The Singapore football league system consists of domestic association football leagues in Singapore, organised primarily by the Football Association of Singapore (FAS).
The top tier is the Singapore Premier League (SPL), formerly known as the S.League, introduced in 1996 to replace the semi-professional FAS Premier League. It is the first professional football tournament in Singapore.
The Singapore Football League (SFL), first formed in 1975 as the National Football League, constitute the second and third tiers. The Island Wide League (IWL), is the fourth tier.
The Singapore Premier League 2 (SPL2) is the reserve league for SPL clubs. Between 1997 and 2018, reserve and youth players of the top flight clubs played in the Prime League.
The SPL, SFL, IWL and SPL2 are all organised by the FAS.
Outside the FAS leagues, the most competitive are the high level amateur tournaments known as the Cosmopolitan Football League, or the Cosmoleague, and the Equatorial Football League, locally known as the EFL. These leagues consist of mainly expat players and its members are known to have beaten the SFL and IWL clubs in pre-season friendlies. However, clubs from these leagues do not gain entry to SFL or IWL as the leagues are not organised by the FAS.
For the 2026-27 season, the CosmoLeague has been incorporated into the Equatorial Football League.
The Women's Premier League (WPL), the top-flight for women's football league in Singapore, was formed by the FAS in 2000. Below the WPL is the Women's National League.
On 6 February 2024, the Singapore Youth League (SYL) was officially launched.
History
The FAS (then known as the Singapore Football Association) commenced a league tournament in 1904.History of Singapore Football . Fas.org.sg. Retrieved 15 August 2011. With the exception of 1906 and the interruption of World War I, the league was played every year until the fall of Singapore to Japan in 1942, during World War II. The league resumed after the war, in 1947.
An inter-business competition, first started in 1927, was renamed the Singapore Business Houses Football League (SBHFL) in 1937.
By 1974, the FAS League had become unwieldy, with 118 teams playing in a loose three-tier hierarchy.
In 1975, the FAS introduced the National Football League (NFL), with 10 top teams in Division 1, and a further 20 teams split between Divisions 2 and 3.
In the 1980s, with the top Singaporean players playing for the Singapore FA or other teams in the Malaysian Semi-Pro Football League and the Malaysia Cup, interest in the domestic league in Singapore dwindled. In an attempt to invigorate the domestic league, the FAS formed the semi-professional FAS Premier League in 1988. The NFL continued as an amateur league below the FAS Premier League. In 1994, two Australian teams played in the FAS Premier League.
After the FAS Premier League was formed in 1988 as the top level of Singapore league football above the NFL, SBHFL teams declined promotion to the FAS Premier League.
In the years following the formation of the NFL in 1975, and the FAS Premier League in 1988, the SBHFL lost much of its previous lustre. A rule change in 1994 preventing players from playing for different teams in different leagues over the same period of time also led to the further decline of the SBHFL.
In 1996, after the FAS withdrew the Singapore FA from the Malaysia Cup in 1995, the FAS formed the fully professional S. League to replace the FAS Premier League. Invited foreign teams became a regular feature of the S. League.
In 2018, the S. League was rebranded as the Singapore Premier League. For the 2026-27 season, the remaining team in the SPL with foreign roots, Albirex Niigata Singapore, became localised as FC Jurong.
The Women's Premier League (WPL), the top-flight for women's football league in Singapore, was formed by the FAS in 2000.
As the leagues organised by the FAS over the years have had as one of their objectives the raising of the standard of football in Singapore, and of the Singapore national team, there have been restrictions on the number of foreign players any club can register or field.
The Cosmopolitan Football League (commonly known as the Cosmo League) was formed in 1975 (the same year that the FAS inaugurated the NFL), to cater for Singapore's growing expat population.
Current system
FAS Leagues
Men's leagues
LevelLeague(s)/division(s)Professional Leagues1Singapore Premier LeagueSPLno relegation Singapore Premier League 2 (Reserve League)SPL2no relegationFootball Association of Singapore (FAS) Leagues2Singapore Football League Division 1SFL Division 18 clubsno promotion↓ relegate 23Singapore Football League Division 2SFL Division 210 clubs↑ promote 2↓ relegate 24Singapore Island Wide LeagueIWL21 clubs↑ promote 2no relegation
Women's leagues
TierWomen football leagues1 Women's Premier League2 Women's National League
Other leagues
LevelLeague(s)/division(s)Non-FAS Affiliate Leagues≈3–4 (previously ≈2)Cosmopolitan Football League (defunct)Cosmoleague10 clubsno promotionno relegation≈4Equatorial Football League CosmoEFL Cosmono promotionno relegation≈5Equatorial Football League PremiershipEFL Premiership Division12 clubsno promotion↓ relegate 2≈6Equatorial Football League ChampionshipEFL Championship DivisionEFL Division 1 formerlyEFL Sunday League formerly12 clubs↑ promote 2↓ relegate 2≈7Equatorial Football League OneEFL League One12 clubs↑ promote 2no relegation≈5United Asian Football LeagueUAFLno promotionno relegation≈6Amateur Football Association Community LeagueAFA Community League no promotionno relegation
Former leagues
National leagues
TierNameYears1 SFA League1904 to 19281 Singapore Business Houses Football League Division 11927 to 19991 SAFA League Division 11929 to 19651 FAS League Division 11966 to 19741 National Football League Division 11975 to 1987
Public sector related leagues
LevelLeague(s)/division(s)≈5X.League Division 1 Singapore Government Services Football League Division 1≈6X.League Division 2 Singapore Government Services Football League Division 2≈7X.League Division 3 Singapore Government Services Football League Division 3Public Sector Developmental Leagues≈8SportCares Hearts Football League Division 1≈9SportCares Hearts Football League Division 2
Youth leagues
TierYouth football leagues1 Centre of Excellence U19 Developmental League2 Centre of Excellence U16 Developmental League Tier 13 Centre of Excellence U16 Developmental League Tier 2
Past structure Tier Singapore National Leagues 1 S.League 2 FAS National Football League Division 1 3 FAS National Football League Division 2 4 FAS National Football League Division 3 5 FAS National Island Wide League
Tier Youth's Football Leagues 1 Prime League 2 Centre of Excellence Developmental Leagues
See also Singapore Cup Singapore FA Cup Singapore Community Shield Football in Singapore
References