# 2017 S.League

The 2017 S.League (also known as the Great Eastern Hyundai S.League for sponsorship reasons) was the 22nd season of the S.League, the top-flight Singaporean professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1996. The season began on 26 February 2017, and concluded on 18 November 2017. Albirex Niigata (S) were the defending champions.
It was the final season with the "S.League" name as it was officially renamed to Singapore Premier League from the 2018 season onwards.

## Teams

A total of 9 teams competed in the league. Albirex Niigata (S) and DPMM FC were invited foreign clubs from Japan and Brunei respectively.

### Stadiums and locations

| Team | Stadium | Capacity |
| Albirex Niigata (S) | Jurong East Stadium | 2,700 |
| Balestier Khalsa | Toa Payoh Stadium | 3,800 |
| DPMM FC | Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium | 28,000 |
| Geylang International | Bedok Stadium Jalan Besar Stadium (May–September 2017) | 3,800 6,000 |
| Home United | Bishan Stadium | 3,500 |
| Hougang United | Hougang Stadium | 3,400 |
| Tampines Rovers | Jurong West Stadium (March 2014–June 2017) Our Tampines Hub | 3,200 6,000 |
| Warriors FC | Choa Chu Kang Stadium | 4,000 |
| Young Lions | Jalan Besar Stadium | 6,000 |
* The opening game of the season which doubles up as the 2017 Singapore Community Shield was played at the National Stadium

### 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 | Shirt sponsor |
| Albirex Niigata (S) | Kazuaki Yoshinaga | Kento Nagasaki | Hummel | Canon |
| Balestier Khalsa | Marko Kraljević | Zaiful Nizam | Umbro | Civic |
| DPMM FC | Steve Kean | Rosmin Kamis | Lotto | – |
| Geylang International | Mohd Noor Ali | Isa Halim | FBT | Epson |
| Home United | Aidil Sharin | Hassan Sunny | Puma | Lionco Investments |
| Hougang United | Philippe Aw | Nurhilmi Jasni | Vonda | Green Rubber |
| Tampines Rovers | Jürgen Raab | Madhu Mohana | Jako | Nogle |
| Warriors FC | Razif Onn | Baihakki Khaizan | Joma | Hong Seh Motors |
| Young Lions | Vincent Subramaniam | Shahrin Saberin | Nike | Shopee |

### Coaching changes

| Team | Outgoing Head Coach | Manner of Departure | Date of Vacancy | Position in table | Incoming Head Coach | Date of appointment |
| Warriors FC | Razif Onn | Redesignated | NA | Pre-Season | Razif Onn | 23 October 2016 |
| Hougang United | K.Balagumaran | End of Contract | 30 October 2016 | Pre-Season | Philippe Aw | 1 January 2017 |
| Albirex Niigata (S) | Naoki Naruo | End of Contract | 3 November 2016 | Pre-Season | Kazuaki Yoshinaga | 2 December 2016 |
| Young Lions | Patrick Hesse | Resigned | 9 November 2016 | Pre-Season | V. Selvaraj | 9 November 2016 |
| Tampines Rovers | Akbar Nawas | Mutual Agreement | 27 January 2017 | Pre-Season | Jürgen Raab | 31 January 2017 |
| Young Lions | V. Selvaraj | Resigned | 17 May 2017 | 9th | Richard Tardy (interim coach) | 17 May 2017 |
| Geylang International | Hasrin Jailani | Resigned | 20 June 2017 | 5th | Mohd Noor Ali | 20 June 2017 |
| Young Lions | Richard Tardy | End of Interim | 5 July 2017 | 9th | Vincent Subramaniam | 5 July 2017 |

