Singapore Premier League • February 27, 2020

SPL 2020 Club Guide: Hougang United

27 FEBRUARY 2020 – Ahead of the 2020 AIA Singapore Premier League (SPL) season, we take a look at each of the nine clubs that are participating in the 25^th season of the domestic top flight. Today’s focus is on Hougang United!

Seasons: 21
Nickname: The Cheetahs
Stadium: Hougang Stadium
Highest finish: 3^rd (2019)
2019 finish: 3^rd
Chairman: Bill Ng
Head coach: Clement Teo
Captain: Khairulhin Khalid
Foreigners: Zachary Anderson (Australia), Charlie Machell (England), Stipe Plazibat (Croatia)

History was made last season for Hougang, who automatically qualified for the group stage of the AFC Cup 2020 for the first time in club history after their best ever league finish of third. Despite losing star winger Faris Ramli, skipper Zulfahmi Arifin, Afiq Yunos and Iqbal Hussain, they remain bullish in their quest for Singapore Premier League success. They have recruited forwards Shawal Anuar and Sahil Suhaimi in the hopes of forming a formidable trident together with Stipe Plazibat up front. Other new players include Zachary Anderson, a 1.91m centre-back to be slotted in the squad to shore up their defence. Their ability to juggle continental commitments with league duties will determine their success in both.

Squad(as at time of publication)
Goalkeepers: Heng How Meng*, Ridhuan Barudin, Khairulhin Khalid
Defenders: Anders Aplin, Hafiz Abu Sujad, Nazrul Nazari, Alif Iskandar*, Jordan Vestering*, Faiz Salleh, Zachary Anderson
Midfielders: Afiq Noor, Anumanthan Kumar, Fabian Kwok, Justin Hui*, Muhaimin Suhaimi, Nikesh Singh*, Mahathir Azeman, Farhan Zulkifli*, Charles Machell
Forwards: Shahfiq Ghani, Stipe Plazibat, Shawal Anuar, Sahil Suhaimi, Daniel Martens*

*Local SPL clubs are required to have a minimum of six local U-23 players for a squad size of 19 to 25 players; this increases to seven (squad size 26), eight (27) and nine (28).

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