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The S.League is a Singaporean professional league for men's association football clubs. At the highest level of domestic football competition in Singapore, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 10 clubs, it consists of three rounds in which each team plays every other team once. Clubs from Brunei, China, France, Japan and Korea have been invited to take part in the league to raise its level of competitiveness and profile. The S.League is run by the Football Association of Singapore. Seasons run from February to October, with teams playing 27 matches each, totalling 192 matches in the season. It is currently sponsored by Great Eastern Life and YEO'S, and thus officially known as the Great Eastern YEO'S S.League for sponsorship reasons. Since the inception of S.League in 1996, a total of 5 clubs have been crowned champions. Warriors have been the most successful club with 9 titles, followed by Tampines Rovers (5), Geylang International (2) and Home United (2). Etoile (1) became the first foreign club to win the competition in 2010. The current champions are DPMM, who won the title in the 2015 season. ==History== Singapore had been represented in the Malaysia (Malaya) Cup through the Singapore Lions since 1921. The Lions were one of the most successful teams in the competition, having won it 24 times from 1921 to 1994. Following a dispute over gate receipts between the FAS and FAM after winning the league and cup double in 1994, the Lions withdrew from the Malaysian competitions. Subsequently, the Football Association of Singapore decided to build a professional league system. However, as it was estimated to take about a year to put in place the structure of the professional S.League, the Singapore Lions were given match practice in what was then the top level of domestic football, the semi-professional FAS Premier League. This team won the last FAS Premier League title, finishing the season unbeaten. Inaugural season The S.League was founded in 1996. The FAS invited applications for clubs to compete in the newly formed league. Eight successful applications were made. Two clubs from the Premier League - powerhouse Geylang International (renamed Geylang United; 6 consecutive Premier League titles) and Balestier United (renamed Balestier Central - joined six from the amateur National Football League - Police, Singapore Armed Forces, Tampines Rovers, Tiong Bahru United, Wellington (renamed Woodlands Wellington) and Sembawang Rangers (merger of Gibraltar Crescent and Sembawang SC) - for the inaugural edition of the S.League. The season was split into the two series. Tiger Beer Series winners Geylang United defeated Pioneer Series winners Singapore Armed Forces 2-1 in the end of season Championship Playoff to be crowned the 1st S.League champions. The 30,000 crowd at the playoff remains the record attendance in the S.League. Expansion of the League Police FC renamed themselves as Home United for the 1997 season to reflect their representation of not only the Singapore Police Force, but also other HomeTeam Departments of the Singapore Ministry of Home Affairs such as the SCDF and the ICA. NFL side Jurong Town FC, who renamed themselves Jurong FC, joined the competition taking the number of participating clubs to 9. The league switched from its previous format to a round-robin competition. Singapore Armed Forces won their first title. Gombak United and Marine Castle United joined the S.League in 1998, further taking the number of clubs to 11. Tiong Bahru United renamed themselves to Tanjong Pagar United at the start of the season. Singapore Armed Forces won their second consecutive title. Clementi Khalsa joined the S.League in 1999 as a representative of the Sikh community in Singapore. The league took on 12 teams for the next five years. Home United won their first title. Foreign Clubs The FAS decided to invite foreign clubs to the league to improve diminishing interest. Sinchi FC, a side composed of Chinese players became the first foreign club to participate in 2003. Shi Jiayi and Qiu Li went on to become naturalised Singapore players. J.League club Albirex Niigata entered their feeder club in the 2004 S.League. The club proved to be one of the most successful foreign sides in the S.League, drawing on the support of Japanese expats. They still play in the S.League as of 2014. Sporting Afrique FC, a club made up of African players, and Super Reds FC, a side composed of South Korean players, became the third and fourth foreign clubs to join the competition in 2006 and 2007 respectively. Sporting Afrique were refused entry into the 2007 S.League due to off-field controversies and poor performance. In 2010, Super Reds were denied a place after three seasons following attempts to convert into a team of local players. Chinese Super League clubs Liaoning FC (2007), Dalian Shide FC (2008) and Beijing Guoan FC (2010) entered their feeder clubs in the S.League. All three clubs each lasted one season before being pulled out of the league due to poor performances and disciplinary issues. Bruneian club DPMM FC joined the S.League in 2009 before being pulled from the league as a result of a FIFA ban. They re-entered the league from 2012. They were the first club to base themselves outside of Singapore. In 2010, French club Etoile FC became the first foreign side to win the S.League. Etoile pulled out of the S.League prior to the 2012 season to focus on grassroots football and youth development. Malaysia national youth sides Harimau Muda A and Harimau Muda B were the most recent sides to join the S.League following an agreement between the Football Association of Singapore and Football Association of Malaysia to send their representative sides into their respective domestic competitions. Singapore side LionsXII returned to the Malaysian competitions in 2012. 20th season The league took on a number of changes for the 2015 season in order to increase its competitiveness. The number of clubs was reduced from 12 to 10, with the withdrawal of Tanjong Pagar United due to financial problems, and the merger of Woodlands Wellington and Hougang United.〔 The league returned to a three-round format used from 2001 to 2011.〔 The foreign player quota remained at five per club but incentives were given to those who signed an under-21 player.〔 The passing time for the mandatory 2.4 km fitness test was lowered from 10 mins to 9 mins 45 s.〔 A new rule on age restrictions – a maximum of five players aged 30 and above and a minimum of three under-25 players for clubs with a 22-man squad, a maximum of four players aged 30 and above and a minimum of two under-25 players for clubs with a 20-man squad – was later reversed.〔
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