2020 Singapore Premier League

The 2020 Singapore Premier League (also known as the AIA Singapore Premier League due to sponsorship reasons) was the 3rd season of the Singapore Premier League, the top-flight Singaporean professional league for association football clubs, since its rebranding in 2018.[1] The champions of the 2020 Singapore Premier League qualified for the AFC Champions League group stage automatically.

Singapore Premier League
Season2020
Dates29 February - 5 December
AFC Champions LeagueTampines Rovers
AFC CupLion City Sailors
Geylang International
Matches played56
Goals scored185 (3.3 per match)
Biggest home winLion City Sailors 5-0 Young Lions
(1 November 2020)
Lion City Sailors 6-1 Tanjong Pagar United
(13 November 2020)
Biggest away winBalestier Khalsa 1-7 Lion City Sailors
(7 November 2020)
Highest scoringBalestier Khalsa 1-7 Lion City Sailors
(7 November 2020)
Highest attendance2,723
(Tanjong Pagar 1-1 Sailors
6 March 2020)
Lowest attendance574
(Balestier 2-2 Albirex (S)
7 March 2020)
← 2019
2021 →

DPMM FC were the defending champions, but withdrew from the league prior to the season re-starting in October 2020. The league was won by Albirex Nigata (S) on the last matchday after beating Hougang United 1-0. Tampines Rovers qualified for the AFC Champions League as the highest ranked local team while Lion City Sailors and Geylang International qualified for the AFC Cup.

Format

The following key changes were made to the rules for the 2020 season:[2]

  1. Singapore Premier League clubs can sign a maximum of four foreign players in the 2020 season, up from three as compared to 2019.[3]
  2. From 2019, only four stadiums host regular matches. The 8 teams (excluding DPMM) will host the matches in the following stadiums: Our Tampines Hub (Tampines Rovers and Geylang International), Jalan Besar Stadium (Young Lions and Hougang United), Bishan Stadium (Home United and Balestier Khalsa) and Jurong East Stadium (Albirex Niigata and Warriors FC).[4]
  3. For 2019, Albirex is allowed to sign as many locals as their budget allows. However, the club are only allowed one Singaporean over the age of 23. Also, Albirex must have two Singaporeans in their starting lineup for each game.[5]
  4. Each team is now able to register up to 28 players in their squad, an increase of 3 players as compared to 2018.
  5. FAS had instructed Warriors FC to sit out the 2020 Singapore Premier League season due to their financial issue.[6]
  6. Tanjong Pagar United to replace Warriors FC in Singapore Premier League 2020.[7]
  7. Young Lions to play their home games at Jurong West Stadium, while Hougang United will move back to their previous home at Hougang Stadium. Tanjong Pagar United will take over Warriors and played in Jurong East Stadium.[8]
  8. Home United changed its name to Lion City Sailors Football Club ahead of the new season after being taken over by SEA Group. It is the 1st club in the SPL to be privatized.[9]
  9. Local SPL clubs are required to have a minimum of six U-23 players for a squad size of 19 to 25 players; this increases to seven (squad size 26), eight (27) and nine (28).
  10. Players in the League shall be allocated jersey numbers 1 to 50. Jersey numbers that have been registered shall not be reused during the same season.[10]

Disruptions due to COVID-19

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Singapore and more generally in Southeast Asia, the season was halted from 27 March.

The Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth approved the season recommencement on 17 October.[11] Competition rule changes included the provision for two water breaks during a match, and clubs will be able to use up to five substitutions (in defined windows after half-time).[12]

On 26 October 2020, DPMM FC withdrew from the league due to travel restrictions.[13]

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 2018 Singapore Premier League teams from Singapore
Team Stadium Capacity
Albirex Niigata (S) Jurong East Stadium 2,700
Balestier Khalsa Bishan Stadium 3,500
Geylang International Our Tampines Hub 5,000
Hougang United Hougang Stadium 3,800
Lion City Sailors Bishan Stadium 3,500
Tampines Rovers Our Tampines Hub 5,000
Tanjong Pagar United Jurong East Stadium 2,700
Young Lions Jurong West Stadium 3,200

