The Football Association of Singapore (FAS) brought the curtain down on the 2025/26 domestic season with the Singapore Premier League (SPL) Awards Night, held last night at the Raffles City Convention Centre.
Players, coaches, club officials, match officials, media partners, and stakeholders gathered to celebrate excellence across the 30th edition of the SPL — and the inaugural SPL2 season. On a night of deserving winners, it was Albirex Niigata (S) who shone brightest.
Shingo Nakano had quite a season. The Japanese forward finished as the league’s top scorer with 20 goals, earned a place in the SPL Team of the Year, and walked away with the SPL Golden Boot and Young Player of the Year — three accolades to cap a campaign that announced him as one of the most exciting attackers in the league.
His head coach took home recognition of his own. Keiji Shigetomi guided Albirex from sixth to third in the SPL standings, earning him the POLAR Mineral Water Coach of the Year award.
The DONGFENG SPL Player of the Year belonged to someone who hit the ground running from day one. Hide Higashikawa joined BG Tampines Rovers on loan from J3 League side Tochigi City FC and made an immediate impression. He finished as BG Tampines’ top SPL scorer with 19 goals, and took his place in the Team of the Year.
The SPL Team of the Year is as follows: Lion City Sailors’ Ivan Susak (goalkeeper), BG Tampines Rovers’ Takeshi Yoshimoto, Lion City Sailors’ Bailey Wright and Toni Datkovic (defenders), BG Tampines Rovers’ Yuki Kobayashi, Shah Shahiran, Kohya Kazama and Lion City Sailors’ Bart Ramselaar (midfielders), and Albirex Niigata (S)’ Shingo Nakano, BG Tampines Rovers’ Hide Higashikawa and Lion City Sailors’ Lennart Thy (forwards).
Susak also claimed the SPL Golden Glove individually, having kept 10 clean sheets for the Lion City Sailors. BG Tampines Rovers collected the Singapore Pools Fair Play Award.
The SELECT Goal of the Year went to Hougang United’s Huzaifah Aziz for his strike against Lion City Sailors on 12 April, edging out 13 other nominees.
In the refereeing categories, Muhammad Syarqawi Bin Buhari was named SELECT Referee of the Year, while Andy Tan Mint Land retained the SELECT Assistant Referee of the Year for the second consecutive season.
The inaugural SPL2 season produced a worthy champion in Albirex, whose second-tier side won 14 of their 21 matches and finished three points clear of the field. BG Tampines Rovers’ Tara Ndao claimed the competition’s first-ever Golden Boot with 13 goals, while Lion City Sailors took the SPL2 Fair Play Award.
Clement Choo of Grandstand won Photo of the Year for Debut, Decider, Delirium, while Deepanraj Ganesan of The Straits Times claimed Story of the Year for “Silver lining to gold mining?”.
The FAS Recognition Awards honoured individuals and organisations whose contributions to Singapore football extend beyond the pitch. BG Tampines Rovers were honoured for their commendable ACL2 quarter-final run.
Marcus Tan was recognised for his significant contributions to Singapore football, particularly his leadership of the Unleash the Roar! national project, which continues to play a meaningful role in advancing youth development and strengthening the local football ecosystem.
Muhammad Taqi Aljaafari received recognition for 20 consecutive years of refereeing in the SPL — a milestone that only scratches the surface of his career. A FIFA-listed referee since 2012, Taqi has officiated at two FIFA World Cups — Qatar 2022 and the 2023 Women’s World Cup — three AFC Asian Cups, the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics, and multiple FIFA youth tournaments, most recently serving as Main VAR at the AFC Champions League Elite Final in Jeddah this April. His two decades of service to the domestic game have run parallel to a career that has reached football’s highest stages.
The nominees and winners for all award categories were decided following a comprehensive review and independent audit to ensure integrity, transparency, and fairness in the selection and confirmation of all award recipients.
