Women

Women’s Football Scene   The women’s football scene has gradually developed over the years ever since it was first mooted by then Football Association of Singapore (FAS) President, Mr Mah Bow Tan in 2000.   The very first women’s league was launched in August 2000. The league was split up into two divisions and a total of 14 teams participated. Standout players were then selected to form the national squad that was to take part in international tournaments.   As the years progressed, women’s football has steadily grown and currently includes grassroots programmes as well as an array of women’s activities for all age-groups. Currently, there are about 330 students participating in primary school tournaments, a further 600 students participating in secondary school tournaments and about 225 students taking part in tertiary competitions.     Social events and national leagues catered specially for women were also introduced. There are currently two women’s leagues; the Women’s Premier League (WPL) and Women’s National League (WNL). On top of that, there is also a knock-out championship coined as the Women’s Challenge Cup (WCC) which is a tournament that wraps up the women’s football season that usually takes place in the latter half of the year. In 2019, there were five teams competing in the WPL and ten teams competing in the WNL.   As of 2020, there are presently four women’s national teams across different age groups, mainly the ‘A’ team, Under-19, Under-16 and Under-14 teams. This signifies the headway that has been made in women’s football since 2000.   Women’s Coaching and Referees   The local football scene will not be complete without the coaching staff and also the referees and officials. As it is, we have seen a gradual increase in the number of women coaches and referees over the years. In 2020, we currently have six FIFA certified coach developers, one A-License coach, seven B-License coaches and 45 C-License coaches in our ranks.   We also have five women referees in our current pool, one of whom, Abirami d/o Apbai Naidu, is a FIFA certified referee.