### Foreigners

For the 2017 season, Local teams (Exclusive of the Young Lions, which is a development team) and Brunei DPMM are able to register up to a total of 3 foreign players in the main squad, and an additional player under the age of 21 for the Prime League. For match-day squads in the S-League, any three foreigners can be registered.
The mid season transfer window will be opened from 22 May 2017 and closed on 18 June 2017.
Players name in bold indicates the player was registered during the mid-season transfer window.
| Club | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 | Prime League | Former Players |
| Balestier Khalsa | Kyaw Zayar Win | Nanda Lin Kyaw Chit | Aung Kyaw Naing | - | - |
| DPMM FC | Rafael Ramazotti | Daúd Gazale | Vincent Salas | - | François Marque *^2 Billy Mehmet Željko Savić |
| Geylang International | Yuki Ichikawa | Víctor Coto Ortega | Ricardo Sendra | Min Thi Ha | - |
| Home United | Song Ui-young | Sirina Camara | Stipe Plazibat | Marijan Šuto | - |
| Hougang United | Fumiya Kogure | Atsushi Shirota | Pablo Rodriguez | Antonie Viterale | – |
| Tampines Rovers | Ryutaro Megumi | Son Yong Chan | Ivan Dzoni | Raspreet Sandhu*^3 Diego Silvas*^4 | Louis Clark *^5 |
| Warriors FC | Kento Fukuda | Jordan Webb | Andrei Ciolacu | Clay Silvas | Joël Tshibamba |
* ^1 For the 2017 season, it was decided that DPMM FC can sign an additional foreigner under the age of 21 which was not allowed in the past. However, the same rules for match day squad will still apply.
* ^2 DPMM FC announced that François Marque was dropped from the S. League squad. Although no reasons were given, it is presumed that he had suffered a long term injury in his 1st match for the team.
* ^3 Raspreet Sandhu is registered to play for AFC Cup competition only.
* ^4 Diego Silvas is registered for the S. League, taking up the Prime League slot.
* ^5 Foreign players who left their clubs or were de-registered from playing squad due to medical issues or other matters.
* Albirex Niigata (S) is an all-Japanese team and do not hire any foreigners.

## Kits

| Albirex Niigata (S) | Albirex Niigata (S) | Balestier Khalsa | Balestier Khalsa | DPMM FC | DPMM FC | Geylang International | Geylang International |
| Home | Away | Home | Away | Home | Away | Home | Away |
| Kit Sponsor: Hummel | Kit Sponsor: Hummel | Kit Sponsor: Umbro | Kit Sponsor: Umbro | Kit Sponsor: Lotto | Kit Sponsor: Lotto | Kit Sponsor: FBT | Kit Sponsor: FBT |
| Main Sponsor: Canon | Main Sponsor: Canon | Main Sponsor: Civic | Main Sponsor: Civic | Main Sponsor: None | Main Sponsor: None | Main Sponsor: Epson | Main Sponsor: Epson |
| Home United | Home United | Hougang United | Hougang United | Tampines Rovers | Tampines Rovers | Warriors FC | Warriors FC |
| Home | Away | Home | Away | Home | Away | Home | Away |
| Kit Sponsor: Puma | Kit Sponsor: Puma | Kit Sponsor: Vonda | Kit Sponsor: Vonda | Kit Sponsor: Jako | Kit Sponsor: Jako | Kit Sponsor: Joma | Kit Sponsor: Joma |
| Main Sponsor: Linco Investments | Main Sponsor: Linco Investments | Main Sponsor: Green Rubber | Main Sponsor: Green Rubber | Main Sponsor: Nogle | Main Sponsor: Nogle | Main Sponsor: Hong Seh Motors | Main Sponsor: Hong Seh Motors |
Young Lions :
| Home | Away |
| Kit Sponsor: Nike ||
| Main Sponsor: Shopee ||

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Albirex Niigata (S) (C) | 24 | 20 | 2 | 2 | 70 | 16 | +54 | 62 | |
| 2 | Tampines Rovers | 24 | 17 | 3 | 4 | 48 | 20 | +28 | 54 | Qualification to AFC Champions League Preliminary Round 1 or AFC Cup Group Stage |
| 3 | Home United | 24 | 15 | 5 | 4 | 58 | 26 | +32 | 50 | Qualification to AFC Cup Group Stage |
| 4 | Geylang International | 24 | 11 | 3 | 10 | 32 | 37 | −5 | 36 | |
| 5 | Warriors FC | 24 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 33 | 36 | −3 | 34 | |
| 6 | Hougang United | 24 | 9 | 3 | 12 | 24 | 31 | −7 | 30 | |
| 7 | Balestier Khalsa | 24 | 5 | 4 | 15 | 17 | 33 | −16 | 19 | |
| 8 | DPMM FC | 24 | 5 | 2 | 17 | 30 | 61 | −31 | 17 | |
| 9 | Young Lions | 24 | 1 | 3 | 20 | 10 | 62 | −52 | 6 | |
* 1 2 3 The two foreign clubs – Albirex Niigata (S) and DPMM FC – as well as the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) under-21 team, Young Lions, are not eligible for any AFC competition spots.

