners-up for the 23rd Lion City Cup.

Stadium
Main articles: National Stadium, Singapore and Jalan Besar Stadium

The former National Stadium was the home of the Singapore national team. The team moved to Jalan Besar Stadium after the former ground was demolished in 2011 for the multi-purpose sports complex Singapore Sports Hub. After its completion in 2014, the team concurrently uses both the new National Stadium and Jalan Besar Stadium as their home grounds.[15]

See also

References
  1. History of Singapore Football Archived 26 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Fas.org.sg. Retrieved 15 August 2011.
  2. Singapore is Back!. Voxsports.net (12 July 2011). Retrieved 15 August 2011.
  3. "Football: Goodbye S-League, welcome Singapore Premier League". The Straits Times. 21 March 2018. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
  4. "Singapore League (S. League) - Infopedia". Eresources.nlb.gov.sg. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
  5. "National Football League Division 1 - Football Association of Singapore". Fas.org.sg. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
  6. "National Football League Division 2 - Football Association of Singapore". Fas.org.sg. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
  7. "Island Wide League - Football Association of Singapore". Fas.org.sg. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
  10. About. S.League (17 December 1994). Retrieved 15 August 2011.
  11. S.League Must Improve. Asiaone.com (25 May 2011). Retrieved 15 August 2011.
  12. "S.League overview". S.League. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  13. GOAL 2010 Archived 8 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Singapore-lighthouse.blogspot.com (9 June 2010). Retrieved 15 August 2011.
  14. Prime Minister's National Day Rally Speech, 1998. National Archives of Singapore. Retrieved 2017-08-17.
  15. Singapore Sports Hub to open by April 2014. Asiaone.com (27 August 2010). Retrieved 15 August 2011.
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