# 2024–25 Singapore Premier League

The 2024–25 Singapore Premier League (also known as the AIA Singapore Premier League due to sponsorship reasons) is the 7th season of the Singapore Premier League, the top-flight Singaporean professional league for association football clubs, since its rebranding in 2018.

## Format

The following key changes were made to the rules for the 2024–25 season:
* Each club squad must consist of a minimum 18 professional players and a maximum of 25 players.
* Clubs must field a minimum of five local players, which is in line with the quota set by the AFC for its club competitions with the exception of Young Lions.
* The requirement for local clubs to field a minimum of one Under-23 player of Singaporean nationality during the entire first half of a match has been lifted.
* The mandatory fitness tests for SPL players will transition to a more data-driven approach, facilitated through technical GPS tracking.
* Quadruple round-robin format where each club will play each other four times in a season, instead of just three in seasons.
* Singapore Cup will start in January 2025 and conclude by the end of May.
* The Interim Pre-Season Tournament, a one-off tournament, to tide over this season will commence from 23 February to 21 April 2024. It will be a played in a modified single round-robin format, with a total of 20 matches played across 5 game weeks, with rankings to be based on accumulated points.
* Each club can now register a maximum of nine foreign players, including representation from an AFC member association and three players under the age of 21 at the point of registration. A player who is initially registered as an under-21 player will remain classified as such for subsequent seasons, regardless of whether they turn 21 years old, until the rules changes.
* For the U21 league, all Clubs (including Young Lions and excluding SAFSA) are allowed to register a maximum of 8 Foreign Players who are 21 years or younger, at the point of registration.
The following key changes were made to the rules since the 2022 & 2023 season:
* 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.
* Players shall be allocated jersey numbers 1 to 50 except for Young Lions who are allowed to allocate jersey numbers 1 to 80. A jersey number becomea available for allocation to new members after a player ceased to play for a club. U21 players are allocated jersey numbers 51-80.
* VAR technology was feature for the first time in Singapore league history starting 2023.
* Players get suspended for one match after 4, 7, and 9 yellow cards in a league, with a fine added after the 9th. A red card comes with a mandatory suspension of 1-6 matches, depending on the severity of the offence. Getting 2 red cards in the season results in a $1,000 fine and a possible harsher penalty from the Disciplinary Committee.
The transfer window will be as follows
* 1st transfer window: 12 March 2024 to 31 May 2024
* 2nd transfer window: 1 January 2025 to 31 January 2025

## Teams

A total of 9 teams compete in the league. Albirex Niigata (S) would function as a local team, starting this season. As such, they will be subjected to the same rules as Singapore based teams, while DPMM is an invited team from Brunei.

### Stadiums and locations

| Team | Stadium | Capacity |
| Albirex Niigata (S) Tanjong Pagar United | Jurong East Stadium | 2,700 |
| Lion City Sailors Balestier Khalsa | Bishan Stadium | 6,254 |
| Young Lions Hougang United BG Tampines Rovers Geylang International | Jalan Besar Stadium | 6,000 |
| DPMM | Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium (Brunei) Jalan Besar Stadium (match day 3) | 28,000 |

### Personnel, kit and sponsoring

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) | Keiji Shigetomi | Ho Wai Loon | Fifty50 | Denka | List Apparel & Footwear & Training Wear Dpro Logistics Namics Skechers Singapore Jersey Partner SingaLife g.spa Kubota Reeracoen Kirin EnglishCentral Gain City Warrantee Miura Black Clover Others Daiho Group JTB NSG Sanpoutei Ramen SMBC ACCEA Singapore PR Times Prestige Property ANA EAA Direct IGPI Group Ma Masion Dr. Stretch JPlus+ Salonpas Soken Medical OneTap Sports Crown Line Tomi Sushi Sankyu One Asia Lawyers SD Aircon SETA Technologies Hiroyuki AO Service Pro Itadakimasu Pocari Sweat KoachHub Fuji Electric Asia Pacific Sugoyose Any1 Choco |
| Balestier Khalsa | Peter de Roo | Alen Kozar | Adidas | Jeep | List Weston Corporation Project Vaults PSB Academy TopGrid Pest StarBalm Boys' Town YouthReach Dr. Stretch KoachHub The Original Vadai |
| BG Tampines Rovers | Gavin Lee | Syazwan Buhari | Warrix | BG | List StarBalm Black Clover Construction Investment Managers Therabody My Protein Singapore Rookbook The Physio Circle Ryudben Sports JSSL FC Dr. Stretch |
| DPMM | Jamie McAllister | Azwan Ali Rahman | Pitch | Royal Brunei Airlines | List Brunei Shell Marketing Mitsubishi Baiduri Bank DST Setia Motors You C1000 BGIB Begawan Athlete Waznah StarBalm |
| Geylang International | Mohd Noor Ali | Joshua Pereira | FBT | Vector Green | List Sponsors Epson Koshin Kogyo Medcallz Westpoint Partners City Football Club Dr. Stretch Koach Hub Optimum Nutrition TRUE Fitness KoachHub Think Batik |
| Hougang United | Robert Eziakor (interim) | Nazrul Nazari | Kelme | | List Cafe Football (CF) The Arena SpeedFitness Advance Capital StarBalm My Protein Singapore |
| Lion City Sailors | Aleksandar Ranković | Hariss Harun | Puma | SEA | List Sponsors Shopee Garena Partners Optimum Nutrition Mari Bank StarBalm Griddy Grid #WLJK AMP Lab (Women) |
| Tanjong Pagar United | Noh Alam Shah (interim) | Matt Silva | FBT | | List Samtrade Academy Hyundai StarBalm The Rehab Lab |
| Young Lions | Fadzuhasny Juraimi (interim) | Ryaan Sanizal | Nike | | List Catapult |

