2022 Singapore Premier League

Singapore Premier League
Season2022
ChampionsAlbirex Niigata (S) (5th title)
AFC Champions LeagueLion City Sailors
AFC CupHougang United
Matches played112
Goals scored506 (4.52 per match)
Top goalscorerBoris Kopitović
(35 goals)
Biggest home winTanjong Pagar United 8–1 Young Lions
(1 October 2022)
Lion City Sailors 7–0 Tanjong Pagar United
(20 August 2022)
Biggest away winYoung Lions 1–10 Lion City Sailors
(13 August 2022)
Highest scoringHougang United 4–9 Lion City Sailors
(26 August 2022)
Longest winless runYoung Lions
(11 matches)
Longest losing runYoung Lions
(8 matches)
Average attendance832
← 2021
2023 →

The 2022 Singapore Premier League (also known as the AIA Singapore Premier League due to sponsorship reasons) was the 5th season of the Singapore Premier League, the top-flight Singaporean professional league for association football clubs, since its rebranding in 2018.[1][2] The champions of the 2022 Singapore Premier League should have qualified for the AFC Champions League. The season began in March and ended on 15 October.

Lion City Sailors were the defending champions, having won their third Singapore Premier League title in the previous season. Albirex Niigata (S) won their fifth title.

Format

The following key changes were made to the rules since the 2022 season:[3]

  1. Each team is able to register up to 25 players in their squad, a reduction of 3 players as compared from 2020.
  2. Albirex is allowed to have a minimum squad of eighteen (18) Players under non-amateur (Professional) contract, as at the pre-season minimum registration deadline and a maximum of twenty-five (25) Players.
  3. From 2021, Albirex is allowed to sign a maximum of 2 overage Singaporean players.[4] As in 2019 and 2020, Albirex must have two Singaporeans in their starting lineup for each game.
  4. Young Lions is allowed to register a minimum of twenty (20) Players as at the pre-season minimum registration deadline and a maximum of thirty-five (35) Players as at the close of the first registration window.
  5. Young Lions and Lion City Sailors Football Club to play their home games at Jalan Besar Stadium while Balestier Khalsa will play at Toa Payoh Stadium. Bishan Stadium is under renovation till end of season. Other stadiums used are: (1) Our Tampines Hub (Tampines Rovers and Geylang International), Hougang Stadium (Hougang United) and (3) Jurong East Stadium (Albirex Niigata and Tanjong Pagar United).
  6. Clubs will be equipped with Global Positioning Systems (GPS) devices - among other performance and tracking gear. Value of the sponsorship is worth around $620,000.[5]
  7. SPL clubs are now allowed to register a maximum of four foreign players with no age restrictions, of whom at least one shall be of the nationality of an AFC Member Association (Asian). A maximum of four foreign players may be named or fielded in any one match.[6]
  8. Players shall be allocated jersey numbers 1 to 50. Jersey number become available for allocation to new members after a player ceased to play for a club.[7]

New rules for 2022.[8]

  1. Clubs will be required to field only one U-23 player – instead of three – for the first half of a match from next season.
  2. There will be no limit on the number of U-23 players registered in each squad.
  3. All SPL teams will play each other four time.
  4. Clubs will be able to register 20 players per match. There will be nine substitutes allowed on a team's bench – up from seven – and clubs will be permitted to make up to five substitutions per match.
  5. Each team will need to field a minimum of one Under-23 player of Singaporean nationality for the entire duration of the first half. This is a reduction from three in 2020.
  6. Youth elite leagues are slated to resume.
  7. New scheme to incentivise SPL clubs to place higher priority on their youth development programmes.
  8. Clubs will receive monetary rewards for each of their U-23 players who gets called up to the national teams.
  9. 1st transfer window: 1 January 2021 to 20 March 2022, 2nd transfer window: 17 May 2021 to 13 June 2022

On 30 September 2022, it was announced by AFC that they had agreed to give its consent for Brunei DPMM's participation in the 2023 Singapore Premier League and Singapore Cup. This is subject to approval from FIFA.[9]

Teams

A total of 8 teams competed in the league. Albirex Niigata (S) from Japan is the only foreign team invited.