### Positions by stage

| Team ╲ Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 |
| Albirex Niigata (S) | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Balestier Khalsa | 6 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| DPMM FC | 5 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Geylang International | 8 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Home United | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Hougang United | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Tampines Rovers | 6 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Warriors FC | 3 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Young Lions | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 |

## Results

| Home \ Away | ALB | BAL | DPM | YLI | GEY | HOM | HOU | TAM | WAR |
| Albirex Niigata (S) | — | 2–1 | 4–0 | 8–0 | 5–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 5–1 |
| Balestier Khalsa | 0–3 | — | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–2 |
| DPMM FC | 0–1 | 1–4 | — | 7–1 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 3–5 |
| Young Lions | 0–5 | 0–0 | N/a | — | 0–2 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–4 | 0–0 |
| Geylang International | 2–7 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | — | 1–3 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 0–2 |
| Home United | 2–2 | 1–0 | 9–3 | 6–1 | 3–0 | — | 2–3 | 0–2 | 1–1 |
| Hougang United | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 0–2 | — | 0–3 | 0–1 |
| Tampines Rovers | 1–4 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | — | 1–1 |
| Warriors FC | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 4–3 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | — |

## Season statistics
### Top scorers

    As of 18 November 2017.
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Tsubasa Sano | Albirex Niigata (S) | 26 |
| 2 | Stipe Plazibat | Home United | 25 |
| 3 | Rafael Ramazotti | DPMM FC | 14 |
| 4 | Ryota Nakai | Albirex Niigata (S) | 11 |
| 4 | Kento Nagasaki | Albirex Niigata (S) | 11 |
| 4 | Shahril Ishak | Warriors FC | 11 |
| 4 | Faris Ramli | Home United | 11 |
| 7 | Shawal Anuar | Geylang International | 9 |
| 9 | Khairul Nizam | Home United | 7 |
| 9 | Jordan Webb | Warriors FC | 7 |
| 9 | Fumiya Kogure | Hougang United | 7 |
| 9 | Ryutaro Megumi | Tampines Rovers | 7 |

### Clean sheets

    As of 18 November 2017.
| Rank | Player | Club | Clean Sheet |
| 1 | Yosuke Nozawa | Albirex Niigata (S) | 12 |
| 2 | Syazwan Buhari | Geylang International | 9 |
| 3 | Izwan Mahbud | Tampines Rovers | 7 |

### Hat-tricks

| Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
| Stipe Plazibat$^4$ | Home United | Young Lions | 6–1 | 27 February 2017 |
| Faris Ramli$^4$ | Home United | DPMM FC | 9–3 | 25 May 2017 |
| Tsubasa Sano$^5$ | Albirex Niigata (S) | Young Lions | 8–0 | 26 May 2017 |
| Rafael Ramazotti | DPMM FC | Young Lions | 7–1 | 7 October 2017 |
| Adi Said | DPMM FC | Young Lions | 7–1 | 7 October 2017 |
| Tsubasa Sano$^4$ | Albirex Niigata (S) | Warriors FC | 5–1 | 3 November 2017 |
| Tsubasa Sano | Albirex Niigata (S) | Geylang International | 7–1 | 17 November 2017 |
Note $^4$ Player scored 4 goals $^5$ Player scored 5 goals

### Own goals

| Player | For | Against | Score | Date |
| Fadli Kamis | Balestier Khalsa | Geylang International | 0–2 | 4 March 2017 |
| Hazwan Hamzah | DPMM FC | Tampines Rovers | 0–5 | 3 November 2017 |

### Penalty missed

| Player | For | Against | Date |
| Ivan Džoni | Tampines Rovers | Albirex Niigata (S) | 26 February 2017 |
| Ivan Džoni | Tampines Rovers | Balestier Khalsa | 11 March 2017 |
| Faris Ramli | Home United | Young Lions | 27 February 2017 |
| Faris Ramli | Home United | Young Lions | 21 May 2017 |
| Aung Kyaw Naing | Balestier Khalsa | Young Lions | 2 April 2017 |
| Raihan Rahman | Balestier Khalsa | Young Lions | 20 September 2017 |
| Víctor Coto Ortega | Geylang International | Hougang United | 20 May 2017 |
| Taufik Suparno | Young Lions | Albirex Niigata (S) | 26 May 2017 |
| Andrei Ciolacu | Warriors FC | DPMM FC | 2 July 2017 |
| Daúd Gazale | DPMM FC | Geylang International | 24 July 2017 |
| Iqbal Hussain | Hougang United | Young Lions | 24 October 2017 |

### Discipline – club

    As of after 23/9/2017
| Rank | Club | Total | Total |
| 1 | Albirex Niigata (S) | 9 | 3 |
| 2 | Balestier Khalsa | 45 | 6 |
| 3 | DPMM FC | 36 | 4 |
| 4 | Young Lions | 27 | 0 |
| 5 | Geylang International | 29 | 3 |
| 6 | Home United | 35 | 1 |
| 7 | Hougang United | 36 | 4 |
| 8 | Tampines Rovers | 38 | 6 |
| 9 | Warriors FC | 52 | 2 |