Final list of winners for SPL Awards Night 2025/26:
| Singapore Premier League (SPL) | |||
| Award | Nominee | Club/Organisation | Winners |
| DONGFENG Player of the Year | Shah Shahiran | BG Tampines Rovers | Hide Higashikawa |
| Hide Higashikawa | BG Tampines Rovers | ||
| Bart Ramselaar | Lion City Sailors | ||
| Young Player of the Year | Farhan Zulkifli | Hougang United | Shingo Nakano |
| Cho Eunsu | Albirex Niigata (S) | ||
| Shingo Nakano | Albirex Niigata (S) | ||
| POLAR Mineral Water Coach of the Year | Marko Kraljevic | Balestier Khalsa | Keiji Shigetomi |
| Keiji Shigetomi | Albirex Niigata (S) | ||
| Mohd Noor Ali | Geylang International | ||
| SELECT Goal of the Year | Elijah Lim (vs Young Lions, 21 September 2025) | Balestier Khalsa | Huzaifah Aziz |
| Shingo Nakano (vs Hougang United, 17 October 2025) | Albirex Niigata (S) | ||
| Bruno Dybal (vs Geylang International, 18 October 2025) | Tanjong Pagar United | ||
| Lucas Agueiro (vs Lion City Sailors, 18 October 2025) | Young Lions | ||
| Daniel Goh (vs Tanjong Pagar United, 24 October 2025) | Balestier Khalsa | ||
| Cho Eunsu (vs Tanjong Pagar United, 17 January 2026) | Albirex Niigata (S) | ||
| Tsiy Ndenge (vs Geylang International, 18 January 2026 | Lion City Sailors | ||
| Shingo Nakano (vs Balestier Khalsa, 25 January 2026) | Albirex Niigata (S) | ||
| Zenivio Mota (vs Young Lions, 26 January 2026) | Tanjong Pagar United | ||
| Jaushua Sotirio (vs Albirex Niigata (S), 9 February 2026) | Hougang United | ||
| Shodai Yokoyama (vs Albirex Niigata (S), 15 March 2026) | Geylang International | ||
| Huzaifah Aziz (vs Lion City Sailors, 12 April 2026) | Hougang United | ||
| Yuki Kobayashi (vs Balestier Khalsa, 17 April 2026) | BG Tampines Rovers | ||
| Sergio Mendonca (vs BG Tampines Rovers, 24 April 2026) | Young Lions | ||
| SPL Golden Boot | Shingo Nakano | Albirex Niigata (S) | |
| SPL Golden Glove | Ivan Susak | Lion City Sailors | |
| SINGAPORE POOLS SPL Fairplay Award | BG Tampines Rovers | ||
| SPL Team of the Year | Ivan Susak (GK) | Lion City Sailors | |
| Takeshi Yoshimoto (DF) | BG Tampines Rovers | ||
| Bailey Wright (DF) | Lion City Sailors | ||
| Toni Datkovic (DF) | Lion City Sailors | ||
| Yuki Kobayashi (MF) | BG Tampines Rovers | ||
| Shah Shahiran (MF) | BG Tampines Rovers | ||
| Kohya Kazama (MF) | BG Tampines Rovers | ||
| Bart Ramselaar (MF) | Lion City Sailors | ||
| Shingo Nakano (FW) | Albirex Niigata (S) | ||
| Lennart Thy (FW) | Lion City Sailors | ||
| Hide Higashikawa (FW) | BG Tampines Rovers | ||
| Singapore Premier League 2 (SPL2) | |||
| SPL2 Golden Boot | Tara Ndao | BG Tampines Rovers | |
| SPL2 Fairplay Award | Lion City Sailors | ||
| Referee Awards | |||
| SELECT Referee of the Year | Ahmad A’Qashah Bin Ahmad AL’Badowe | Muhammad Syarqawi Bin Buhari | |
| Mazlan Bin Pagira | |||
| Muhammad Syarqawi Bin Buhari | |||
| SELECT Assistant Referee of the Year | Ashokraj S/O Jeevaraja | Andy Tan Mint Land | |
| Muhammad Syafiq Bin Juffri | |||
| Andy Tan Mint Land | |||
| Media Awards | |||
| Story of the Year | “With Godzilla on his kit, Hassan looks to do his bit” | David Lee (The Straits Times) | “Silver lining to gold mining?” Deepanraj Ganesan (The Straits Times) |
| “From loss to legacy: the making of Magic Max” | Kenneth Tan (Lion City Sailors) | ||
| “Silver lining to gold mining?” | Deepanraj Ganesan (The Straits Times) | ||
| Photo of the Year | “Debut, Decider, Delirium” | Clement Choo (for Grandstand Singapore) | “Debut, Decider, Delirium” Clement Choo (for Grandstand Singapore) |
| “The Last Line of Defence” | Lim Yaohui (for The Straits Times) | ||
| “Flying without wings, Nakano’s dream season continues” | Syafik Iskandar (for Singapore Premier League) | ||
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