### Coaching changes

| Team | Outgoing head coach | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming head coach | Date of appointment |
| Hougang United | Marko Kraljević (interim) | Appointed to permanent role | Appointed to permanent role | Appointed to permanent role | Appointed to permanent role | 1 January 2024 |
| DPMM | Adrian Pennock | End of contract | 11 December 2023 | Pre-season | Rui Capela | 12 December 2023 |
| DPMM | Rui Capela | Mutual Consent | 5 July 2024 | 5th | Miguel Bragança (interim) | 9 July 2024 |
| DPMM | Miguel Bragança (interim) | End of Interim | 9 July 2024 | 5th | Jamie McAllister | 15 July 2024 |
| Albirex Niigata (S) | Kazuaki Yoshinaga | Mutual Consent | 13 July 2024 | 8th | Keiji Shigetomi | 13 July 2024 |
| Tanjong Pagar United | Hasrin Jailani | Re-designated as Technical Director | 31 August 2024 | 9th | Hyrizan Jufri (interim) | 1 September 2024 |
| Tanjong Pagar United | Hyrizan Jufri (interim) | End of Interim | 23 November 2024 | 9th | Noh Alam Shah (interim) | 2 December 2024 |
| Hougang United | Marko Kraljević | Redesignated as Head of Youth Development | 24 December 2024 | 7th | Robert Eziakor (interim) | 24 December 2024 |
| Young Lions | Nazri Nasir | Overseas attachment | 16 January 2025 | 8th | Fadzuhasny Juraimi (interim) | 16 January 2025 |

### Foreign players

Each club can now register a maximum of nine foreign players, including representation from an AFC member association and three players under the age of 21 at the point of registration. A player who is initially registered as an under-21 player will remain classified as such for subsequent seasons, regardless of whether they turn 21 years old, until the rules changes.
Teams can also register up to 8 Foreign Players who are 21 years or younger, at the point of registration for the U21 league. These players are eligible for the SPL.
* Players name in bold indicates the players were registered during the mid-season transfer window.
* Players name in italics indicates the player were out of squad or left their respective clubs during the mid-season transfer window.
| Club | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 | Player 4 | Player 5 | AFC Player | U21 Player 1 | U21 Player 2 | U21 Player 3 | Former players Unregistered players |
| Albirex Niigata (S) | Shuhei Hoshino | Koki Kawachi | SteviaEgbus Mikuni | Yohei Otake | | Naoki Yoshioka | Nozomi Ozawa | Shingo Nakano | Taiki Maeda | Yojiro Takahagi Kai Yamamoto Arya Igami Tarhani |
| Balestier Khalsa | Anton Fase | Alen Kozar | Riku Fukashiro | Masahiro Sugita | | Kodai Tanaka | Cher Deng | Reycredo Beremanda | Hồ Tùng Hân | Ismaïl Sassi |
| BG Tampines Rovers | Miloš Zlatković | Itsuki Enomoto | Seia Kunori | Shuya Yamashita | | Dylan Fox | Arya Igami Tarhani | Nanthiphat Chaiman | Witthawat Phraothaisong | Kyoga Nakamura ^1 Boris Kopitović Thitipat Ekarunpong Thanet Suknate |
| DPMM | Damir Muminovic | Dāvis Ikaunieks | Kristijan Naumovski | Miguel Oliveira | | Farshad Noor | Gabriel Gama | | | Patrick Flottmann Julio Cruz |
| Geylang International | Vincent Bezecourt | Rio Sakuma | Ryoya Taniguchi | Takahiro Tezuka | | Tomoyuki Doi | Keito Hariya | | | Zach Whitehouse Sora Tanaka |
| Hougang United | Daniel Alemão | Stjepan Plazonja | Dejan Račić | Jovan Mugosa | | Shodai Yokoyama | Ismail Salihović | Parinya Kaochukiat | Ratthathammanun Deeying | Petar Banović Faris Hasić Ensar Brunčević Puttipat Kaewsawad Kristijan Krajček |
| Lion City Sailors | Maxime Lestienne | Toni Datković | Lennart Thy | Bart Ramselaar | Rui Pires | Bailey Wright | Sergio Carmona | Diogo Costa | Ali Alrina | Richairo Živković Obren Kljajic |
| Tanjong Pagar United | Matt Silva | Salif Cissé | Shodai Nishikawa | Tomoki Wada | | Timur Talipov | Zenivio | | | Pathy Malumandsoko Stefan Paunović |
| Young Lions | Jun Kobayashi | Kan Kobayashi | | | | Kaisei Ogawa | | | | Itsuki Enomoto Rashid Hayek |
^1 Kyoga Nakamura was granted Singaporean citizenship on 25 October 2024.

