News Singapore Premier League • October 21, 2022
2022 AIA Singapore Premier League season concludes
Albirex Niigata (S) lift the AIA Singapore Premier League trophy, 21 October 2022
SINGAPORE, 21 OCTOBER 2022 – Albirex Niigata (S) hoisted the AIA Singapore Premier League (SPL) trophy aloft tonight in triumph as the curtain came down on the 2022 league season.
The Japanese side had sealed their fifth league title two weeks ago with two matches left and captain Jun Kobayashi had the honour of receiving the trophy from Football Association of Singapore (FAS) Acting President, Mr Bernard Tan, at Our Tampines Hub after their 1-1 draw with Geylang International. The achievement also earned the White Swans S$150,000 in prize money.
The result also meant that Geylang International secured fourth spot on the final day as they finished on 39 points to pip Hougang United on goal difference. It is the Eagles’ best finish since 2020 – also fourth – and they received S$20,000 in prize money.
In the other match of the night, the Lion City Sailors finished second on 57 points – two behind Albirex Niigata – after beating the Young Lions 2-1 at the Jalan Besar Stadium. They collected S$80,000 in prize money and as the highest-ranked local team in the league, have sealed a spot in the qualifying play-offs of the East Region for next season’s Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League, pending official confirmation by the AFC.
A day earlier, Tampines Rovers edged Tanjong Pagar United in a 4-3 thriller to end their campaign in third place with 50 points, which netted them S$40,000 in prize money. The latter finished sixth with 37 points, behind fifth-placed Hougang United (39 points) and ahead of Balestier Khalsa (seventh, 24 points) and the Young Lions (eighth, eight points). All fixtures, results and standings can be found at www.spl.sg.
Tampines striker Boris Kopitović struck 35 goals to finish as the league’s Top Scorer, two more than nearest rival Kodai Tanaka of Albirex. Sailors attacker Maxime Lestienne registered a league-high 23 assists, while Geylang goalkeeper Zaiful Nizam kept nine clean sheets to win the Golden Glove.
All eight SPL teams will next be in action in the 2022 Singapore Cup, which commences its first round of group-stage matches on 27 October.
