7 DECEMBER 2020 CONTENTS Foreword by FAS President 2 Message by AIA Singapore 3 AIA Singapore Premier League 4 Singapore Premier League Team of the Year Nominees 5 Award Nominees 6 Special Recognition Awards 7-9 Singapore Football League and Women's leagues 10-11 Partners & Sponsors 12 FOREWORD BY FAS PRESIDENT Mr Lim Kia Tong This year marks the fourth year of our annual FAS Singapore Premier League was allowed to take place. The Awards Night, where we come together to celebrate successful resumption of the league on 17 October 2020 the best that Singapore football has to offer from the must definitely be attributed to everyone involved; from the professional level to the amateur and grassroots ranks officials, administrators, players, coaches and even the fans. as well as across the gender and age groups. From the early days of Zoom training sessions to small-group However, it has also been a challenging year for many trainings, and then gradually to full resumption of the league of us on different fronts. The widespread COVID-19 matches, everyone involved has done their part in ensuring pandemic has hit the world hard, and for many, life as that things go according to plan. I am heartened to say that we had known it to be, has changed drastically. For all clubs had showed full cooperation even when swab tests others, their livelihoods have been adversely affected. had to be conducted regularly, and that was what Yet, it is during such times that the power of the human contributed to a safe return to football for us. spirit is most evident as we find the strength to move past this pandemic, something which has been aptly With this success, government bodies then allowed FAS to demonstrated within the football fraternity. welcome fans back into the stadium for the final league game. A maximum of 200 fans were allowed into the Although there have been major disruptions to our stadium and tickets were sold out by the second day of sale. professional and amateur leagues, the football This has shown us just how supportive local football fans are fraternity as a whole, did not wither under these and the bustling stadium atmosphere was tantamount to just circumstances but instead, banded together to come out how important the 12th man is to the team and to the sport stronger, which was heartening to see. in general. When we were forced to halt all sporting activities and On this front, I would like to convey my heartiest suspend our leagues during the Circuit Breaker back in congratulations to Albirex Niigata FC (S) for winning the March 2020, it was encouraging to see how positively 2020 AIA Singapore Premier League title. In a year where we responded to a global crisis of this scale. Work did the title race went right down to the wire, Albirex persevered not stop; activities and events continued to be churned and showed us how consistency pays dividends in football. out despite a lack of footballing action. Training sessions were taken online via the Zoom platform, and As an eventful 2020 draws to a close, we would also like to the Singapore Premier League resumed in a commemorate 25 years of professional football in Singapore non-physical form that was our very first eSPL – our theme for this Awards Night. Tonight, in addition to tournament, represented by players from each SPL recognising outstanding players and clubs, we pay homage club. Their skills on the pitch were transferred to the to individuals who have made significant contributions to virtual arena via the video game eFootball Pro Singapore football. Evolution Soccer (eFootball PES) 2020, and after two weeks of competition, Tampines Rovers emerged This includes special recognition awards given out to players victorious, represented by young players Joel Chew such as National Team Captain Hariss Harun and Tampines and Haziq Mikhail. Rovers FCʼs Jordan Webb for their sustained excellent performances over the years. Hariss has done exceptionably Although the Circuit Breaker measures were gradually well for club and country, earning his 100th cap in the eased, it is extremely unfortunate that our Singapore international friendly against Qatar in November 2019. Football Leagues (SFL), Island Wide League and Jordan has a prolific scoring record in the SPL and he joins Womenʼs Football Leagues, as well as the Centre of an elite select few who have reached a century of goals in Excellence (COE) Leagues were unable to kickstart due the League when he scored in the game against Young Lions to government restrictions. However, we want to assure earlier in November this year. our friends from the amateur leagues that they remain every bit as vital to us as the mainstays of Singaporeʼs As we embark on our journey with greater aspirations for the community and grassroots football