Singapore Football League

History

The history of the National Football League (NFL) can be traced back to the earliest 20th century during British colonial rule, whereby the Singapore Amateur Football Association (SAFA) was formed in year of 1892. SAFA was responsible for organising the top-tier football leagues in Singapore with NFL as the top-tier football league from early 20th century. It was previously made up of Division 1, Division 2 and Division 3, with the bottom team of Division 3 being relegated to the FAS Island Wide League. In 1975, the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) revamped the existing league structure involving 118 teams into a two-tier league system.

For the 1987 season, the teams play each other once in a league format. The top eight placed teams in the league progressed to a knock-out stage to determine the champions. League stage winners Tiong Bahru defeated 4th-placed Tampines Rovers 2–1 in the final to clinch the championship. The top tier of the football league system was replaced by the FAS Premier League between 1988 and 1995.

In 1996, FAS created the S.League, a professional league, which was again revamped to the Singapore Premier League (SPL) in 2018. Since then, the NFL made up provisional tiers 2 and 3, behind the professional SPL, with rules of promotion and relegation applied for teams in NFL Division One and NFL Division Two but not into the SPL. Teams play two-round league home-away format. League features promotions and relegations for all the teams in both divisions, where the top two teams of a division will be promoted to the upper division, and the last two relegated to the lower division.

In 2020, the NFL was renamed as the Singapore Football League (SFL). Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the first season of the revamped SFL was delayed to 2022.

Division one clubs as of 2025

Main article: 2025 Singapore Football League

• Jungfrau Punggol
• Katong FC
• Police SA
• Project Vaults Oxley SC
• Singapore Cricket Club
• Singapore Khalsa Association
• Tengah
• Yishun Sentek Mariners

Division 2 clubs as of 2025

Main article: 2025 Singapore Football League

• Admiralty CSN
• Bishan Barx
• GDT Circuit (Pink Roses)
• GFA Victoria FC (formerly GFA Sporting Westlake)
• Kaki Bukit SC
• South Avenue SC
• Starlight Soccerites
• Tiong Bahru
• Westwood El'Junior (EJC Westwood)
• Warwick Knights

Active Island Wide League clubs* as of 2025

Main article: 2025 Island Wide League

• Admiralty City* (est. 2025)
• Ayer Rajah Gryphons
• Bedok South Avenue SC
• Bukit Timah FC (formerly Bukit Timah Juniors)(The Northern Stallions)
• Commonwealth Cosmos
• East Dragon FC*
• Eastern Thunder (formerly Admiralty)
• Geylang Serai
• Gymkhana
• Mattar Sailors
• Pasirian Lions (Viva Lions)
• Sembawang City* (est. 2024) (The Otters)
• Simei United (The Sabres)
• Singapore Xin Hua
• Tanah Merah United (The Oryx)
• Tessensohn Khalsa Rovers
• Verde Cresta Combined SC
• Winchester Isla
• Woodlands Lions*
• Woodlands Rangers
• Yishun (The Northern Pride)

Former clubs

• Siglap
• Admiralty Rangers
• Boon Keng SRC
• Woodlands United
• Woodlands Warriors
• Marsiling Causeway Bay (The Wildcats) (2022–2023)
• Prison SRC (2018–2023)
• Balestier United RC (-2024)
• East Coast United (-2024)
• Eunos Crescent (-2024)
• Jungfrau Punggol 'B' (2024)
• Sembawang Park Rangers (formerly GFA Victoria) (2022–2024)
• Singapore Recreational Club (2024)

Past champions

NFL Division 1

NFL Division 2

NFL Division 3

Island Wide League

Champions

Titles by club

Stadium

Vacant stadiums used

• Bedok Stadium
• Bukit Gombak Stadium
• Choa Chu Kang Stadium
• Clementi Stadium
• Woodlands Stadium
• Yishun Stadium

Current Singapore Premier League clubs stadium used

• Hougang Stadium
• Jalan Besar Stadium
• Toa Payoh Stadium

References

References

1. "National Football League". Football Association of Singapore.
2. "Singapore's very own National Football League".
3. Dorai, Joe. (7 February 1975). "'Super' league will bring soccer to doorstep". [[The Straits Times]].
4. Dorai, Joe. (3 January 1987). "Doorstep, rather than lip, service". [[The Straits Times]].
5. Dorai, Joe. (24 February 1987). "Bedok now made a top venue". [[The Straits Times]].
6. Siow, Peter. (26 March 1987). "Tiong Bahru rule in rugged final". [[The Straits Times]].
7. "Singapore - List of Champions".
8. Ilmi, Zahin. (2022-06-02). "Singapore Football League to kick off on Jun 4, 1st edition under new name".
9. "JungfrauPunggolFC (@jungfraupunggolfootballclub) • Instagram photos and videos".
10. "Katong FC (@katongfc) • Instagram photos and videos".
11. "Police Sports Association (@policesportsassociation) • Instagram photos and videos".
12. "ProjectVaultsOxleySportsClub (@pvosc) • Instagram photos and videos".
13. "SCC SFL (@sccsfl) • Instagram photos and videos".
14. "SingaporeKhalsaFootball (@skafootball) • Instagram photos and videos".
15. "Yishun Sentek Mariners FC (@yishunsentekmarinersfc) • Instagram photos and videos".
16. "Admiralty CSN (@admiralty_csn) • Instagram photos and videos".
17. "(@bishanbarxfc) {{!}} Instagram".
18. (27 Mar 2025). "Societies Act 1966 and Societies Regulations - Change of name approved".
19. "GFA Singapore (since 2005) (@globalfootballacademysg) • Instagram photos and videos".
20. "South Avenue SC (@southavenuesc) • Instagram photos and videos".
21. "Starlight Soccerites Football Club (@starlight_socceritesfc) • Instagram photos and videos".
22. "Tiong Bahru FC (@tiongbahrufc) • Instagram photos and videos".
23. "Warwick Knights (@warwick_knights) • Instagram photos and videos".
24. (27 Mar 2025). "Societies Act 1966 - Registered".
25. "FAS Annual Report (April 2023 – March 2024)".
26. "Mattar Sailors FC (@mattarsailorsfc) • Instagram photos and videos".
27. "Club Announcement: Yishun FC will not participate in 2024 IWL".