S.League The Football Association of Singapore withdrew from the Malaysia Cup series in 1995. A year later, a new professional soccer league was initiated— the S.League. Kwek Leng Joo was appointed chairman, and Douglas Moore chief executive officer. The S.League was officially launched by Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong at the National Stadium in 1996. The eight teams that participated in the league then were Balestier Central FC, Geylang United FC, Police FC, Tampines Rovers FC, Sembawang Rangers FC, Singapore Armed Forces FC (SAFFC), Tiong Bahru United FC, and Woodlands Wellington FC.

The teams competed in a two- series format— the Tiger Beer Series and the Pioneer Series. Geylang emerged champions in the S.League’s first year. The following year, the two- series format was replaced by a single series. The Singapore League Cup (Singapore Cup since 1998) was also introduced in 1997. Two new teams— Jurong FC and Landmark Marine Castle— drew up plans to join the league, although Landmark withdrew at the last minute after claiming to be ‘not fully prepared’. SAFFC, with Fandi Ahmad, won the league in its second year.

Photo credit: Singapore Press Holdings/ Berita Harian