The 2024/25 Singapore Premier League is Underway: What Lies in Store?
Players and teams will compete in 36 league matches, 12 more than in 2023. The lengthier season, with more matches, is a plus point for the passionate Premier League fans and those who bet on it. Indeed, SafeBettingSites' gambling expert, James Fuller, tells how online betting was legalized in 2016 and has flourished since, with a plethora of bookmakers welcoming Singaporean bettors.
The league kicked off with two matches on May 10. Balestier Khalsa FC faced Geylang International, a game in which the former was Singapore online betting platforms’ favorites to win, with odds of 3/4, compared to Geylang International’s 5/2. The other match between Hougang United and Lion City Sailors FC was much more clear-cut with bookmakers: Lion City Sailors FC were odds-on favorites at 1/4, to Hougang United’s 8/1.
More League Football in 2024/25
Last season, fans wanting to wager on their favorites could do so for only 24 matches, with the nine sides, including the readmission of Brunei DPMM after a three-year COVID-19-related absence, playing each other three times each. In 2024/25, the same nine teams will battle it out for the league title over four rounds, meaning a 33 percent increase in matches for intrepid gamblers to whet their appetites betting on at local or anonymous gambling sites.
Foreign Representation Increased
Another rule change sees nine foreign players allowed in each 2024/25 Premier League squad, up from only four in 2023. Of these, three have to be under 21, with five Singaporean players having to start every match in each team. The Football Association of Singapore (FAS) has dropped a previous stipulation requiring local teams to field at least one Under-21 player in each half of games.
This exclusion of this rule doesn't apply to Young Lions FC, a Singaporean development team made up entirely of youth players. Young Lions is one of the world's only teams in top-tier professional football with a qualifying maximum age restriction, as the FAS aims to promote the experience of local youth players.
2024/25 Singapore Community Shield
The first official match of the 2024/25 season - the first season in Singapore football history scheduled with a change in year in between - was the Singapore Community Shield, pitting the current Premier League holders against the previous season's Singapore Cup winners.
Played on 4 May at the Jalan Besar Stadium in Kallang saw the reigning Premier League champions Albirex Niigata up against Lion City Sailors FC, the Singapore Cup holders and league runner-up. On this occasion, The Sailors were too strong for the league champions, with Albirex, previously a Japanese satellite club, competing as a local team for the first time.
The 2-0 scoreline was encouraging for the Bishan-based club looking to make up ground on The Swans from Jurong East after finishing eight points behind Alberix in second place at the end of the 2023 Premier League season.
What Lies in Store in the 2024/25 Singapore Premier League?
With more football in store for Singaporean fans and bettors than ever before, picking a 2024/25 Premier League winner is no easy task, especially with Albirex Niigata now conforming to local club regulations. Lion City Sailors look like The Swans' most prominent challengers, but Tampines Rovers FC and Geylang International FC will likely be thereabouts at the season's end.
Much will depend on the longevity and durability of the squads over a longer and more arduous season than players in Singapore are used to. Whatever the outcome, come 25 May 2025, those who enjoy a flutter on their favorites will have enough opportunity to assess and decide on their betting routes as the campaign progresses.