# 2022 Singapore Premier League

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. 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:
* Each team is able to register up to 25 players in their squad, a reduction of 3 players as compared from 2020.
* 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.
* From 2021, Albirex is allowed to sign a maximum of 2 overage Singaporean players. As in 2019 and 2020, Albirex must have two Singaporeans in their starting lineup for each game.
* 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.
* 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).
* 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.
* 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.
* 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.
New rules for 2022.
* Clubs will be required to field only one U-23 player – instead of three – for the first half of a match from next season.
* There will be no limit on the number of U-23 players registered in each squad.
* All SPL teams will play each other four time.
* 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.
* 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.
* Youth elite leagues are slated to resume.
* New scheme to incentivise SPL clubs to place higher priority on their youth development programmes.
* Clubs will receive monetary rewards for each of their U-23 players who gets called up to the national teams.
* 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.

## Teams

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

### Stadiums and locations

| 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | Shopee Garena Citrus by the pool WLJK Good bites TAPS |
| Tampines Rovers | Gavin Lee | Yasir Hanapi Syazwan Buhari (VC) Irwan Shah (VC) Kyoga Nakamura (VC) | Mizuno | ANA Courier Express | 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 | Pre-Season | Akbar Nawas | 22 October 2021 |
| Albirex Niigata (S) | Keiji Shigetomi | Redesignated as Asst. Coach | 26 October 2021 | Pre-Season | Kazuaki Yoshinaga | 26 October 2021 |
| Young Lions | Philippe Aw | End of caretaker role | 31 December 2021 | Pre-Season | Nazri Nasir | 1 January 2022 |
| Lion City Sailors | Kim Do-hoon | Left by Mutual Consent | 11 August 2022 | 1st | Luka Lalic (interim) | 11 August 2022 |
| Balestier Khalsa | Akbar Nawas | Mutual Termination Joining Udon Thani | 18 August 2022 | 7th | Peter de Roo (interim) | 27 August 2022 |
| Hougang United | Clement Teo | Stepped Down | 20 November 2022 | End of Season | Firdaus Kassim (interim) | |
Note 1: Marko Kraljević was subsequently appointed as the Head, Youth for Hougang United.

### Transfers
## 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. 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.
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 | Fairoz Hassan | Zamani Zamri | Kai Yamamoto | | |
| Albirex Niigata (S) | Nicky Singh | Junki Yoshimura | Ilhan Fandi | Wong Jun Kai | | |
| Albirex Niigata (S) | Fikri Junaidi | Hilman Norhisam | Kenji Austin | Shakthi Vinayagavijayan | | |
| Balestier Khalsa | Ensar Brunčević | Shuhei Hoshino | Ryoya Tanigushi | Kuraba Kondo | Conor MacKay | Yann Weishaupt Max McCoy Hari McCoy |
| Geylang International | Šime Žužul | Vincent Bezecourt | Takahiro Tezuka | Rio Sakuma | | |
| Hougang United | André Moritz | Pedro Bortoluzo | Kristijan Krajček | Kaishu Yamazaki | | |
| Lion City Sailors | Diego Lopes | Pedro Henrique | Maxime Lestienne | Kim Shin-wook | | |
| Tampines Rovers | Zehrudin Mehmedović | Boris Kopitović | Kyoga Nakamura | Shuya Yamashita | | |
| Tanjong Pagar United | Mirko Šugić | Blake Ricciuto | Reo Nishiguchi | Shodai Nishikawa | | |
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) (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 | 28 | 2 | 2 | 24 | 34 | 103 | −69 | 8 | |
* 1 2 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.

## Awards
### Monthly awards

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

## Attendances

The best-attended games:
| # | Match | Date | Attendance |
| 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 |