2018 Singapore Premier League
The 2018 Singapore Premier League (also known as the Great Eastern Hyundai Singapore Premier League due to sponsorship reasons) was the inaugural season of the Singapore Premier League, the top-flight Singaporean professional league for association football clubs. The season began on 31 March 2018, and concluded on 3 October 2018. Albirex Niigata (S) won the league and successfully defended their title. Each team will receive $888,200 if they meet key performance indicators that will be made known to them before the March 31 kick-off. This represents a "19 per cent reduction from the  2017 season", but funding for the league has been secured for the next five years. It is the league's first season after rebranding from the S.League to the Singapore Premier League. A major overhaul from the new FAS management is being made from this season onwards to improve the standard of Singapore football. An emphasis on youth development from the ground up is underway. Rules. The following key changes are being made to the rules for the 2018 season: 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. Personnel and sponsors. Note: 1) ANA Courier Express is Tampines Rovers's Singapore Cup jersey sponsor only 2) Hougang United had a partnership with Assisi Hospice via its donation drive. Assisi Hospice will be published on the jersey Foreigners. The foreign player quota  for clubs will be reduced from three to two. In addition, Albirex was reported to have declared their intention to have Singapore players in their squad for 2018 and is understood that a proposal is being put together for Albirex to take in local players and they will be allowed to sign two Singaporean U-23 players. Only DPMM are allowed to sign up to three foreigners. Players name in bold indicates the player was registered during the mid-season transfer window. League table. <onlyinclude></onlyinclude>