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) Japan Keiji Shigetomi Japan Kazuki Hashioka Mizuno[14] Canon Kirin
EnglishCentral
Lensmode
Kubota
Reeracoen
Gain City
Nippon Medical Care
Fitogether
Balestier Khalsa Croatia Marko Kraljević[15] Singapore Zaiful Nizam[16] Adidas[17] Jeep[18] Weston Corporation
Project Vaults
StarBalm
Geylang International Singapore Mohd Noor Ali[19] Japan Yuki Ichikawa[20] FBT[21] Epson Heng Motor
Chiang Kong
Broadway
D2D Sports
SoundTech
Hougang United Singapore Clement Teo[22] Singapore Khairulhin Khalid Warrix[23] SportCenter by Zup
Polar Water
Lion City Sailors Australia Aurelio Vidmar[24] Singapore Izzdin Shafiq[25] Puma SEA Shopee
Tampines Rovers Singapore Gavin Lee[26] Singapore Yasir Hanapi Mizuno[27] Hyundai Avante[28] ANA Courier Express
StarBalm
Tanjong Pagar United Singapore Hasrin Jailani Singapore Faritz Abdul Hameed Thorb
Young Lions Singapore Nazri Nasir[29] Singapore Jacob Mahler Nike Catapult

Coaching changes
Team Outgoing Head Coach Manner of Departure Date of Vacancy Position in table Incoming Head Coach Date of appointment
Young Lions Singapore Fandi Ahmad Contract End 31 December 2019 [30] Pre-Season Singapore Nazri Nasir 1 January 2020 [29]
Lion City Sailors Singapore Noh Rahman (Interim) End of Caretaker 31 December 2019 [31] Pre-Season Australia Aurelio Vidmar [24]
Tanjong Pagar United NA NA NA Pre-Season Singapore Hairi Su'ap 1 January 2020
Tanjong Pagar United Singapore Hairi Su'ap Resigned 14 October 2020 [32] 7th Singapore Hasrin Jailani 14 October 2020

Foreigners

Singapore Premier League clubs can sign a maximum of four foreign players in the 2020 season, up from three as compared to 2019.[33] However, one of them has to be 21 years old or younger on 1 January 2020.

Albirex Niigata can sign up unlimited number of Singaporean players for the new season. Only 1 local player above 23 years old is allowed.[34]

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

Club Player 1 Player 2 Player 3 U21 Player 1 SG U-23 Player 1 SG U-23 Player 2 SG U-23 Player 3 Former Players
Albirex Niigata (S) Singapore Hyrulnizam Juma'at[35] Singapore Fairoz Hassan[36] Singapore Gareth Low[37] Singapore Ong Yu En[38] Singapore Iman Hakim[39] Singapore Aizil Yazid[40] Singapore Kenji Austin[41] Singapore Sharul Nizam[42]
Singapore Zamani Zamri[43]
Singapore Daniel Goh[44]
Balestier Khalsa Japan Shuhei Hoshino[45] Croatia Šime Žužul[46] Croatia Kristijan Krajcek[47] Serbia Ensar Brunčević[48]
Geylang International Japan Yuki Ichikawa[49] Netherlands Barry Maguire[50] Kyrgyzstan Kamolidin Tashiev[51] Cape Verde Gilson Varela[52]
Greece Panagiotis Linardos [53]
Hougang United England Charlie Machell[54] Australia Zachary Anderson [55] Kyrgyzstan Maksat Dzhakybaliev[56] Croatia Stipe Plazibat[57]
Lion City Sailors South Korea Song Ui-young[58] Japan Kaishu Yamazaki[59] Croatia Stipe Plazibat [60] Australia Andy Pengelly [24]
Tampines Rovers Japan Kyoga Nakamura[61] Canada Jordan Webb[62] Montenegro Boris Kopitović[63] Serbia Zehrudin Mehmedović[64]
Tanjong Pagar United Japan Takahiro Tanaka[65] Japan Shodai Nishikawa[66] Brazil Luiz Júnior[67] Brazil Yann Motta

Note 1: Albirex is allowed to sign as many locals as their budget allows. However, the club are only allowed one Singaporean over the age of 23.

Note 2: Hougang United releases Charlie Machell and Zac Anderson before the season end as their contracts ended 30 November 2020 were not extended.

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Albirex Niigata (S)[lower-alpha 1] (C) 14 10 2 2 32 14 +18 32
2 Tampines Rovers 14 8 5 1 27 11 +16 29 Qualification for AFC Champions League group stage
3 Lion City Sailors 14 8 3 3 44 18 +26 27 Qualification for AFC Cup group stage
4 Geylang International 14 6 2 6 18 22 −4 20
5 Balestier Khalsa 14 5 4 5 22 28 −6 19
6 Hougang United 14 4 3 7 19 24 −5 15
7 Young Lions[lower-alpha 1] 14 3 0 11 12 38 −26 9
8 Tanjong Pagar United 14 0 5 9 14 33 −19 5
Source: Singapore Premier League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored; 4) number of wins
(C) Champions
Notes:
  1. 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.

