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2019 NFL to kick off with FAS Challenge Cup on 17 March

2018 NFL Division One champions Tiong Bahru Football Club
Photo: Football Association of Singapore

Thursday, 14 March 2019 - The 2019 National Football League (NFL) Divisions will kick-off this Sunday (17 March 2019) when the 2018 NFL Division One champions, Tiong Bahru FC, take on the 2018 FA Cup winners, Yishun Sentek Mariners in the annual FAS Challenge Cup, which acts as the curtain raiser for the season while doubling up as as the opening league fixture for the NFL Division One.

Among the changes made to this season's competition format sees the league kick off in March instead of its usual schedule in April, while there would also a break during the Ramadhan period, a move welcomed by the coaches as most clubs faced the difficulty of having most of their players unavailable during the fasting month in the past few seasons.

However, the biggest change to the leagues would see teams playing in a 1.5 round robin league instead of the competitions’ traditional format. This means that the teams in both divisions would be split into top and bottom tiers after a first round of matches before proceeding into the latter half round of the competition.

The competition is structured such that, if a team from the bottom tier ends the season with a higher point tally than a team in the top tier following the splitting of the teams, the former would remain in the bottom tier.

The promotion and relegation system adopted by the competition would also see the top two teams from the NFL Division Two promoted to Division One and the champion team from the Island-Wide league (IWL) promoted to Division Two at the end of the season. The bottom three teams of Division One and Two would be relegated, while there is no relegation in the IWL.

The NFL Division One season has ten teams playing a total of 45 matches between 17 March 2019 to 29 June 2019, while the NFL Division Two has eleven teams playing 55 matches between 24 March 2019 to 14 July 2019.

The stadia used for the NFL Divisions are:
  • Bedok Stadium
  • Bukit Gombak Stadium
  • Hougang Stadium
  • Jalan Besar Stadium
  • Jurong West Stadium
  • Serangoon Stadium
  • Toa Payoh Stadium
  • Yishun Stadium
  • Woodlands Stadium

You may find the 2019 fixtures for the NFL Division One here and the NFL Division Two here.


2019 NFL Division One Facts and Figures

NFL Division One Participating Teams: 10
  1. Tiong Bahru FC (2018 Champions)
  2. Balestier United RC (2018 League Runners-Up)
  3. SAFSA
  4. Yishun Sentek Mariners FC
  5. GFA Sporting Westlake FC
  6. Katong FC
  7. Police SA
  8. Eunos Crescent FC
  9. Singapore Khalsa Association (promoted from NFL Division Two)
  10. Warwick Knights FC (promoted from NFL Division Two)
  • South Avenue SC and Admiralty FC were relegated to the NFL Division Two at the end of the 2018 season.
  • All NFL Division One games will be played on Saturdays.
  • The prize money for the champions stands at S$15,000.
  • The top tier, after the first round, would consist of the top five teams, which would be ranked 1st to 5th place at the end of the season.
  • The bottom tier, after the first round, would consist of the bottom five teams, which would be ranked 6th to 10th place at the end of the season.
  • The bottom three teams are relegated at the end of the season.

2019 NFL Division Two Facts and Figures

NFL Division One Participating Teams: 11
  1. Jungfrau Punggol FC (2018 League 2nd Runners-Up)
  2. GFA Victoria FC
  3. Kaki Bukit SC
  4. Singapore Cricket Club
  5. Admiralty CSC
  6. Starlight Soccerites FC
  7. Bishan Barx FC
  8. South Avenue SC (relegated from NFL Division One)
  9. Admiralty FC (relegated from NFL Division One) 
  10. Project Vaults Oxley SC (promoted from Island-Wide League)
  11. Siglap FC  (promoted from Island-Wide League)
  • Singapore Khalsa Association and Warwick Knights FC were promoted from the NFL Division Two at the end of the 2018 season.
  • Bukit Timah Juniors and Kembangan United FC were relegated to the Island-Wide League at the end of the 2018 season.
  • Gymkhana FC was expelled from the 2018 NFL Division Two for its failure to send down the full set of 11 players at the start of three matches in 2018.
  • All NFL Division Two games will be played on Sundays.
  • The prize money for the champions stands at S$7,500.
  • The top tier, after the first round, would consist of the top six teams, which would be ranked 1st to 6th place at the end of the season.
  • The bottom tier, after the first round, would consist of the bottom five teams, which would be ranked 7th to 11th place at the end of the season.
  • The top two teams are promoted at the end of the season.
  • The bottom three teams are relegated at the end of the season.

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