Stadiums and locations

Locations of the 2022 Singapore Premier League teams from Singapore
Team Stadium Capacity
Albirex Niigata (S) Jurong East Stadium 2,700
Balestier Khalsa Toa Payoh Stadium 3,800
Geylang International Our Tampines Hub 5,000
Hougang United Hougang Stadium 3,800
Lion City Sailors Jalan Besar Stadium 6,000
Tampines Rovers Our Tampines Hub 5,000
Tanjong Pagar United Jurong East Stadium 2,700
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 Other shirt sponsors
Albirex Niigata (S) Kazuaki Yoshinaga Jun Kobayashi
Takahiro Koga (VC)
Fairoz Hasan (VC) 		Mizuno Denka[10] Lensmode
Kubota
Reeracoen
Kirin
EnglishCentral
Gain City
Dpro Logistics Namics
One Asia Lawyers
JPLUS+
Daiho Group
JTB
NSG
Sanpoutei Ramen
SMBC
ACCEA Singapore
PR Times
Nippon Medical Care
HIT Singapore
With You Global Creations
SD Aircon
At Twenty
Salonpas
Crown Line
SETA Technologies
Salonpas
Soken Medical
Dr. Stretch
Balestier Khalsa Peter de Roo Shuhei Hoshino (C)
Darren Teh (C)
Ho Wai Loon (C)
Adidas Jeep Weston Corporation
Project Vaults
PSB Academy
TopGrid Pest
Dr. Stretch
StarBalm
Geylang International Mohd Noor Ali Zaiful Nizam
Abdil Qaiyyim Mutalib (VC) 		FBT Epson[11] Aris Studio 23
Joydom Engineering
My Protein Singapore
Steel Industries
Springleaf Prata Place
Fightzone
TRUE Fitness
Dr. Stretch
Hougang United Clement Teo Fabian Kwok
Lionel Tan (VC)
Nazrul Nazari (VC)
Ridhuan Barudin (VC) 		Warrix The Physio Circle[12] SportCenter by Zup
Cafe Football (CF)
The Arena
SpeedFitness
Polar Water
StarBalm
Lion City Sailors Luka Lalic (Interim) Hariss Harun
Amirul Adli (VC)
Nur Adam Abdullah (VC) 		Puma Sea[13] Shopee
Garena
Citrus by the pool
WLJK
Good bites
TAPS
Tampines Rovers Gavin Lee[14] Yasir Hanapi
Syazwan Buhari (VC)
Irwan Shah (VC)
Kyoga Nakamura (VC) 		Mizuno ANA Courier Express [15] Rookbook
My Protein Singapore
Bauerfeind Sports
The Co-op
JSSL FC
Canadian 2 for 1 pizza
StarBalm
Tanjong Pagar United Hasrin Jailani Faritz Abdul Hameed
Daniel Bennett (VC) 		FBT Tokyo Century Samtrade Academy
Hyundai
StarBalm
The Rehab Lab
Young Lions Nazri Nasir Jacob Mahler
Shah Shahiran (VC) 		Nike Catapult

Coaching changes

Team Outgoing Head Coach Manner of Departure Date of Vacancy Position in table Incoming Head Coach Date of appointment
Balestier Khalsa Marko Kraljević Contract Ended 10 October 2021[16][17] Pre-Season Akbar Nawas 22 October 2021[18]
Albirex Niigata (S) Keiji Shigetomi Redesignated as Asst. Coach 26 October 2021[19] Pre-Season Kazuaki Yoshinaga 26 October 2021[20]
Young Lions Philippe Aw End of caretaker role 31 December 2021 [21] Pre-Season Nazri Nasir 1 January 2022
Lion City Sailors Kim Do-hoon Left by Mutual Consent 11 August 2022 [22] 1st Luka Lalic (interim) 11 August 2022 [23]
Balestier Khalsa Akbar Nawas Mutual Termination
Joining Udon Thani 		18 August 2022 [24] 7th Peter de Roo (interim) 27 August 2022 [25]
Hougang United Clement Teo Stepped Down 20 November 2022 End of Season [26] Firdaus Kassim (interim)

Note 1: Marko Kraljević was subsequently appointed as the Head, Youth for Hougang United.