ecosystem that is future especially towards Goal 2034 and beyond, we would especially crucial leading up to our future national like to emphasise that every individual has a part to play in goals. It has always been our stand that these leagues the footballing success of a nation. provide the platform for amateur footballers to develop their passion and talent for the sport, whilst creating a Finally, I would like to extend my gratitude to our sponsor vibrancy to playing football. AIA during a turbulent year where they have continued showing us their full support. I would also like to thank our After a lengthy pause to our Singapore Premier League long time existing sponsors and partners, Nike, Polar Mineral season, the tournament finally resumed in October this Water, Warrix, Mitre, as well as Sport Singapore and year. As a result, we became the first local sport to Singapore Pools for their continuous support as we embark resume activity since the end of Circuit Breaker. In a on a journey towards Goal 2034. year whereby most sports ground to a halt and international competitions were either postponed or cancelled, we are grateful that the restart of our 2 MESSAGE BY AIA SINGAPORE Ms Wong Sze Keed Chief Executive Officer First and foremost, congratulations for the successful completion of this yearʼs AIA Singapore Premier League (SPL) in this extraordinary year. As we celebrate another year together, we would like to specially commend the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) for making great strides in bringing football closer to the community including making matches accessible LIVE on television on both Singtel and StarHub. At AIA Singapore, we are strong supporters and advocates of local football, and we are especially heartened by the commitment that all of you have shown to the beautiful game; from continuing to train independently amid Circuit-breaker, to playing your best without fans in the stands, and remaining steadfast in working towards Singaporeʼs Goal 2034 ambition of qualifying for the World Cup. To achieve the Goal 2034 ambition, we have to do it together as a nation. AIA Singapore will continue to actively support this mission to develop local football through our global partnerships including with David Beckham, Tottenham Hotspur F.C. as well as our numerous other health and wellness initiatives. Sports brings people and our spirits together, and, arguably, no sport does this more so than football in Singapore. In fact, our collaborations on the #EmbracingNewNorms social media campaign to promote healthy living while staying/working from home, and the #SharetheLove initiative to support essential workers is testament to our ability to jointly drive change no matter big or small. Tonight, let us come together not just to celebrate outstanding performances and sportsmanship, but to toast the bright future of Singapore football. Together, we can and we will! 3 AIA SINGAPORE PREMIER LEAGUE IN BRIEF TEAM GD PTS It was a season to remember for Albirex Niigata FC (S) ALBIREX NIIGATA (S) 18 32 as they claimed their fourth league title in five years on TAMPINES ROVERS 16 29 the final day of the season. Tomoyuki Doi was their star LION CITY SAILORS 26 27 man with 11 goals, while Kei Okawa kept a league-best GEYLANG INT’L - 4 20 eight clean sheets as the likes of Hiroyoshi Kamata, Ryoya Taniguchi and Ryosuke Nagasawa formed an BALESTIER KHALSA - 6 19 able supporting cast. The Japanese side traded top spot HOUGANG UNITED - 5 15 with Tampines Rovers FC in the final weeks but held their YOUNG LIONS - 26 9 nerve to lift the trophy in Keiji Shigetomi's second season TANJONG PAGAR - 19 5 in charge. TOP SCORERS CLEAN SHEETS STIPE PLAZIBAT 14 KEI OKAWA 8 TOMOYUKI DOI 11 SYAZWAN BUHARI 6 SONG UIYOUNG 9 HASSAN SUNNY 4 BORIS KOPITOVIC 9 4 SINGAPORE PREMIER LEAGUE TEAM OF THE YEAR NOMINEES 1 GOALKEEPER 2 DEFENDERS KEI OKAWA KAZUKI HASHIOKA ZAIFUL NIZAM KOTARO TAKEDA SYAZWAN BUHARI RIO SAKUMA KENJI RUSYDI ENSAR BRUNCEVIC HARITH KANADI YUKI ICHIKAWA 3 MIDFIELDERS ZACHARY ANDERSON KRISTIJAN KRAJCEK ABDIL QAIYYIM BARRY MAGUIRE KAISHU YAMAZAKI FARHAN ZULKIFLI TAJELI SALAMAT GABRIEL QUAK DANIEL BENNETT SAIFULLAH AKBAR MADHU MOHANA SONG UIYOUNG JORDAN WEBB 4 FORWARDS KYOGA NAKAMURA SHAH SHAHIRAN REO NISHIGUCHI ZEHRUDIN MEHMEDOVIC TOMOYUKI DOI JACOB MAHLER SHAWAL ANUAR NUR ADAM ABDULLAH STIPE PLAZIBAT BORIS KOPITOVIC LUIZ JUNIOR 2 3 DEFENDER MIDFIELDER 2 3 4 DEFENDER MIDFIELDER FORWARD 1 GOALKEEPER 2 3 4 DEFENDER MIDFIELDER FORWARD 2 3 DEFENDER MIDFIELDER 5 AWARD NOMINEES SINGAPORE PREMIER LEAGUE AIA PLAYER OF THE YEAR AIA TOP SCORER GABRIEL QUAK, LION CITY SAILORS FC STIPE PLAZIBAT, LION CITY SAILORS FC STIPE PLAZIBAT, LION CITY SAILORS FC TOMOYUKI DOI, ALBIREX NIIGATA FC (S) POLAR FAIR PLAY AIA YOUNG PLAYER ALBIREX NIIGATA