Geylang International FC’s women’s team set to make their debut while two clubs will make a comeback to the league this season
SINGAPORE, 2023, MARCH 02 – The Football Association of Singapore (FAS) has announced today that the Deloitte Women’s Premier League (WPL) will return this month with 10 teams – a significant jump from seven teams in the previous season. Two clubs will be returning to the scene – Tampines Rovers FC, who last played in 2016, and the 2022 Women’s National League (WNL) champions Police Sports Association, who last played in 2018.
Geylang International FC’s women’s team will also be making a historic debut this season, joining the likes of Lion City Sailors FC, Tanjong Pagar United FC, Hougang United FC, Balestier Khalsa FC and Albirex Niigata FC (Singapore) as Singapore Premier League clubs that have incorporated a senior women’s team within their set up. Established women’s clubs Still Aerion Women’s FC and Tiong Bahru FC, round up the stellar line-up this season.
The 22nd season of the top-flight domestic women’s competition will commence on Saturday, 18 March 2023, with a triple-header of matches: 2022 WPL runner-up Albirex Niigata (S) will meet Tiong Bahru at 5pm, whilst Geylang International will play against Tampines Rovers at 7.30pm, both of which will be held at Choa Chu Kang Stadium. Moving over to the north side, Balestier Khalsa will battle against Tanjong Pagar United at Yishun Stadium at 5pm.
On Sunday, Hougang United squares off against Still Aerion at 5pm, whilst the battle of the 2022 WPL and WNL champions, Lion City Sailors and Police Sports Association, will kick off at 7:30pm – both matches will be held at Choa Chu Kang Stadium.
The following weekends will adopt the same format – two matches on Saturdays, three matches on Sundays, except for the match between Albirex Niigata (S) and Balestier Khalsa which is scheduled for Tuesday, 28 March 2023. The vast majority of matches will be played at Choa Chu Kang Stadium with the rest being played at Yishun Stadium, and Our Tampines Hub. Admission to all matches is free to the public. The full list of fixtures can be found here.
The league will continue to operate on a home and away round-robin format from 18 March to 26 November. The league will take a break during the FIFA International windows, Southeast Asian Games and the Asian Games to allow the players to represent the country. Teams can register up to 25 players, with a maximum of four foreigners. The full list of rules and regulations can be found here.
Deloitte Singapore is set to continue to be the title sponsor for the league for the second year running. The WPL prize pool for this year will continue to see the league champions to be awarded S$25,000, while runners-up will receive S$10,000 and S$7,500 respectively.
Source: Football Association of Singapore