Transfers

Further information: List of Singaporean football transfer 2022

Foreign players

Singapore Premier League clubs can sign a maximum of four foreign players in the 2021 season, up from three as compared to 2019.[27] However, one of them has to be 21 years old or younger on 1 January 2021 (Or at the age of registration).

Albirex Niigata can sign up unlimited number of Singaporean players for the new season. Only 2 local player above 23 years old is allowed.[28]

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

Club Player 1 Player 2 Player 3 AFC Player SG U-23 Player
U-21 Player 		Former Players
Albirex Niigata (S) Hyrulnizam Juma'at[29] Fairoz Hassan[30] Zamani Zamri [31] Kai Yamamoto
Nicky Singh[32] Junki Yoshimura[33] Ilhan Fandi [34] Wong Jun Kai
Fikri Junaidi[35] Hilman Norhisam[36] Kenji Austin[37] Shakthi Vinayagavijayan
Balestier Khalsa Ensar Brunčević[38] Shuhei Hoshino[39] Ryoya Tanigushi[40] Kuraba Kondo[41] Conor MacKay
Yann Weishaupt
Max McCoy
Hari McCoy
Geylang International Šime Žužul[42] Vincent Bezecourt[43] Takahiro Tezuka[44] Rio Sakuma[45]
Hougang United André Moritz[46] Pedro Bortoluzo[12] Kristijan Krajček[12] Kaishu Yamazaki[47]
Lion City Sailors Diego Lopes[48] Pedro Henrique[49] Maxime Lestienne[50][51] Kim Shin-wook[52][53]
Tampines Rovers Zehrudin Mehmedović[54] Boris Kopitović[54] Kyoga Nakamura[55] Shuya Yamashita[56]
Tanjong Pagar United Mirko Šugić[57] Blake Ricciuto Reo Nishiguchi[58] Shodai Nishikawa[59]

Note 1: From 2021, Albirex is allowed to sign a maximum of 2 Singaporean players above the age of 23.

Results

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Albirex Niigata (S)[a] (C) 28 17 8 3 88 43 +45 59
2 Lion City Sailors (Q) 28 18 3 7 91 39 +52 57 Qualification for AFC Champions League Group stage
3 Tampines Rovers (Q) 28 15 5 8 76 57 +19 50 Standby team for AFC Cup group stage
4 Geylang International 28 10 9 9 48 46 +2 39
5 Hougang United 28 10 9 9 65 71 −6 39 Qualification for AFC Cup group stage (Cup Winner)
6 Tanjong Pagar United 28 10 7 11 59 69 −10 37
7 Balestier Khalsa 28 7 3 18 45 78 −33 24
8 Young Lions[a] 28 2 2 24 34 103 −69 8
Source: Singapore Premier League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored; 4) number of wins
(C) Champions; (Q) Qualified for the phase indicated
Notes:
  1. ^ a b The foreign club – Albirex Niigata (S) – as well as the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) under-21 team, Young Lions, are ineligible for any AFC competition spots.

Fixtures and results

Clubs play each other four times for 28 matches each.

Statistics

Awards

Monthly awards

Month Player of the Month Young Player of the Month Coach of the Month Goal of the Month Ref
Player Club Player Club Coach Club Player vs.
March Mirko Šugić Tanjong Pagar United Kodai Tanaka Albirex Niigata (S) Hasrin Jailani Tanjong Pagar United André Moritz
vs. Geylang International (11/3/2022)
April Boris Kopitović Tampines Rovers Ryhan Stewart Young Lions Kim Do-hoon Lion City Sailors Sime Zuzul
vs. Albirex Niigata (S) (5/4/2022)
May Maxime Lestienne Lion City Sailors Kodai Tanaka Albirex Niigata (S) Kazuaki Yoshinaga Albirex Niigata (S) Reo Nishiguchi
vs. Albirex Niigata (S) (7/5/2022)
July Kodai Tanaka Albirex Niigata (S) Ilhan Fandi Albirex Niigata (S) Noor Ali Geylang International Ilhan Fandi
vs. Balestier Khalsa (16 July 2022)
August Maxime Lestienne Lion City Sailors Ilhan Fandi Albirex Niigata (S) Luka Lalić Lion City Sailors Kyoga Nakamura
vs. Geylang International (3/8/2022)

