SINGAPORE – JSSL Tampines Rovers may be making their debut in the upcoming Deloitte Women’s Premier League (WPL) season, but they are aiming to go toe-to-toe with the top teams.

The last time Tampines had a women’s team in the top-tier league was in 2016, but the side who will feature in the 2023 WPL were formed in 2022 with private football academy JSSL.

They showed signs of promise by finishing runners-up in the second-tier Women’s National League (WNL) in 2022.

They have since bolstered their squad with national players, such as vice-captain Stephanie Dominguez and Farhanah Ruhaizat.

While Tampines coach Joe O’Sullivan was coy about specific targets, he said they are looking to contend with the top sides.

The WPL, which features 10 teams, up from seven in 2022, kicks off on Saturday.

He said: “The aim is to compete and to be up there with the rest of the best teams and not to go into any game worried about defending – we want to attack, we want to score goals.”

They produced good showings during their pre-season tour of Kuala Lumpur in February, winning both matches – 2-1 over Kelana United FC Women and 7-0 against Malacca Sports School.

While the team boast a number of national players and foreign signings, Farhanah, 24, insisted it was too early to judge how they would fare.

The forward, who was with Still Aerion last season, said: “We know that we need to be somewhere – in the top five at least.”

She was initially hesitant to join Tampines when O’Sullivan approached her in 2022 as she did not know about the club.

But a conversation with the coach convinced her to join, after she realised he had done his research on whom he wanted to recruit and had individual development plans for each player.

Also with the team is Filipino-American Sara Hayduchok. The defender had trained with several other WPL teams, but ultimately decided join Tampines.

She said: “What set JSSL Tampines Rovers apart for me were the facilities, the coaching and the level of play.

“I love the respect and support that players have here.”

Another new entrant this season are Geylang International. Their coach Mohamed Hanafiah Al-Sofli, 37, has had experience taking charge of a new team.

He helmed the Yale-NUS College women’s team shortly after they were formed in 2018 and guided them to titles at the NUS Inter-Faculty and Inter-College Games.

While Hanafiah knows the task ahead will not be easy, he is looking forward to a new challenge.

He said: “I’m staying true to my philosophy that I will develop the players first, because the pool of female players is not a lot in Singapore.

“Fifty per cent are experienced players while 50 per cent may be trying to be part of this women’s football fraternity that Singapore is building.”

Hanafiah, who started trials in January, will be working with a few familiar faces such as Olesia Sheremeta, who started the Yale-NUS women’s team as a student.

The 22-year-old Ukrainian forward, who played for several school and Under-16 teams in the eastern European country, is looking forward to her first WPL season.

Also looking to make their mark this season are Police Sports Association, who won the WNL in 2022.

While more than half their squad is made up of former national footballers, coach Hisham Roslan admitted preparations have not been smooth.

They were informed of their promotion to the top tier only in mid-February, leaving them with not much time to prepare.

They were also without two players who were part of the Singapore squad who took part in the Under-20 Women’s Asian Cup qualifiers in Vietnam last week.

Despite these setbacks, Hisham, who has been in charge of the team since 2019, said they are looking forward to playing in the WPL and are aiming for a top-half finish.

He said: “They were very excited to learn that they were promoted to the WPL.

“You can see that they are very motivated and feel good to play at this level.”

There have also been signs of encouragement. During a recent friendly against last season’s runners-up Albirex Niigata, they lost by a narrow scoreline.

They face a tough opening fixture against defending champions Lion City Sailors at the Choa Chu Kang Stadium on Sunday, but defender Hamizah Abdul Talib is confident they can put up a good challenge.

Said the 33-year-old: “We really want to give a good show because it’s the winners of the WPL against the winners of the WNL.

“Their team consists of a lot of national players, ours has a mix of both – most of us have played in the national team before.”