# 2019 Singapore Premier League

The 2019 Singapore Premier League (also known as the AIA Singapore Premier League due to sponsorship reasons) was the 2nd season of the Singapore Premier League, the top-flight Singaporean professional league for association football clubs, since its rebranding in 2018. A major overhaul from the new FAS management was made from this season onwards to improve the standard of Singapore football.

## Rules

The following key changes were made to the rules for the 2019 season:
* Singapore Premier League clubs could sign three imports from next season after the increase in foreign player quota was raised at the Football Association of Singapore's 36th Annual Congress
* 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).
* 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.
* Each team is now able to register up to 28 players in their squad, an increase of 3 players as compared to 2018.

## Teams

A total of 9 teams compete in the league. Albirex Niigata (S) and DPMM FC are invited foreign clubs from Japan and Brunei respectively. Despite large criticism and discussion against the Young Lions project, the Young Lions will continue to compete till 2019 for the purposes of training and preparing for the 2019 SEA Games. The criticism mainly focused on the poor performances every season by the largely youth team made up of Singapore Football's brightest prospects. Season-long consecutive losses against the rest of the more mature teams inflicts serious long-term consequences on the morale of the players, considering that most of these players are in the developmental ages of their footballing career. The new age restrictions imposed on the rest of the Singapore Premier League clubs could be seen as giving the Young Lions a better advantage in terms of seniority, but most critics and fans of Singapore football are still wanting the FAS to abolish the FAS-managed Young Lions and have them developed under the guidance of genuine local clubs.

### Stadiums and locations

| Team | Stadium | Capacity |
| Albirex Niigata (S) | Jurong East Stadium | 2,700 |
| Balestier Khalsa | Bishan Stadium | 3,500 |
| DPMM FC | Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium | 28,000 |
| Geylang International | Our Tampines Hub | 5,000 |
| Home United | Bishan Stadium | 3,500 |
| Hougang United | Jalan Besar Stadium | 6,000 |
| Tampines Rovers | Our Tampines Hub | 5,000 |
| Warriors FC | 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 |
| Albirex Niigata (S) | Keiji Shigetomi | Kyoga Nakamura | Mizuno | Canon |
| Balestier Khalsa | Marko Kraljević | Zaiful Nizam | Lotto | Jeep |
| DPMM FC | Adrian Pennock | Wardun Yussof | Lotto | |
| Geylang International | Mohd Noor Ali | Yuki Ichikawa | FBT | Epson |
| Home United | Noh Rahman | Izzdin Shafiq | Puma | Linco Investments |
| Hougang United | Clement Teo | Zulfahmi Arifin | Warrix | Jalan Besar Stadium |
| Tampines Rovers | Kadir Yahaya | Shahdan Sulaiman | Hummel | Hyunudai Avante |
| Warriors FC | Razif Bin Onn | Khairul Nizam | Joma | Rhino Sports |
| Young Lions | Fandi Ahmad | Joshua Pereira | Nike | - |

### Coaching changes

| Team | Outgoing Head Coach | Manner of Departure | Date of Vacancy | Position in table | Incoming Head Coach | Date of appointment |
| Geylang International | Hirotaka Usui | End of exchange | 29 September 2018 | Pre-Season | Mohd Noor Ali | 21 December 2018 |
| Home United | Aidil Sharin Sahak | Signed by Kedah FA | 8 October 2018 | Pre-Season | Saswadimata Dasuki | 3 December 2018 |
| Tampines Rovers | Jurgen Raab | Sacked | 9 October 2018 | Pre-Season | Gavin Lee | 9 October 2018 |
| Tampines Rovers | Gavin Lee | No license | 9 October 2018 | Pre-Season | Kadir Yahaya | 9 October 2018 |
| DPMM FC | Renê Weber | Sacked | 16 October 2018 | Pre-Season | Adrian Pennock | 17 October 2018 |
| Warriors FC | Mirko Grabovac | End of Contract | 31 October 2018 | Pre-Season | Azlan Alipah | 1 November 2018 |
| Albirex Niigata (S) | Kazuaki Yoshinaga | End of contract | 30 November 2018 | Pre-Season | Keiji Shigetomi | 11 December 2018 |
| Hougang United | NA | NA | 28 December 2018 | Pre-Season | Clement Teo | 28 December 2018 |
| Balestier Khalsa | Marko Kraljević | Signed by Kelantan FA | 26 January 2019 | Pre-Season | Khidhir Khamis | 4 February 2019 |
| Home United | Saswadimata Dasuki | Sacked | 19 April 2019 | 7th | Noh Rahman (interim) | 19 April 2019 |
| Home United | Noh Rahman (interim) | End of Caretaker | 2 July 2019 | 6th | Radojko Avramović | 2 July 2019 |
| Home United | Radojko Avramović | Step down (health reason) | 18 August 2019 | 5th | Noh Rahman (interim) | 18 August 2019 |
| Balestier Khalsa | Khidhir Khamis | Sacked | 24 September 2019 | 9th | Marko Kraljević | 24 September 2019 |