Singapore Premier League Awards night winners

Awards Winners Club Ref
Player of the Year Kodai Tanaka Albirex Niigata (S)
Young Player of the Year Ilhan Fandi Albirex Niigata (S)
Coach of the Year Kazuaki Yoshinaga Albirex Niigata (S)
Top Scorer Award Boris Kopitović Tampines Rovers
Golden Glove Zaiful Nizam Geylang International [61]
Goal of the Year Ilhan Fandi
vs. Balestier Khalsa (16 July 2022) 		Albirex Niigata (S)
Fair Play Award Albirex Niigata (S)
Referee of the Year Ahmad Aqasha
AIA Team of the Year
Goalkeeper Zaiful Nizam
(Geylang International)
Defence Masaya Idetsu
(Albirex Niigata (S)) 		Pedro Henrique
(Lion City Sailors) 		Joshua Pereira
(Geylang International)
Midfield Kyoga Nakamura
(Tampines Rovers) 		Vincent Bezecourt
(Geylang International) 		Diego Lopes
(Lion City Sailors) 		Maxime Lestienne
(Lion City Sailors)
Attack Kodai Tanaka
(Albirex Niigata (S)) 		Ilhan Fandi
(Albirex Niigata (S)) 		Boris Kopitović
(Tampines Rovers)

Attendances

The best-attended games:

# Match Date Attendance[62]
1 Lion City Sailors vs Albirex Niigata Singapore 7 October 2022 3,389
2 Lion City Sailors vs Albirex Niigata Singapore 24 June 2022 2,443
3 Albirex Niigata Singapore vs Lion City Sailors 29 July 2022 2,084
4 Tampines Rovers vs Lion City Sailors 10 September 2022 1,934
5 Albirex Niigata Singapore vs Hougang United 19 June 2022 1,891

