Singapore football league system
The Singapore football league system organizes association football leagues in Singapore. It has arrived during the British colonial era. The first ever nation's cup tournament was held in 1892.[1][2]
History
The Singapore Premier League, formerly known as the S.League, was introduced in 1996 to replace the semi-professional FAS Premier League. It is the first professional football tournament in Singapore. The Prime League was introduced in 1997 for reserve teams of the Premier Division. After the professional league, the Singapore Football League (SFL) was played for clubs associated with the FAS. It made up the next tier and included two divisions. The SFL qualification tournament, Singapore Island Wide League or the IWL, is the next tier for newly registered Football Association of Singapore clubs. In 2018, the Prime League was dissolved, making the then-called NFL the next tier.
Outside the FAS leagues, the most competitive are the high level amateur tournaments known as the Cosmopolitan Football League, or the Cosmoleague, and the Equatorial Football League, locally known as the EFL. These leagues consist of mainly expat players and its members are known to have beaten the SFL and IWL clubs in pre-season friendlies. However, clubs from these leagues do not gain entry to SFL or IWL as the leagues are not organised by the FAS.[3]
Current system
| Level | Leagues | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Singapore Premier League SPL[4][5] No relegation | ||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Singapore Premier League 2 SPL2[6] No relegation | ||||||||||||||||
| 3 | FAS League | Non-FAS/Expatriate League | |||||||||||||||
| Singapore Football League Division 1 SFL Division 1[7] 8 clubs no promotion ↓ relegate 2 |
Cosmopolitan Football League Cosmoleague[8] 10 clubs no promotion no relegation | ||||||||||||||||
| 4 | FAS League | Non-FAS/Expatriate League | |||||||||||||||
| Singapore Football League Division 2 SFL Division 2[9] 10 clubs ↑ promote 2 ↓ relegate 2 |
Equatorial Football League EFL Premiership Division[10] 12 clubs no promotion ↓ relegate 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| 5 | FAS League | Non-FAS/Expatriate League | |||||||||||||||
| Singapore Island Wide League IWL[11] 20 clubs ↑ promote 2 no relegation |
Equatorial Football League EFL Championship Division[12] EFL Division 1 formerly EFL Sunday League formerly 12 clubs ↑ promote 2 no relegation | ||||||||||||||||
| Tier | Women's Football Leagues | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Women’s Premier League | |
| 2 | Women's National League | |
| Tier | Youth's Football Leagues | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Centre of Excellence U19 Developmental League | |
| 2 | Centre of Excellence U16 Developmental League Tier 1 | |
| 3 | Centre of Excellence U16 Developmental League Tier 2 | |
Past structure
| Tier | Men's Football leagues | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | S.League | |
| 2 | FAS National Football League Division 1 | |
| 3 | FAS National Football League Division 2 | |
| 4 | FAS National Football League Division 3 | |
| 5 | FAS Island Wide League | |
| Tier | Youth's Football Leagues | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Prime League | |
| 2 | Centre of Excellence Developmental Leagues | |
See also
References
- ^ "Singapore - List of Champions". Rsssf.com. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
- ^ "Football Association of Singapore". Fas.org.sg. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
- ^ "History Of Football - The Football Association of Singapore". 26 August 2011. Archived from the original on 26 August 2011. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
- ^ "Football: Goodbye S-League, welcome Singapore Premier League". The Straits Times. 21 March 2018. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
- ^ "Singapore League (S. League) - Infopedia". Eresources.nlb.gov.sg. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
- ^ "FAS introduces 'enhancements' to SPL, with increase in prize money and foreign player quota". The Straits Times. 2 July 2025. Retrieved 2 July 2025.
- ^ "National Football League Division 1 - Football Association of Singapore". Fas.org.sg. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
- ^ "Home". cosmoleague.com.
- ^ "National Football League Division 2 - Football Association of Singapore". Fas.org.sg. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
- ^ "Home". equatorialfootballleague.com.
- ^ "Island Wide League - Football Association of Singapore". Fas.org.sg. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
- ^ "L'Olympique Gaulois Singapore, le football français à Singapour". lepetitjournal.com (in French). Retrieved 2022-10-25.