Foreign stars set to take centre stage as SPL kicks off 2025-26 season

SINGAPORE – Nearly 30 years have passed, but Balestier Khalsa coach Marko Kraljevic can still reel off the names of the foreign stars in the inaugural season of the S.League (now known as Singapore Premier League) with ease.

“Goran Paulic, Egmar (Goncalves), Jure Eres, Jan Janostak,” said the 59-year-old, who was one of the five imports in Balestier Central (now Balestier Khalsa) then.

“They were all very, very good players. Every team had two or three foreigners that were at a very high level and can decide a game for their team.

“You had players who were playing for the Iran national team. It was a very tough league and most matches were unpredictable.”

That was in 1996, when Singapore launched its professional football league.

Then, each team were allowed five foreigners and the likes of Iran’s Hamid Reza Estili and Mohammad Khakpour (Geylang), Croatia’s Eres (Singapore Armed Forces FC), Paulic (Balestier) and Brazilian hotshot Goncalves (Police FC) drew droves of fans to stadiums.

More than 30,000 supporters attended the final as Geylang were crowned the S.League’s first champions.

Almost three decades later, the SPL is banking on foreign stars for the 2025-26 season as part of a slew of changes introduced by the Football Association of Singapore to enhance its competitiveness.

Clubs will be able to field up to seven foreigners per match, the highest in league history, after last season’s six (including one from an Asian Football Confederation (AFC) member association and one under-21 player).

They were also allowed to register a maximum of nine foreigners, of whom at least one had to be from an AFC member association and three under-21 players.

Clubs can now register a combined squad for both the SPL and the reserve league – which has been rebranded as the SPL2 – with a minimum of 36 and a maximum of 50 players. At least 25 of them must be Singaporeans. This means that clubs registering 36 players may include up to 11 foreigners, with no limitations on nationality or age.

Lion City Sailors coach Aleksandar Rankovic said: “The strength of our competition is getting better, which is excellent. When you have more foreigners, there are (tougher) games, so for me to gamble like last season, and remove seven or eight players after an AFC Champions League Two match, it’s not going to be like that.”

Besides retaining the bulk of their double-winning squad, the Sailors have signed two-time J1 League Golden Boot winner in Brazilian striker Anderson Lopes from Japanese side Yokohama F. Marinos, central midfielder Tsiy-William Ndenge from Swiss side Grasshoppers, 2.03m Croatian goalkeeper Ivan Susak from Croatian top-tier outfit Slaven Belupo, and Lions centre-back Safuwan Baharudin on loan from Selangor FC.

The other seven clubs have taken their own unique approaches to recruitment to make the most out of the change.

The Young Lions will bring Brazilian flair, Balestier will look to capitalise on Balkan steel, Hougang have opted for talents closer to home, while Geylang International, BG Tampines Rovers and Albirex Niigata will rely on Japanese precision. 

Last season’s wooden spoonists Tanjong Pagar have upped the ante too, and have 11 foreign players for the new season.

Balestier, who finished fourth last season, have snapped up six Balkan players in their mid-20s to strengthen their team.

Boost for Balestier

There are four Croats – goalkeeper Mario Mustapic, central defender Mario Subaric, winger Jakov Katusa and centre forward Tin Matic – and two Serbs, defensive midfielder Lazar Vujanic and striker Bogdan Mandic.

Japanese midfielder Masahiro Sugita has been retained.

“The football culture in Croatia and Serbia is very strong and they produce many good players,” said Kraljevic, whose side will kick off the new season against Albirex at the Jurong East Stadium on Aug 23.

“I spent a lot of time talking to people and checking about the character of the players I have brought in. They are very hungry and full of energy and most importantly they are very professional and the whole team is now competing at a high level... everybody is better.”

Mandic, who arrived from Greek side Panargiakos, is aware of the Balkan players who have made a mark in the SPL in recent years, such as Dejan Racic, Boris Kopitovic and Milos Zlatkovic.

The 27-year-old said: “All of these players made some history with their clubs and this is something I want to do at Balestier. I will give everything to help my team win games.”

The rise in training levels is something that six-time league champions Albirex are experiencing too.

The White Swans, who finished a disappointing sixth in the nine-team table last season as they became a local outfit, have signed 12 foreigners, reverting to the tried-and-tested formula of recruiting young Japanese players.

Albirex’s aces in hand

Midfielders Takumi Yokohata, Katsuyuki Ishibashi, Ren Nishimura, Soshi Kadowaki and defender Komei Iida have joined the club. They have also added three Japan-based South Koreans in forward Lee Dong-yeol and defenders Cho Eun-su and Kim Tae-uk. Except for Kim (27), the other seven are 23 or younger.