### Foreigners

Singapore Premier League clubs could sign three imports from next season after the increase in foreign player quota was raised at the Football Association of Singapore's 36th Annual Congress
Albirex Niigata can sign up unlimited number of Singaporean players for the new season. Only 1 local player above 23 years old is allowed.
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 | U21 Player 2 | U21 Player 3 | Former Players |
| Albirex Niigata (S) | Hyrulnizam Juma'at | Noor Akid Nordin | Daniel Martens | Firas Irwan | Zamani Zamri | Gerald Ang | |
| Balestier Khalsa | Kristijan Krajcek | Sime Zuzul | | Sanjin Vrebac | | | |
| DPMM FC | Blake Ricciuto | Charlie Clough | Andrey Varankow | | | | |
| Geylang International | Barry Maguire | Yuki Ichikawa | | Matthew Palmer | | | Morteza Safdari Corey Warren |
| Home United | Isaka Cernak | Song Ui-young | | Oliver Puflett | | | |
| Hougang United | Stipe Plazibat | Kong Ho-won | | Paulin Mbaye | | | Rafael Ramazotti |
| Tampines Rovers | Jordan Webb | Ryutaro Megumi | | Zehrudin Mehmedović | Mirza Delimeđac | | |
| Warriors FC | Jonathan Béhé | Kento Fukuda | | Ryosuke Nagasawa | | | |
Note 1: Albirex, a Japanese club, 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: DPMM FC, a Bruneian club, can sign 3 non-Bruneian foreigners.
Note 3: Singapore teams can sign 4 foreigners, of which 2 must be below 21 years old.

## Results

| Home \ Away | ALB | BAL | DPM | GEY | HOM | HOU | TAM | WAR | YLI | ALB | BAL | DPM | GEY | HOM | HOU | TAM | WAR | YLI |
| Albirex Niigata (S) | — | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | — | 2–0 | 0–0 | NA | 1–0 | NA | NA | NA | 4–1 |
| Balestier Khalsa | 1–3 | — | 1–7 | 3–0 | 2–4 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | NA | — | 1–4 | 3–4 | NA | 3–4 | NA | 3–3 | NA |
| DPMM | 2–0 | 2–1 | — | 3–0 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 4–2 | 0–0 | NA | NA | — | 3–0 | NA | 5–4 | 0–1 | 3–0 | NA |
| Geylang International | 1–0 | 5–0 | 1–3 | — | 2–3 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 5–2 | 1–2 | 1–0 | NA | NA | — | NA | 4–4 | 2–1 | 4–3 | NA |
| Home United | 3–3 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 3–0 | — | 0–2 | 2–4 | 4–4 | 2–1 | NA | 1–3 | 1–0 | 3–2 | — | NA | NA | NA | 0–3 |
| Hougang United | 4–2 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 4–1 | 1–0 | — | 1–5 | 5–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | NA | NA | NA | 2–0 | — | 2–4 | 3–1 | NA |
| Tampines Rovers | 0–0 | 4–2 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 5–1 | 3–3 | — | 1–2 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 3–3 | NA | NA | 3–0 | NA | — | NA | 1–1 |
| Warriors | 1–2 | 3–3 | 3–3 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 3–2 | 1–1 | — | 2–0 | 2–1 | NA | NA | NA | 1–3 | NA | 0–1 | — | 2–0 |
| Young Lions | 1–2 | 1–4 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | — | NA | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | NA | 2–4 | NA | NA | — |

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | DPMM (C) | 24 | 15 | 5 | 4 | 51 | 25 | +26 | 50 | |
| 2 | Tampines Rovers | 24 | 12 | 8 | 4 | 52 | 29 | +23 | 44 | Qualification for AFC Champions League preliminary round 1 |
| 3 | Hougang United | 24 | 13 | 4 | 7 | 58 | 45 | +13 | 43 | Qualification for AFC Cup group stage |
| 4 | Albirex Niigata (S) | 24 | 12 | 5 | 7 | 36 | 25 | +11 | 41 | |
| 5 | Geylang International | 24 | 10 | 3 | 11 | 41 | 48 | −7 | 33 | |
| 6 | Home United | 24 | 9 | 3 | 12 | 34 | 46 | −12 | 30 | |
| 7 | Warriors | 24 | 6 | 5 | 13 | 40 | 56 | −16 | 23 | |
| 8 | Young Lions | 24 | 6 | 4 | 14 | 21 | 38 | −17 | 22 | |
| 9 | Balestier Khalsa | 24 | 4 | 5 | 15 | 37 | 58 | −21 | 17 | |
* 1 2 3 The two foreign clubs – Albirex Niigata (S) and DPMM – as well as the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) under-21 team, Young Lions, are ineligible for any AFC competition spots.

