Association football, known more popularly as football, is considered the national sport of Singapore.[2] The country is home to the Football Association of Singapore (FAS), 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. Despite the country having a relatively small population pool, it has generally punched above its weight by successively producing squads that has fiercely competed with much larger and more populated countries in both club and international football.
The sport reached one of its highest peaks during the 1980s and 1990s with the Singapore Lions' participation in the Malaysia Cup, whereby they dominated the competition. The Singapore Lions, the team which played in the Malaysia Cup, is not considered as a national team. The Singapore Lions left the Malaysia Cup in 1994, before rejoining the competition in 2012 as the LionsXII until 2015, winning a league title in 2013 and an FA Cup in 2015 in the process.[3]
The men's senior team is one of the strongest national sides in Southeast Asia, being the second most successful team in the AFF Championship with 4 titles, winning in 1998, 2004, 2007 and 2012. It is also one of the only two national teams in history to have won consecutive titles in the competition. The current champions of Singaporean club football is Lion City Sailors, having won the Singapore Premier League (SPL) title in the 2021 season.[4]
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, was formed in 1892 by a group of British in colonial Singapore.
In 2022, FAS announced that plans to implement video assistant referee (VAR) technology were started since late 2021 and VAR technology will be in use in the near future.[5] In 2023, FAS announced that VAR technology will be used by the SPL for the 2023 Singapore Premier League season.[6]
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.[17] 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.[18]
The Singapore Football League, or more commonly known as the SFL 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 early as the early 20th century.
In a boost for large-scale talent development and identification, Singapore Youth League (SYL) was officially launched on 6 February 2024. There will be six age-group categories – Under-8, Under-10, Under-12, Under-13, Under-15, and Under-17 – under the new league system spanning across three divisions.[15]
"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."[20]
— Goh Chok Tong, commenting further on GOAL 2010, National Day Rally 1998 Speech
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.
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.
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