### Discipline – player

| Rank | Player | Club | Total | Total |
| 1 | Vincent Reyes | DPMM FC | 4 | 2 |
| 2 | Hafiz Osman | Warriors FC | 3 | 2 |
| 3 | Baihakki Khaizan | Warriors FC | 9 | 0 |
| 4 | Ismadi Mukhtar | Tampines FC | 2 | 2 |
| 5 | Nazrul Nazari | Hougang United | 5 | 1 |
| 6 | Ahmad Syahir | Balestier Khalsa | 8 | 0 |
1) Madhu Mohana was handed a suspended $1,000 fine for his comments on social media directed at referee Sukhbir Singh after they lost to Albirex in the Charity Shield.
2) Raihan Rahman was charged for allegedly using a racial slur on Warriors forward Jordan Webb during an S.League match between Balestier and Warriors on 28/2/2017. He was acquitted of that charge after a Football Association of Singapore Disciplinary Committee (DC) hearing.

## S.League Awards night winners

| Awards | Winners | Club |
| Player of the Year | Kento Nagasaki | Albirex Niigata (S) |
| Young Player of the Year | Hazzuwan Halim | Balestier Khalsa |
| Coach of the Year | Kazuaki Yoshinaga | Albirex Niigata (S) |
| Top Scorer Award | Tsubasa Sano | Albirex Niigata (S) |
| Goal of the Year | Huzaifah Aziz | Balestier Khalsa (vs. Albirex) |
| Fair Play Award | Albirex Niigata (S) |
| Referee of the Year | Sukhbir Singh |
[[FFT Team of the Year]] :
| Goalkeeper | Yosuke Nozawa (Albirex Niigata (S)) | Yosuke Nozawa (Albirex Niigata (S)) | Yosuke Nozawa (Albirex Niigata (S)) | Yosuke Nozawa (Albirex Niigata (S)) | Yosuke Nozawa (Albirex Niigata (S)) | Yosuke Nozawa (Albirex Niigata (S)) | Yosuke Nozawa (Albirex Niigata (S)) | Yosuke Nozawa (Albirex Niigata (S)) | Yosuke Nozawa (Albirex Niigata (S)) | Yosuke Nozawa (Albirex Niigata (S)) | Yosuke Nozawa (Albirex Niigata (S)) | Yosuke Nozawa (Albirex Niigata (S)) |
| Defence | Irfan Fandi (Home United) | Irfan Fandi (Home United) | Irfan Fandi (Home United) | Irfan Fandi (Home United) | Yasutaka Yanagi (Albirex Niigata (S)) | Yasutaka Yanagi (Albirex Niigata (S)) | Yasutaka Yanagi (Albirex Niigata (S)) | Yasutaka Yanagi (Albirex Niigata (S)) | Naofumi Tanaka (Albirex Niigata (S)) | Naofumi Tanaka (Albirex Niigata (S)) | Naofumi Tanaka (Albirex Niigata (S)) | Naofumi Tanaka (Albirex Niigata (S)) |
| Midfield | Ryutaro Megumi (Tampines Rovers) | Ryutaro Megumi (Tampines Rovers) | Ryutaro Megumi (Tampines Rovers) | Shuto Inaba (Albirex Niigata (S)) | Shuto Inaba (Albirex Niigata (S)) | Shuto Inaba (Albirex Niigata (S)) | Shahril Ishak (Warriors FC) | Shahril Ishak (Warriors FC) | Shahril Ishak (Warriors FC) | Kento Nagasaki (Albirex Niigata (S)) | Kento Nagasaki (Albirex Niigata (S)) | Kento Nagasaki (Albirex Niigata (S)) |
| Attack | Faris Ramli (Home United) | Faris Ramli (Home United) | Faris Ramli (Home United) | Faris Ramli (Home United) | Stipe Plazibat (Home United) | Stipe Plazibat (Home United) | Stipe Plazibat (Home United) | Stipe Plazibat (Home United) | Tsubasa Sano (Albirex Niigata (S)) | Tsubasa Sano (Albirex Niigata (S)) | Tsubasa Sano (Albirex Niigata (S)) | Tsubasa Sano (Albirex Niigata (S)) |

## Attendances

| # | Football club | Average attendance |
| 1 | Albirex Niigata Singapore | 3,355 |
| 2 | Home United | 1,774 |
| 3 | Warriors FC | 1,684 |
| 4 | Tampines Rovers | 1,647 |
| 5 | Young Lions FC | 1,432 |
| 6 | Geylang International | 1,397 |
| 7 | Hougang United | 1,079 |
| 8 | DPMM FC | 1,068 |
| 9 | Balestier Khalsa | 984 |