## Statistics
### Top scorers

    As of 29 September 2019.
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Andrey Varankow | DPMM FC | 21 |
| 2 | Faris Ramli | Hougang United | 16 |
| 3 | Jordan Webb | Tampines Rovers | 15 |
| 4 | Jonathan Béhé | Warriors FC | 12 |
| 5 | Hazzuwan Halim | Balestier Khalsa | 10 |
| 6 | Stipe Plazibat | Hougang United | 9 |
| 6 | Blake Ricciuto | DPMM FC | 9 |
| 6 | Gabriel Quak | Warriors FC | 9 |
| 6 | Sime Zuzul | Balestier Khalsa | 9 |
| 6 | Fareez Farhan | Geylang International | 9 |
| 11 | Shawal Anuar | Geylang International | 8 |
| 11 | Shahfiq Ghani | Hougang United | 8 |
| 13 | Hiroyoshi Kamata | Albirex Niigata (S) | 7 |
| 13 | Kyoga Nakamura | Albirex Niigata (S) | 7 |
| 13 | Shahril Ishak | Home United | 7 |
| 13 | Zehrudin Mehmedović | Tampines Rovers | 7 |

### Clean sheets

    As of 29 September 2019.
| Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets |
| 1 | Wardun Yussof | DPMM FC | 10 |
| 2 | Kengo Fukudome | Albirex Niigata (S) | 8 |
| 3 | Syazwan Buhari | Tampines Rovers | 6 |
| 4 | Nazri Sabri | Home United | 5 |
| 5 | Ridhuan Barudin | Hougang United | 4 |

### Hat-tricks

| Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
| Andrey Varankow $^5$ | DPMM FC | Balestier Khalsa | 7–1 | 13 April 2019 |
| Andrey Varankow | DPMM FC | Warriors FC | 3–0 | 14 September 2019 |
| Fareez Farhan | Geylang International | Hougang United | 4–4 | 15 September 2019 |
| Shahfiq Ghani | Hougang United | DPMM FC | 4–5 | 29 September 2019 |
Note $^4$ Player scored 4 goals $^5$ Player scored 5 goals

### Own goal

| Player | Team | Against | Date |
| Zulfahmi Arifin | Hougang United | Tampines Rovers | 3 March 2019 |
| Darren Teh | Geylang International | Balestier Khalsa | 31 March 2019 |
| Lionel Tan | Young Lions | Tampines Rovers | 29 May 2019 |
| Shah Shahiran | Tampines Rovers | Albirex Niigata (S) | 15 June 2019 |
| Hairul Syirhan | Geylang International | Warriors FC | 18 September 2019 |

### Penalty missed

| Player | For | Against | Date |
| Shahdan Sulaiman | Tampines Rovers | Hougang United | 3 March 2019 |
| Taufik Suparno | Tampines Rovers | Home United | 8 March 2019 |
| Kyoga Nakamura | Albirex Niigata (S) | Warriors FC | 13 April 2019 |
| Faris Ramli | Hougang United | Balestier Khalsa | 12 May 2019 |
| Jonathan Béhé | Warriors FC | DPMM FC | 6 July 2019 |
| Sime Zuzul | Balestier Khalsa | Warriors FC | 19 July 2019 |
| Shahril Ishak | Home United | Balestier Khalsa | 14 August 2019 |
| Jordan Webb | Tampines Rovers | Albirex Niigata (S) | 18 August 2019 |
| Shahril Ishak | Home United | Hougang United | 1 September 2019 |
| Amy Recha | Geylang International | Home United | 21 September 2019 |

## Awards
### Monthly awards

| Month | Player of the Month | Player of the Month | Young Player of the Month | Young Player of the Month | Reference |
| Month | Coach | Club | Player | Club | Reference |
| April | Blake Ricciuto | DPMM FC | Kyoga Nakamura | Albirex Niigata (S) | |
| May | Gabriel Quak | Warriors FC | Kyoga Nakamura | Albirex Niigata (S) | |
| June | Shawal Anuar | Geylang International | Zikos Chua | Geylang International | |
| July | Christopher van Huizen | Geylang International | Zikos Chua | Geylang International | |
| August | Šime Žužul | Balestier Khalsa | Jacob Mahler | Young Lions | |
| September | Shahfiq Ghani | Hougang United | Faizal Raffi | Warriors FC | |

