The S-League was formed in 1996 after a disagreement between the Football Association of Singapore and the Football Association of Malaysia saw the Singaporeans decide to end their involvement in the Malaysian league and set up their own professional league.

The move brought to an end a long and successful association with football in their northern neighbour and the move away - especially from the hugely popular Malaysian Cup - had a serious impact on the game in the island state.

However, with a system modeled on Japan’s J.League and with the backing of the government, the new season kicked off in 1996 featuring eight teams, with Geylang United crowned the inaugural champions.

Since then the league has gone through numerous ups and down and currently it features 12 teams with several having links to clubs outside Singapore.

Albirex Niigata are a satellite team of the J.League club of the same name while the Super Reds feature a squad made up entirely of Korean players. Brunei DPMM, however, are the only club to play their home games outside Singapore.

Despite the presence of several foreign clubs, the league is dominated by Singapore Armed Forces, who have won the title on eight occasions, including the last four seasons in a row.