Results
Home \ Away ALB TAM LCS GEY HOU BAL YLI TPU
Albirex Niigata (S) — 1–4 3–2 4–0 4–0 2–0 2–0 3–0
Tampines Rovers 2–0 — 4–0 1–1 1–2 1–0 1–0 2–0
Lion City Sailors 2–3 1–1 — 4–0 1–1 5–2 5–0 6–1
Geylang International 0–1 1–1 0–3 — 2–0 2–3 3–0 2–1
Hougang United 0–1 0–2 1–3 1–2 — 1–2 4–1 3–2
Balestier Khalsa 2–2 2–2 1–7 2–0 2–2 — 1–2 2–2
Young Lions 0–4 1–3 0–4 1–2 1–4 0–2 — 2–1
Tanjong Pagar United 2–2 2–2 1–1 0–3 [68] 0–0 0–1 2–4 —
Updated to match(es) played on 20 March 2020. Source:
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
For upcoming matches, an "a" indicates there is an article about the rivalry between the two participants.

Statistics

Top scorers
As at 5 Dec 2020
Rank Player Club Goals
1 Croatia Stipe Plazibat Hougang United / Lion City Sailors 14
2 Japan Tomoyuki Doi Albirex Niigata (S) 11
3 Montenegro Boris Kopitović Tampines Rovers 9
South Korea Song Ui-young Lion City Sailors
4 Canada Jordan Webb Tampines Rovers 7
Brazil Luiz Júnior Tanjong Pagar United
5 Croatia Sime Zuzul Balestier Khalsa 6
6 Japan Reo Nishiguchi Albirex Niigata (S) 5
Singapore Gabriel Quak Lion City Sailors
7 Japan Ryoya Tanigushi Albirex Niigata (S) 4
Japan Shuhei Hoshino Balestier Khalsa
Singapore Adam Swandi Lion City Sailors
Singapore Khairul Nizam Geylang International
Singapore Shawal Anuar Hougang United

Top Assists
As at 5 Dec 2020
Rank Player Club Assists
1 Singapore Gabriel Quak Lion City Sailors 7
2 Singapore Shahdan Sulaiman Lion City Sailors 6
3 Croatia Stipe Plazibat Hougang United/ Lion City Sailors 5 (1 for Hougang, 4 for LCS)
3 Canada Jordan Webb Tampines Rovers 5
3 Croatia Kristijan Krajček Balestier Khalsa 5
3 Singapore Nur Adam Abdullah Young Lions 5

Clean Sheets
As at 5 Dec 2020
Rank Player Club Clean sheets
1 Japan Kei Okawa Albirex Niigata (S) 8
2 Singapore Syazwan Buhari Tampines Rovers 6
3 Singapore Hassan Sunny Lion City Sailors 4
4 Singapore Zaiful Nizam Balestier Khalsa 3
5 Singapore Hairul Syirhan Geylang International 2
6 Singapore Zainol Gulam Geylang International 1
6 Singapore Kenji Syed Rusydi Tanjong Pagar United 1
6 Singapore Ridhuan Barudin Hougang United 1

Hat-tricks
PlayerForAgainstResultDateReference
Croatia Stipe PlazibatHougang UnitedYoung Lions4–11 March 2020 [69]
Croatia Stipe PlazibatLion City SailorsBalestier Khalsa7–17 November 2020 [70]
Canada Jordan WebbTampines RoversYoung Lions3–117 November 2020 [71]


Penalty missed
PlayerForAgainstDate
Japan Shuhei HoshinoBalestier KhalsaTampines Rovers1 March 2020

Man of the Match
As of 5 Dec 2020
Rank Player Club Man of the Match
1 Croatia Stipe Plazibat Hougang United / Lion City Sailors 4 (2 for Hougang & 2 for LCS)
1 Canada Jordan Webb Tampines Rovers 4
2 Singapore Gabriel Quak Lion City Sailors 3
2 Japan Tomoyuki Doi Albirex Niigata (S) 3
3 Singapore Khairul Nizam Geylang International 2
3 Netherlands Barry Maguire Geylang International 2
3 Singapore Christopher van Huizen Geylang International 2
3 Japan Ryosuke Nagasawa Albirex Niigata (S) 2
3 Brazil Luiz Júnior Tanjong Pagar United 2
3 Singapore Shawal Anuar Hougang United 2
3 Japan Kyoga Nakamura Tampines Rovers 2