## Results
### 2024 SPL Interim Tournament

The interim pre-season tournament, a one-off tournament, to tide over this season was commenced from 23 February to 21 April 2024.
| Home \ Away | ALB | BAL | TAM | GEY | HOU | LCS | TPU | YLI |
| Albirex Niigata (S) | | 3–7 | | 3–0 | | 3–1 | | |
| Balestier Khalsa | | | | | | | 4–1 | 1–1 |
| BG Tampines Rovers | 7–1 | 3–3 | | | | | | 4–1 |
| Geylang International | | | | | 0–3 | 0–1 | 3–1 | |
| Hougang United | | | 0–3 | | | | 1–0 | |
| Lion City Sailors | | 1–3 | 1–13 | | 0–3 | | | |
| Tanjong Pagar United | 4–0 | | | | | | | 1–5 |
| Young Lions | | | | 5–2 | 3–2 | | | |

### League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Lion City Sailors | 24 | 18 | 4 | 2 | 80 | 27 | +53 | 58 | Qualification for Champions League Two group stage |
| 2 | BG Tampines Rovers | 25 | 15 | 6 | 4 | 72 | 32 | +40 | 51 | Qualification for Champions League Two playoff |
| 3 | Geylang International | 25 | 12 | 8 | 5 | 82 | 45 | +37 | 44 | |
| 4 | Albirex Niigata (S) | 25 | 11 | 2 | 12 | 44 | 60 | −16 | 35 | |
| 5 | Balestier Khalsa | 25 | 9 | 5 | 11 | 67 | 70 | −3 | 32 | |
| 6 | Hougang United | 25 | 6 | 9 | 10 | 49 | 58 | −9 | 27 | |
| 7 | DPMM | 25 | 6 | 7 | 12 | 37 | 53 | −16 | 25 | Ineligible for AFC competition spots |
| 8 | Young Lions | 24 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 39 | 65 | −26 | 24 | Ineligible for AFC competition spots |
| 9 | Tanjong Pagar United | 24 | 3 | 3 | 18 | 25 | 85 | −60 | 12 | |
* 1 2 Two clubs – DPMM FC and the FAS under-23 team Young Lions, are ineligible for any AFC competition spots.

### Fixtures and results

| Teams | ALB | BAL | BGT | DPM | GEY | HOU | LCS | TPU | YLI | ALB | BAL | BGT | DPM | GEY | HOU | LCS | TPU | YLI |
| Albirex Niigata (S) | | 7–2 | 2–4 | 1–4 | 0–6 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 4–1 | 2–1 | | 4–0 | 0–4 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 2–1 | | | |
| Balestier Khalsa | 2–3 | | 2–4 | 4–2 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 2–4 | 5–2 | 3–2 | | | 2–2 | | 1–4 | 2–1 | 1–5 | | 2–3 |
| BG Tampines Rovers | 3–1 | 3–1 | | 3–0 | 2–2 | 5–1 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 2–3 | | | 1–0 | | 2–4 | | 5–0 | |
| Brunei DPMM | 0–0 | 2–2 | 3–2 | | 3–3 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–3 | | 2–3 | | | 0–2 | | 2–4 | | 0–3 |
| Geylang International | 5–1 | 4–4 | 4–4 | 2–4 | | 0–1 | 1–1 | 5–3 | 7–1 | | 3–4 | 0–3 | | | | 1–2 | 5–0 | 4–0 |
| Hougang United | 1–0 | 3–3 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2–6 | | 1–4 | 5–1 | 2–2 | | 3–1 | | | 2–3 | | 1–1 | 6–0 | 2–2 |
| Lion City Sailors | 7–1 | 3–1 | 0–5 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 7–1 | | 3–0 | 3–1 | 6–0 | | 1–0 | | | 3–1 | | 4–1 | |
| Tanjong Pagar United | 2–1 | 0–5 | 0–3 | 3–2 | 2–7 | 1–1 | 0–6 | | 1–3 | 1–2 | 0–5 | | 3–0 | | | | | |
| Young Lions | 3–2 | 2–7 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 4–4 | 0–6 | 3–2 | | 0–1 | | 1–5 | 1–1 | | | | 1–1 | |