2022 Singapore Premier League

The 2022 Singapore Premier League (also known as the AIA Singapore Premier League due to sponsorship reasons) is 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 may qualify for the AFC Champions League. The season will begin on March and is scheduled to end in October.

Singapore Premier League
Season2022
Matches played16
Goals scored65 (4.06 per match)
Top goalscorerKodai Tanaka
(6 goals)
← 2021
2023 →

Lion City Sailors are the defending champions, having won their third Singapore Premier League title during the previous season.

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 Jan 2021 to 20 March 2021, 2nd transfer window: 17 May 2021 to 13 June 2021

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 Takahiro Koga (C)
Fairoz Hasan (VC)		 Mizuno Denka[9] 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 Akbar Nawas 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 FBT Epson[10] 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[11] SportCenter by Zup
Cafe Football (CF)
The Arena
SpeedFitness
Polar Water
StarBalm
Lion City Sailors Kim Do-hoon[12] Hariss Harun
Amirul Adli (VC)
Nur Adam Abdullah (VC)		 Puma SEA[13] Shopee
Garena
Citrus by the pool
WLJK
Good bites
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
FBT Tokyo Century Samtrade Academy
Hyundai
StarBalm
The Rehab Lab
Young Lions Nazri Nasir Jacob Mahler
Syahrul Sazali (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[21] End of caretaker role 31 December 2021 Pre-Season Nazri Nasir 1 January 2022

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.[22] 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.[23]

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[24] Fairoz Hassan[25] Fikri Junaidi[26] Kai Yamamoto Kenji Austin[27]
Nicky Singh[28] Junki Yoshimura[29] Ilhan Fandi [30] Wong Jun Kai
Hilman Norhisam[31] Zamani Zamri [32] Irsyad Azarudin[33] Ameer Maricar[27]
Balestier Khalsa Ensar Brunčević[34] Shuhei Hoshino[35] Ryoya Tanigushi[36] Kuraba Kondo[37] Yann Weishaupt
Max McCoy
Hari McCoy
Geylang International Šime Žužul[38] Vincent Bezecourt[39] Takahiro Tezuka[40] Rio Sakuma[41]
Hougang United André Moritz[42] Pedro Bortoluzo[43] Kristijan Krajček[44] Kaishu Yamazaki[45]
Lion City Sailors Diego Lopes[46] Pedro Henrique[47] Maxime Lestienne[48][49] Kim Shin-wook[50][51]
Tampines Rovers Zehrudin Mehmedović[52] Boris Kopitović[52] Kyoga Nakamura[53] Shuya Yamashita[54]
Tanjong Pagar United Mirko Sugic[55] Blake Ricciuto Reo Nishiguchi[56] Shodai Nishikawa[57]

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 Lion City Sailors 7 5 1 1 16 4 +12 16 Qualification for AFC Champions League play-off round
2 Tampines Rovers 7 3 3 1 21 14 +7 12 Standby team for AFC Cup group stage
3 Tanjong Pagar United 7 3 3 1 17 17 0 12
4 Albirex Niigata (S)[lower-alpha 1] 7 2 4 1 18 9 +9 10
5 Balestier Khalsa 7 3 1 3 12 21 −9 10
6 Hougang United 7 2 2 3 11 18 −7 8
7 Geylang International 7 1 2 4 9 14 −5 5
8 Young Lions[lower-alpha 1] 7 1 0 6 12 19 −7 3
Updated to match(es) played on 3 April 2021. Source: Singapore Premier League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored; 4) number of wins
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.

Fixtures and results

Clubs will play each other three times for 21 matches each.

Statistics

Top scorers
As of 20 April 2022
Rank Player Club Goals
1 Boris Kopitović Tampines Rovers 11
2 Kodai Tanaka Albirex Niigata (S) 7
3 Reo Nishiguchi Tanjong Pagar United 6
Kim Shin-wook Lion City Sailors
4 Shuhei Hoshino Balestier Khalsa 5
5 Šime Žužul Geylang International 4

Hat-tricks
PlayerForAgainstResultDateReference
Kodai Tanaka 4Albirex Niigata (S)Balestier Khalsa6–05 March 2022 [58]
Boris KopitovićTampines RoversHougang United7-118 March 2022 [59]
Kim Shin-wookLion City SailorsBalestier Khalsa4-01 April 2022 [60]

Note 4 Player scored 4 goals

Top assists
As of 20 April 2022
Rank Player Club Assists
1 Ryoya Tanigushi Balestier Khalsa 5
Kyoga Nakamura Tampines Rovers
2 Kan Kobayashi Albirex Niigata (S) 4
Maxime Lestienne Lion City Sailors
3 Tadanari Lee Albirex Niigata (S) 3
Reo Nishiguchi Tanjong Pagar United
Mirko Šugić Tanjong Pagar United

Clean sheets
As of 6 April 2022
Rank Player Club Clean sheets
1 Hassan Sunny Lion City Sailors 3
2 Takahiro Koga Albirex Niigata (S) 2
3 Rudy Khairullah Balestier Khalsa 1
Zaiful Nizam Geylang International
Zharfan Rohaizad Tanjong Pagar United

Penalty missed
PlayerForAgainstDate
Jacob MahlerYoung Lions FC Albirex Niigata (S)12 March 2022