Player

Awards

Monthly awards
Month Player of the Month Young Player of the Month Reference
Coach Club Player Club
April

Singapore Premier League Awards night winners
Awards Winners Club
Player of the Year Singapore Gabriel Quak Lion City Sailors
Young Player of the Year Singapore Saifullah Akbar Lion City Sailors
Coach of the Year Japan Keiji Shigetomi Albirex Niigata (S)
Top Scorer Award Croatia Stipe Plazibat Lion City Sailors
Fair Play Award Albirex Niigata (S)
Referee of the Year Singapore Ahmad A'Qashah —
AIA Team of the Year
Goalkeeper Singapore Syazwan Buhari
(Tampines Rovers)
Defence Singapore Tajeli Salamat
(Lion City Sailors)		 Japan Kaishu Yamazaki
(Lion City Sailors)		 Japan Kazuki Hashioka
(Japan Albirex Niigata (S))		 Singapore Daniel Bennett
(Tampines Rovers)
Midfield Croatia Kristijan Krajcek
(Balestier Khalsa)		 Japan Kyoga Nakamura
(Tampines Rovers)		 Singapore Gabriel Quak
(Lion City Sailors)		 South Korea Song Ui-young
(Lion City Sailors)
Attack Brazil Luiz Júnior
(Tanjong Pagar United)		 Croatia Stipe Plazibat
(Lion City Sailors)

References
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  2. "2018 changes".
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  4. "Fans split on idea of shared premises".
  5. "Albirex new signing rules". Archived from the original on 2019-01-09. Retrieved 2019-11-23.
  6. "FAS instructs Warriors FC to sit out 2020 SPL season, club asks for urgent meeting". Archived from the original on 2020-01-03. Retrieved 2020-01-03.
  7. "Tanjong Pagar apply to take part in Singapore Premier League".
  8. "Stadium change for clubs for 2020".
  9. "Singapore tech firm Sea takes ownership of Home United; club changes name to Lion City Sailors FC". Archived from the original on 2021-02-26. Retrieved 2020-02-15.
  10. "2020 SPL Handbook" (PDF).
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  13. "Football: SPL champs DPMM out for the season due to Covid-19 travel restrictions".
  14. "Apparel Partnership Contract with MIZUNO for 2019 Season".
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  16. "Our team captain and goalkeeper Zaiful Nizam was injured during a Singapore Premier League match".
  17. "Balestier Khalsa is proud to announce our new kit brand for season 2020!".
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  23. "Sponsor for HGFC".
  24. "Vidmar become dragon's tamer".
  25. "Izzdin the new captain for 2018".
  26. "Gavin has signed a two year contract".
  27. "The club has inked a multi-year sponsorship deal from 2020 onwards, with Japanese sportswear giant Mizuno".
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  45. "Balestier Khalsa is delighted to announce the new signing of Shuhei 'Jumbo' Hoshino".
  46. "Tiger 🐯 Šime Žužul to continue to terrorise opposition defence in 2020".
  47. "Extended deal for Kiki 🐯".
  48. "Ensar Bruncevic revealed as new player".
  49. "Yuki Ichikawa extends his stay at the club".
  50. "Barry returns to the Eagles nest".
  51. "Kamolidin Tashiev joins Eagles for 2020 from FC Abdysh-Ata Kant".
  52. "Sport Benfica e Castelo Branco striker joins Eagles for 2020".
  53. "Panagiotis Linardos joins Eagles from Panachaiki F.C."
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  61. "Kyoga Nakamura joins Stags for 2020 season".
  62. "Jordan Webb joins the Stags for his second stint".
  63. "The club has also confirmed the signing of Montenegrin striker, Boris Kopitovic, as featured in Home Kit poster".
  64. "Zehrudin Mehmedović has signed his contract with the club for 2020".
  65. "Takahiro Tanaka to transfer to Tanjong Pagar United FC".
  66. "Jaguar could come in the form of former Brazil youth striker Luiz Junior and midfielder Shodai Nishikawa".
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  68. "Tanjong Pagar United sanctioned for infringement of substitution regulations".
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  70. "Plazibat hat-trick against the Tigers".
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