 season this year will begin on 25 February 2022 and it has been announced that clubs will play more){kind=link}
The coming Singapore Premier League (SPL) season this year will begin on 25 February 2022 and it has been announced that clubs will play more matches this season.
There will be eight clubs in total and each of the clubs will play 28 games each during the duration of the season.
This was announced by the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) today (25 January).
Change of format
Clubs will now be playing more games due to the league changing its format, from a triple round robin format to now at quadruple round robin format.
This means that teams will play against each other at Home twice and Away twice.
The change of format will mean that the season will end around mid-October,.
Promote higher level of competition
The increase in the amount of games is a decision made by the FAS to bring a higher level of competition to the players and to let them have more opportunities to hone their skills as they will have more playing time on the field.
With the increase in the amount of games, clubs will now be able to register up to 20 players per game in the season, with up to nine players on the substitutes bench from the previous seven, and clubs will now be able to make up to five substitutions per game instead of the usual three.
Professional football in Singapore to start on 19 February
The first game of the local season will start on 19 Feb between defending champions Lion City Sailors and Albirex Niigata.
This would be a Community Shield Game, which is typically a curtain-raiser game for the upcoming season.
The Community Shield Game has been postponed twice in the previous two years due to the pandemic and will finally return this year for the 14th time.
The Singapore Cup will also return on 25 Oct which will bring the number of matches to be played in local professional football this year to more than 120.
Limit on Spectators per game
Spectators per game will still be limited to 1,000 people, which is the same as the previous season.
To gain entry to the stadium, fans will be required to show their proof of vaccination at the venues.
For more information on the SPL games, you can check out the SPL website here.
Image source: AIA Singapore Premier League/Facebook