Forward Shingo Nakano, who netted 26 goals in 31 games last season, has stayed on, along with defender Nozomi Ozawa and midfielder Naoki Yoshioka. Goalkeeper Takahiro Koga, who played for the club in 2022, completes their foreign roster.

Albirex general manager Koh Mui Tee said: “This year we have competition for places even among the foreigners. Everyone is kept on their toes. If they don’t perform, another one will come and take their place and they are all aware of that.”

Koh also noted that Tampines’ surprise 4-1 win over the Sailors in the Community Shield on Aug 16 highlighted how having seven foreign players in each team could make matches far more unpredictable than previous seasons.

East sides’ Japanese flavour

Geylang, who finished third last season, have lost Golden Boot winner Tomoyuki Doi to Thai giants BG Pathum United and have opted to sign Japanese players who have already established themselves here.

Japanese attacker Ryoya Taniguchi has been retained while his compatriots Shuhei Hoshino, Kaisei Ogawa, Riku Fukashiro and Shodai Yokoyama have all been snapped up from other SPL clubs.

The Eagles have also kept French talisman Vincent Bezecourt and signed Serbian defender Nikola Ignjatovic and South Korean centre-back Ko Jae-hyun.

Tampines, who will face Geylang in their season opener at Our Tampines Hub on Aug 24, have followed a similar route of signing predominantly Japanese players.

Besides 27-year-old Malta international forward Trent Buhagiar – who has three goals in two matches for his new side – they have inked deals with Takeshi Yoshimoto, Seiga Sumi, Hide Higashikawa and Koya Kazama.

Japanese defender Shuya Yamashita has been retained, alongside Australian defender Dylan Fox.

Thai goalkeeper Nalawich Inthacharoen, 21, and striker Witthawat Phraothaisong, 18, who are on loan from Pathum, are also options for the Stags.

Hougang opt for Thai spice

Hougang United, who finished seventh last season, have signed five Thais.

They are Thai Under-23 striker Yotsakorn Burapha, forward Settawut Wongsai, defensive midfielder Chonlawit Kanuengkid and defenders Kanok Kongsimma and Parinya Nusong.

Thai coach Pannarai Pansiri, who was previously in charge of Thai League 2 side Chainat FC, will serve as the Cheetahs’ assistant coach.

In addition to Japanese midfielder Yuma Suwa, who arrives from Montenegrin football, the club will also rely on five others from the Cambodian Premier League.

They are Spanish striker Victor Blasco and Japanese players Hugo Kametani, Yuta Kikuchi, Ryohei Yoshihama and American defender Samuel Strong.

Head coach Robert Eziakor, whose men will open their season against the Sailors at Our Tampines Hub on Aug 25, believes the Thais will bring work ethic and a never-say-die attitude to the team.

He added that signing players who have already played in this region meant that they would not need much time to adjust to their surroundings.

Eziakor said: “We have been recruiting from different parts (of the world), but the results have not been coming. So we look at the Thai League and Cambodia this season and we think we have got some good foreigners that can help us.”

Only way is up for bottom two

Last season’s two bottom teams have also bolstered their ranks.

The Young Lions have added Slovenian goalkeeper Benjamin Zerak, 18, English winger Harry Spence, 19, and Brazilian centre-back Enrico Walmrath Silveira from the Sailors’ Under-21 team.

Brazilian forwards Abner Vinicius and Sergio Mendonca, defensive midfielder Lucas Agueiro and defender Joilson Lucas – who are all below 23 – will add to the Brazilian flavour for coach Firdaus Kassim.

Tanjong Pagar have been busy in the transfer market, too, in a bid to leave behind the lows of last season.

They have retained the services of Canadian goalkeeper Matt Silva, Japanese wingback Shodai Nishikawa and Zenivio Mota of Timor-Leste.

Brazilian winger Guilherme Rodrigues, Taiwan international Emilio Estevez, Brazilian playmaker Bruno Dybal, Australian pair Jesse Daley and Aaron Evans, Swiss defender Aymeric Ngankam and South Korean centre-back Kim Li-kwan have come on board.

The Jaguars’ headline signing is Spanish striker Youssef Ezzejjari, 32, who has scored more than 60 goals in close to 130 appearances for clubs in Indonesia, Cambodia and Andorra.

As the SPL enters its 30th campaign, Kraljevic hopes that come end of the term, fans and players will remember the season for its quality and entertainment.

He said: “In the English Premier League and in most European leagues, they don’t separate between the foreigners and local players. The best get to play and they don’t talk about nationality.

“I hope the league will excite more people and I hope all the players will step up and help to deliver a quality and entertaining SPL.”