Singapore Premier League • February 18, 2020

SPL 2020 Club Guide: Tampines Rovers

18 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 Tampines Rovers!

Seasons: 25
Nickname: The Stags
Stadium: Our Tampines Hub
Highest finish: 1^st (2004, 2005, 2011, 2012, 2013)
2019 finish: 2^nd
Chairman: Desmond Ong
Head coach: Gavin Lee (1st season)
Captain: Yasir Hanapi
Foreigners: Kyoga Nakamura (Japan), Jordan Webb (Canada), Boris Kopitovic (Montenegro), Zehrudin Mehmedović* (Serbia)

While they will perhaps be disappointed not to have pushed Brunei DPMM harder in the title race last season, there was still a first piece of silverware since 2014 for Tampines as they lifted the Singapore Cup. Gavin Lee is set to take charge of his first full season as head coach and has recruited the playmaker Kyoga Nakamura, one of 2019’s standout players, to fill the void left by Shahdan Sulaiman. He will be complemented by the technically gifted Zehrudin Mehmedović while upfront, the Stags have a targetman in new signing Boris Kopitovic, who has scored in each of his first three competitive matches. Daniel Bennett will play a record 22^nd league season and youngsters like Shah Shahiran, Joel Chew and Syahrul Sazali will aim to step up to the next level.

Squad(as at time of publication)
Goalkeepers: Syazwan Buhari, Zulfairuuz Rudy
Defenders: Shannon Stephen, Ryaan Sanizal^, Amirul Adli, Madhu Mohana, Daniel Bennett, Irwan Shah, Fathullah Rahmat^, Hamizan Hisham^, Syahrul Sazali^, Andrew Aw^
Midfielders: Safirul Sulaiman, Huzaifah Aziz, Yasir Hanapi, Shah Shahiran^, Kyoga Nakamura, Joel Chew^, Zehrudin Mehmedović, Haziq Mikhail^
Forwards: Jordan Webb, Boris Kopitovic, Taufik Suparno, Hairil Shahrol^, Shagir Firaf^

*Local SPL clubs are allowed to sign up to four foreign players; one must be below 21 years of age if a club chooses to sign four. For Tampines, Mehmedović is Under-21.
^ 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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