## Singapore Premier League Awards night winners

| Awards | Winners | Club |
| Player of the Year | Faris Ramli | Hougang United |
| Young Player of the Year | Hami Syahin | Home United |
| Coach of the Year | Adrian Pennock | DPMM FC |
| Top Scorer Award | Andrey Varankow | DPMM FC |
| Fair Play Award | Albirex Niigata (S) | Albirex Niigata (S) |
| Referee of the Year | Farhan Mohd | — |
StraitsTime Team of the Year :
| Goalkeeper | Wardun Yussof (DPMM FC) | Wardun Yussof (DPMM FC) | Wardun Yussof (DPMM FC) | Wardun Yussof (DPMM FC) | Wardun Yussof (DPMM FC) | Wardun Yussof (DPMM FC) | Wardun Yussof (DPMM FC) | Wardun Yussof (DPMM FC) | Wardun Yussof (DPMM FC) | Wardun Yussof (DPMM FC) | Wardun Yussof (DPMM FC) | Wardun Yussof (DPMM FC) |
| Defence | Nazrul Nazari (Hougang United) | Nazrul Nazari (Hougang United) | Nazrul Nazari (Hougang United) | Kaishu Yamazaki (Albirex Niigata (S)) | Kaishu Yamazaki (Albirex Niigata (S)) | Kaishu Yamazaki (Albirex Niigata (S)) | Yuki Ichikawa (Geylang International) | Yuki Ichikawa (Geylang International) | Yuki Ichikawa (Geylang International) | Irwan Shah (Tampines Rovers) | Irwan Shah (Tampines Rovers) | Irwan Shah (Tampines Rovers) |
| Midfield | Blake Ricciuto (DPMM FC) | Blake Ricciuto (DPMM FC) | Blake Ricciuto (DPMM FC) | Blake Ricciuto (DPMM FC) | Kyoga Nakamura (Albirex Niigata (S)) | Kyoga Nakamura (Albirex Niigata (S)) | Kyoga Nakamura (Albirex Niigata (S)) | Kyoga Nakamura (Albirex Niigata (S)) | Shahdan Sulaiman (Tampines Rovers) | Shahdan Sulaiman (Tampines Rovers) | Shahdan Sulaiman (Tampines Rovers) | Shahdan Sulaiman (Tampines Rovers) |
| Attack | Gabriel Quak (Warriors FC) | Gabriel Quak (Warriors FC) | Gabriel Quak (Warriors FC) | Gabriel Quak (Warriors FC) | Faris Ramli (Hougang United) | Faris Ramli (Hougang United) | Faris Ramli (Hougang United) | Faris Ramli (Hougang United) | Andrei Varankou (DPMM FC) | Andrei Varankou (DPMM FC) | Andrei Varankou (DPMM FC) | Andrei Varankou (DPMM FC) |
AIA Team of the Year :
| Goalkeeper | Wardun Yussof (DPMM FC) | Wardun Yussof (DPMM FC) | Wardun Yussof (DPMM FC) | Wardun Yussof (DPMM FC) | Wardun Yussof (DPMM FC) | Wardun Yussof (DPMM FC) | Wardun Yussof (DPMM FC) | Wardun Yussof (DPMM FC) | Wardun Yussof (DPMM FC) | Wardun Yussof (DPMM FC) | Wardun Yussof (DPMM FC) | Wardun Yussof (DPMM FC) |
| Defence | Nazrul Nazari (Hougang United) | Nazrul Nazari (Hougang United) | Nazrul Nazari (Hougang United) | Kaishu Yamazaki (Albirex Niigata (S)) | Kaishu Yamazaki (Albirex Niigata (S)) | Kaishu Yamazaki (Albirex Niigata (S)) | Charlie Clough (DPMM FC) | Charlie Clough (DPMM FC) | Charlie Clough (DPMM FC) | Irwan Shah (Tampines Rovers) | Irwan Shah (Tampines Rovers) | Irwan Shah (Tampines Rovers) |
| Midfield | Blake Ricciuto (DPMM FC) | Blake Ricciuto (DPMM FC) | Blake Ricciuto (DPMM FC) | Blake Ricciuto (DPMM FC) | Kyoga Nakamura (Albirex Niigata (S)) | Kyoga Nakamura (Albirex Niigata (S)) | Kyoga Nakamura (Albirex Niigata (S)) | Kyoga Nakamura (Albirex Niigata (S)) | Shahdan Sulaiman (Tampines Rovers) | Shahdan Sulaiman (Tampines Rovers) | Shahdan Sulaiman (Tampines Rovers) | Shahdan Sulaiman (Tampines Rovers) |
| Attack | Shawal Anuar (Geylang International) | Shawal Anuar (Geylang International) | Shawal Anuar (Geylang International) | Shawal Anuar (Geylang International) | Faris Ramli (Hougang United) | Faris Ramli (Hougang United) | Faris Ramli (Hougang United) | Faris Ramli (Hougang United) | Andrei Varankou (DPMM FC) | Andrei Varankou (DPMM FC) | Andrei Varankou (DPMM FC) | Andrei Varankou (DPMM FC) |