Singapore Premier League champions Albirex Niigata to 'become local club' in policy shift

SINGAPORE: Singapore Premier League (SPL) defending champions Albirex Niigata (S) on Wednesday (Sep 13) announced a shift in policy from being a club with mainly Japanese professionals to one with predominantly Singaporean players.

A satellite team of Japanese first-division side Albirex Niigata, it joined the SPL - then called the S.League - in 2004 at the invitation of the Football Association of Singapore (FAS), in a bid to boost flagging attendance numbers.

In a statement released on its website, Albirex (S) noted that it first started acquiring Singaporean players in 2018, with approval from the league.

Prior to that, it only fielded Japanese players. 

"Since then, we have been getting more local players, and we have been creating an environment for the development of youth players by launching an academy," it said.

"We have now made the decision to become a local club starting from the next season."

The most prominent Singaporean to feature for AIbirex (S) was Ilhan Fandi - son of football legend Fandi Ahmad - who bagged 17 goals as the club stormed to the 2022 title. Ilhan then secured a transfer to Belgian second-tier side KMSK Deinze in December last year.

Albirex (S) added that with the change, it can now target participation in Asian Football Confederation (AFC) tournaments.

Despite winning the SPL five times in the last seven seasons, the club was ineligible to represent Singapore in continental competitions such as the AFC Cup, due to being a satellite outfit.

In response to CNA's queries, Albirex (S) general manager Koh Mui Tee said there would be "no change to the current structure" of satellite club in Singapore and parent club in Japan.

The SPL side will still aim to be competitive and win trophies, he added.

Albir