SPL resumption delayed by two weeks, Singapore Cup cancelled
SINGAPORE — The Singapore Premier League (SPL) season will resume after the international football break on 17 July, about two weeks later than the original resumption date of 2 July.
The Football Association of Singapore (FAS) said in a media release that this delay in resumption of the league is to allow the SPL clubs to have at least two weeks' preparation with their players who were called up for international duty.
These players are serving their Stay-Home Notices (SHNs) upon their return to Singapore, and the SHNs are scheduled to end on 4 July.
The first match on resumption of the league will see Tanjong Pagar United take on the Young Lions, a match which was abandoned earlier in the season due to bad weather.
In light of the ongoing COVID-19 situation, all SPL matches will continue to be played behind closed doors, as has been the stance since 8 May. FAS will continue to monitor prevailing measures in place and will decide the conditions for re-entry of fans into match venues closer to the SPL resumption date.
Singapore Cup cancelled to allow time of tournament preparations
Due to the later resumption of matches, the SPL season is projected to end on 2 October instead of 11 September as originally planned.
Therefore, FAS have announced that this year's Singapore Cup will be cancelled, to ensure that the Singapore national team and Under-22 team can prepare for end-of-year competitions such as the SEA Games, AFF Suzuki Cup and 2022 U-23 Asian Cup qualifiers.
This latest schedule will allow for the league table to be balanced at the earliest possible opportunity, with all teams having played the same number of matches by 25 July.
In addition, it would cause minimal disruption from Tampines Rovers involvement in the AFC Champions League group stage from 25 June to 10 July in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Currently, only one of Tampines' SPL matches needs to be rescheduled — the clash against Lion City Sailors FC, which has been moved from 11 July to 4 August.
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