Own goal
PlayerForAgainstDate
Abdil Qaiyyim MutalibGeylang International Albirex Niigata (S)12 March 2022
Faritz Abdul HameedTanjong Pagar UnitedTampines Rovers6 April 2022
Pedro Henrique Lion City Sailors Tanjong Pagar United 9 April 2022
Qayyum RaishyanGeylang InternationalYoung Lions FC16 April 2022

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)


References
  1. "FAS concludes 39th Annual Congress with key regulation updates for 2022 season".
  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. February 4, 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. "SPL Under-23 quota reduced from 3 to 1; clubs to be rewarded for youth development".
  9. "New Main Partner is Denka Chemicals Holdings Asia Pacific Pte Ltd!".
  10. "'SPL had Covid protocols right'". The Straits Times. February 6, 2021.
  11. "Cheetah three-year sponsorship deal with The Physio Circle".
  12. "AFC Champions League winner Kim Do-hoon takes charge of Lion City Sailors".
  13. "Football: Singapore tech firm Sea takes ownership of Home United; club changes name to Lion City Sailors FC". CNA.
  14. "Head Coach Gavin Lee has pledged his immediate future to the club till 2024". Archived from the original on 2021-12-24.
  15. "We Forge Ahead With ANA Courier Express - Introducing Our Main Sponsor For The Next Three Years!".
  16. "Marko Kraljevic, who is set to be replaced by Akbar Nawas after this season".
  17. "Marko Kraljević leaves Balestier Khalsa".
  18. "Akbar Nawas takes charge at Balestier Khalsa".
  19. "Thank you, Head Coach Shigetomi!".
  20. "NEW Head Coach of 2022 is YOSHINAGA Kazuaki!".
  21. "Phillippe Aw to take charge of Young Lions for 2021 SPL season – Football Association of Singapore". spl.sg.
  22. "Football: Singapore Premier League increases foreign player quota for 2020 season". CNA.
  23. "Football: Albirex Niigata could sign up to four Singaporean players in a boost for 2019 SEA Games". The Straits Times. December 12, 2018.
  24. "Signing with Hyrulnizam Juma'at for 2022 season!".
  25. "Signing with Fairoz Hasan for 2022 season!".
  26. "Fikri Junaidi signs for 2022 season!".
  27. "4 Players from ANFC(S) U-17 joins the training with our SPL Team for 2021!". Albirex Niigata Singapore Official website.
  28. "Nicky Melvin Singh signs for 2022 season!".
  29. "Junki from ANFC(S) U-17 joins the training with our SPL Team for 2021!". Albirex Niigata Singapore Official website.
  30. "Swans sign ILHAN FANDI AHMAD!".
  31. "Hilman Norhisam signs for 2022 season!".
  32. "Zamani comes back to the Swans from Young Lions as he had completed his National Service".
  33. "Irsyad Azarudin from ANFC(S) U-17 joins the training with our SPL Team for 2021!".
  34. "Boost for the 🐯Gentle giant Bruno signs an extension with us for 2️⃣ years!".[self-published]
  35. "Facebook". www.facebook.com.
  36. "Taniguchi Ryoya will be joining Balestier Khalsa FC in 2022 season".
  37. "Kondo Kuraba will be joining Balestier Khalsa FC in 2022 season".
  38. "Welcome Zuzul to the Eagle's nest".
  39. "Vincent Bezecourt from Albania to Singapore".
  40. "Tezuka Takahiro will be joining Geylang International FC in 2022 season".
  41. "Welcome Rio to the Eagle's nest".
  42. "Former Crystal Palace midfielder André Moritz joins Hougang United".
  43. "The Cheetahs have signed striker Pedro Bortoluzo".
  44. "The Cheetahs have signed Croat midfielder Kristijan Krajcek from Balestier Khalsa".
  45. "Kaishu Yamazaki to reinforce Hougang United defence - Football Association of Singapore". spl.sg.
  46. Rodrigues, Luís Rocha (18 January 2021). "Diego Lopes sai para Singapura e Rio Ave realiza encaixe financeiro". www.zerozero.pt.
  47. "Defender receives proposal and can leave Atlético-GO".
  48. "The now ex-Standardman will play for the defending champion and play in the Asian Champions League".
  49. "Maxime Lestienne adds European pedigree to Sailors' ACL drive".
  50. "Kim Shin-wook to reject offers in K league to work for Kim Do Hoon in Lion City Sailors".
  51. "Sailors sign Kim Shin-wook".
  52. "2020 Singapore Premier League: Retained and Released List - Football Association of Singapore". spl.sg.
  53. "Introducing Your Stag For The Next Half-Decade: Kyoga Nakamura!".
  54. "Yamashita Shuya will be joining Tampines Rovers FC in 2022 season".
  55. "Welcome to Mirko Sugic, Tanjong Pagar United's new foreign signing for the 2022 season!".
  56. "Reo Nishiguchi will return for his third season in a Jaguars shirt in 2022". Archived from the original on 2021-12-24.
  57. "Shodai Nishikawa will return for his third season in a Jaguars shirt in 2022". Archived from the original on 2021-12-24.
  58. "Tanaka score season's 1st hat-trick".
  59. "Kopitović score season's 2nd hat-trick".
  60. "Kim score season's 3rd hat-trick".
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