A night to remember for Albirex’s Player of the Year Ruriko Takashima

SINGAPORE – Even as the festivities wound down at the Raffles Town Club on Jan 17, Albirex Niigata’s Ruriko Takashima continued to party into the night, as the Japanese footballer celebrated a successful debut season in the Women’s Premier League (WPL).

After putting away 29 goals in 15 games, the 36-year-old midfielder was rewarded for her efforts as she picked up the Golden Boot and Player of the Year accolade at the FAS Amateur Leagues Awards Night.

Her exploits in the 2025 season helped the team – soon to be renamed Albirex Jurong – clinch their first ever WPL title, after playing second fiddle to the Lion City Sailors (LCS) Women for the previous three seasons.

Having narrowly missed out on her 30-goal target, Takashima is already looking ahead to the 2026 season, where she is aiming for 40 this time while also making a push in the AFC Women’s Champions League (AWCL) with Albirex.

She said: “I had some communication issues at the beginning, but the squad welcomed me and gave me a homely environment, which helped me to gel with the team and gave me motivation to become champions with them.

“Overall, it was a good experience, and I want to work hard for the upcoming season.”

The happy-go-lucky player has been a positive influence on the field, often roping in teammates for her celebratory poses after finding the back of the net.

This campaign, her friends and family back home in Aichi, Japan will be able to tune in to her games as the WPL will be introducing live streaming for matches in 2026.

She said: “(For my goal celebrations), I’ll discuss with my nieces, and when they request that I do certain performances, I will perform them whenever I score goals.”

Sharing the spotlight at the awards night was the Sailors’ Sarah Zu’risqha, who won the 2025 Young Player of the Year.

The 19-year-old midfielder joined the team from Albirex Niigata ahead of the 2024 campaign in a bid to improve her game technically and tactically.

After finishing third with the club in the 2025 season, Sarah told The Sunday Times that she wants to help “build our chemistry much more stronger and win the title back”.

They will have to contend with Still Aerion, who pipped them to second place in the league.

Aerion head coach and Coach of the Year winner Jeremy Chiang credited his staff and players for a successful campaign.

Chiang, who previously played for Gombak United and Warriors FC, said: “Like I always tell the team, this is just like making a movie. I’m just the director. If the actor and actresses are not good, the movie will never be good.

“We have that connection as coach and players, and that’s why the changing room has been healthy.

“It’s something that we didn’t expect, but we were quietly looking at a top-three finish last season. To be second, definitely, we met and surpassed our objective.”

Since his arrival in 2024, the club have risen from seventh in 2023 to fourth a year later, before finishing runners-up in 2025. For the coming season, the 40-year-old noted that the addition of reinforcements, both local and foreign, will strengthen the team as they make a push for the title.

He added: “With the work that we have done, We don’t want to shy away, keep quiet and be observers. I believe in my team. We’ll definitely come next season to compete and give everyone a run for their money.”

The awards night on Jan 17 also recognised outstanding performers in the other amateur leagues in Singapore – the first and second divisions of the Singapore Football League (SFL 1 and 2), and the Women’s National League (WNL).