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Albirex Niigata F.C. Singapore (アルビレックス新潟ＦＣシンガポール),[1] simply known as Albirex Niigata (S), is a professional football club based in Jurong East, Singapore, which plays in the Singapore Premier League. The club is a satellite team of Albirex Niigata of Japan.[2] Mostly the team is made up of university students from Japan and also academy players from J1 League.
Notably, the club also implement a professional code of conduct to instill discipline, good behaviour and team spirit. This includes a ban on hair dye, a punctuality clause where players are fined if they are late for training with no valid reason, and scrubbing footballs together after training.
The club then improved its league performance finishing 7th in the 2008 season, 3rd in the 2012 season and as champions in the 2016 season. The club did not lose a match in their 2018 season.[3]
History
2004–2010: Beginning and history of the club
Albirex Niigata Singapore, a satellite team of Japanese club Albirex Niigata, joined the S. League in 2004. It was in that year the Football Association of Singapore decided to invite foreign teams in the league in a bid to deal with poor attendance issues. For the first years of the club's participation in the league it has settled in the mid-table in the standings.[3]
In 2008, Daisuke Korenaga became chairman of the club who introduced reforms in the club in order to improve its standing in the league. Among these was to secure sponsorship from Japanese companies with presence in Singapore, with the club having as many as 50 sponsors and improved fan engagement by setting up a Cheer Dance School and an academy.
Koichi Sugiyama as Albirex Niigata Singapore head coach from 2010 to 2013
2011–2013: First silverware in club history.
2011 was a great start for Albirex Niigata Singapore as midway throughout 2011, head coach, Koichi Sugiyama leads them to all the way to final of the 2011 Singapore League Cup and guiding the White Swans to their first ever piece of silverware in the club history. Sugiyama also guided them to the 2011 Singapore Cup but eventually conceded a goal in the very last minute of extra time against Home United. In August 2014, he left Albirex to signed with Thailand club, Ayutthaya.
2014–2016: Cup's double and clean sweep
Tatsuyuki Okuyama who had spent his entire career in hometown club, Albirex Niigata who once coached youth teams of Albirex after his playing career ended and also the Albirex Niigata Ladies, has decided to signed as the head coach for Albirex Niigata Singapore. Okuyama was Sugiyama's assistant coach during the 2013 season, which will see Okuyama succeeding him in being the head coach for the White Swans for the upcoming 2014 season. The following season, he guided the team to win the 2015 Singapore League Cup and the 2015 Singapore Cup.
After 6 years since his first charge of the club in 2009, Naoki Naruo re-joined Albirex Niigata Singapore, replacing Tatsuyuki Okuyama as head coach. Naruo led the White Swans to being the first club in Singapore football history to achieved all the unprecedented sweep of all four of the possible league's major trophies, the 2016 S.League, 2016 Singapore Cup, 2016 Singapore League Cup and the 2016 Singapore Community Shield which led to him being named the 2016 S.League Coach of the Year. On 3 November 2016, two days after winning the league championship, Naruo announced that he is leaving the newly crowned champions.
2017: Invincible season by Kazuaki Yoshinaga
On 2 December 2016, Kazuaki Yoshinaga was appointed head coach of Albirex Niigata Singapore. In his first year, Yoshinaga guided them to retained the 2017 S.League title and also and also winning the 2017 S.League Coach of the Year. He also extended his contract with the White Swans for another year coaching them for the revamped 2018 Singapore Premier League (SPL) season which saw Yoshinaga guiding them to an invincible season, winning the SPL title without defeat and also all of the possible titles in Singapore professional football: 2018 Singapore Cup and 2018 Singapore Community Shield, while he also won the league's 2018 Coach of the Year award for the second successive year. Due to Yoshinaga's impressive work with Albirex Niigata Singapore, he returned to Japan in 2019 as the parent club, Albirex Niigata appointed him initially as their academy manager before being appointed as a team manager in April the same year.
2021–2023: Consecutive champions
In April 2021, Yoshinaga returned to Albirex Niigata Singapore as the Technical Director, before becoming the Manager once again in 2022 guiding them to win the 2022 Singapore Premier League title and also winning the league's 2022 Coach of the Year award for the third time.
On 28 December 2021, Albirex Niigata Singapore announced the signing of former Southampton forward and Japanese legend, Tadanari Lee who famously comes on as a substitute in the 2011 AFC Asian CupFinal held in Qatar and scoring his first international goal to secure a 1–0 win over Australia which gives Japan their fourth Asian Cup success. Lee had also won the 2017 AFC Champions League with Urawa Red Diamonds and the J1 League title with Yokohama F. Marinos in 2019. It was reported that the one-year contract will see him earn about $12,000 per month.
To commemorate the 20th anniversary of the club, on 13 September 2023, Albirex Niigata Singapore announced that from the 2024 season, the club, which has historically featured mainly Japanese players in its senior team, is shifting its focus towards a players mainly composed of predominantly Singaporean players roster which in line with this change, It aims to participate in AFC tournaments such as the AFC Champions League Two, depending on the club league performances.[4][5] The club also announced that local brand, Fifty50 which was established in 2023, as their apparel partnership for the season. Albirex Niigata Singapore announced in December 2023 that they have sign veteran, Yohei Otake from J2 League side V-Varen Nagasaki, Yojiro Takahagi from FC Tokyo and the club first ever Nigerian-Japanese footballer, Stevia Egbus Mikuni for their 2024 campaign. Albirex Niigata Singapore also signed U-21 Japanese-Iraqi footballer, Arya Igami Tarhani and former player, Shuhei Hoshino who returned to the club after six years since the 2018 season. The club suffered their heaviest defeat since 2009 in a 7–1 lost to league rivals Lion City Sailors on 23 June 2024. They went on to suffered another back-to-back thrashing losing to Geylang International 6–0 on 6 July 2024. After a string of disappointment results of five losing streaks, head coach Kazuaki Yoshinaga left the club on 13 July 2024. His assistant, Keiji Shigetomi will take over as interim head coach.
Affiliated clubs
The following clubs are affiliated with Albirex Niigata Singapore
The Swan's home ground is the Jurong East Stadium, located in the West side of Singapore. It is used both for football matches and community events.
The stadium holds 2,700 people and It is one of only three stadiums in Singapore that does not have a running track, and was built to serve only as a football stadium.
VAR
Video assistant referee (VAR) technology will be used for the first time in the 2023 Singapore Premier League season and also at the Jurong East Stadium.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Bold is for those competition that are currently active.
Notable seasons
Double: 2015, 2023
Treble: 2016, 2018
Quadruple: 2017
Notable players
This section contains a list of former players who have either played 100 league games for the club, gone on to represent their nation, or played in the J.League at a professional level.
Kento Nagasaki is both the club all time highest appearances and top scorer in which he was the longest serving players in the history of the club from 2013 to 2017.