References

  1. ^ "FAS concludes 39th Annual Congress with key regulation updates for 2022 season - Football Association of Singapore". www.fas.org.sg.
  2. ^ Football: Goodbye S-League, welcome Singapore Premier League Straits Times, 21 March 2018
  3. ^ "Young footballers to take centrestage in revamped 2018 S-League". TODAYonline.
  4. ^ "Signing with Fairoz Hasan for 2021 season!". Albirex Niigata Singapore Official website.
  5. ^ "Football: Singapore Premier League clubs given wearable tech in bid to raise fitness, standards". The Straits Times. 4 February 2021.
  6. ^ "2021 Singapore Premier League season to kick off on 13 March - Football Association of Singapore". spl.sg.
  7. ^ "2021 SPL Handbook" (PDF).
  8. ^ Correspondent, David LeeSports (25 September 2021). "Football: SPL Under-23 quota reduced from 3 to 1; clubs to be rewarded for youth development" – via The Straits Times. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  9. ^ "Qatar recommended as host for the AFC U23 Asian Cup 2024". the-AFC.
  10. ^ "New Main Partner is Denka Chemicals Holdings Asia Pacific Pte Ltd!". Albirex Niigata Singapore Official website.
  11. ^ "'SPL had Covid protocols right'". The Straits Times. 6 February 2021.
  12. ^ a b c Lee, David (15 November 2021). "Football: Hougang United aim for better recovery and silverware with new sponsors The Physio Circle" – via The Straits Times.
  13. ^ "Football: Singapore tech firm Sea takes ownership of Home United; club changes name to Lion City Sailors FC". CNA. Archived from the original on 26 February 2021. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  14. ^ "Head Coach Gavin Lee has pledged his immediate future to the club till 2024". Archived from the original on 24 December 2021.
  15. ^ "We Forge Ahead With ANA Courier Express - Introducing Our Main Sponsor For The Next Three Years!".
  16. ^ Correspondent, David LeeSports (9 October 2021). "Football: Tanjong Pagar and Balestier no pushovers in season finale" – via The Straits Times. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
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  18. ^ "Akbar Nawas takes charge at Balestier Khalsa - Football Association of Singapore". spl.sg.
  19. ^ "Thank you, Head Coach Shigetomi!". Albirex Niigata Singapore Official website.
  20. ^ "NEW Head Coach of 2022 is YOSHINAGA Kazuaki!". Albirex Niigata Singapore Official website.
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  25. ^ "Peter de Roo takes interim charge at Balestier Khalsa - Football Association of Singapore". spl.sg.
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  28. ^ "Football: Albirex Niigata could sign up to four Singaporean players in a boost for 2019 SEA Games". The Straits Times. 12 December 2018.
  29. ^ "Hyrulnizam Juma'at signs for 2022 season!". Albirex Niigata Singapore Official website.
  30. ^ "Fairoz Hasan signs for 2022 season!". Albirex Niigata Singapore Official website.
  31. ^ "Zamani comes back to the Swans from Young Lions as he had completed his National Service". Albirex Niigata Singapore Official website.
  32. ^ "Nicky Melvin Singh signs for 2022 season!". Albirex Niigata Singapore Official website.
  33. ^ "Junki from ANFC(S) U-17 joins the training with our SPL Team for 2021!". Albirex Niigata Singapore Official website.
  34. ^ "Swans sign ILHAN FANDI AHMAD!". Albirex Niigata Singapore Official website.
  35. ^ "Fikri Junaidi signs for 2022 season!". Albirex Niigata Singapore Official website.
  36. ^ "Hilman Norhisam signs for 2022 season!". Albirex Niigata Singapore Official website.
  37. ^ "4 Players from ANFC(S) U-17 joins the training with our SPL Team for 2021!". Albirex Niigata Singapore Official website.
  38. ^ "Boost for the 🐯Gentle giant Bruno signs an extension with us for 2️⃣ years!".[self-published]
  39. ^ "Facebook". www.facebook.com.
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  41. ^ "Kondo Kuraba will be joining Balestier Khalsa FC in 2022 season". Albirex Niigata Singapore Official website.
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  43. ^ "Vincent Bezecourt from Albania to Singapore".
  44. ^ "Tezuka Takahiro will be joining Geylang International FC in 2022 season". Albirex Niigata Singapore Official website.
  45. ^ "Welcome Rio to the Eagle's nest".
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  49. ^ Freitas, Nathália (23 December 2021). "Zagueiro recebe proposta e pode deixar o Atlético-GO, diz site". Sagres Online.
  50. ^ "The now ex-Standardman will play for the defending champion and play in the Asian Champions League".
  51. ^ Ten, Nicolette (8 February 2022). "Maxime Lestienne adds European pedigree to Sailors' ACL drive".
  52. ^ "Kim Shin-wook to reject offers in K league to work for Kim Do Hoon in Lion City Sailors".
  53. ^ Osman, Shamir (15 November 2021). "Sailors sign Kim Shin-wook".
  54. ^ a b "2020 Singapore Premier League: Retained and Released List - Football Association of Singapore". spl.sg.
  55. ^ Admin, Tampines (16 January 2022). "Introducing Your Stag For The Next Half-Decade: Kyoga Nakamura!". Tampines Rovers.
  56. ^ "Yamashita Shuya will be joining Tampines Rovers FC in 2022 season". Albirex Niigata Singapore Official website.
  57. ^ @tanjongpagarunitedfc; (9 January 2022). "ANNOUNCEMENT Let's all give a warm welcome to Mirko Sugic, Tanjong Pagar United's new foreign signing for the 2022 season! The Croatian defensive midfielder joins the club after a spell in his homeland with second division side NK Dubrava. Sugic, 27, stands at an imposing 1.9m and we are looking forward to see him blend in with the team. Welcome to the Jaguars family, Mirko!" – via Instagram.
  58. ^ "Reo Nishiguchi will return for his third season in a Jaguars shirt in 2022". Archived from the original on 24 December 2021.
  59. ^ "Shodai Nishikawa will return for his third season in a Jaguars shirt in 2022". Archived from the original on 24 December 2021.
  60. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Fixtures - Football Association of Singapore". spl.sg.
  61. ^ cue (25 October 2022). "Football: Geylang's Zaiful Nizam wins SPL's Golden Glove at 35 | The Straits Times". www.straitstimes.com. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
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