The 1997 S.League was the 2nd season of the S.League, the top professional football league in Singapore. The format of the league was changed, a single season of home and away matches replacing the split seasons and a playoff model of the 1996 season.
 | |
| Season | 1997 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Singapore Armed Forces 1st S.League title |
| Asian Club Championship | Singapore Armed Forces |
| Matches played | 72 |
| Goals scored | 249 (3.46 per match) |
| Top goalscorer |  Goran Paulić (21) |
| Biggest home win | Tiong Bahru United 5-1 Tampines Rovers (5 July 1997) Singapore Armed Forces 5-1 Balestier Central (8 July 1997) |
| Biggest away win | Tampines Rovers 2-8 Balestier Central (28 June 1997) |
| Highest scoring | Tampines Rovers 2-8 Balestier Central (28 June 1997) |
← 1996 1998 → | |
The 1997 S.League championship was won by Singapore Armed Forces FC.
Teams
editPolice Football Club underwent a rebranding, being renamed as Home United while NFL side Jurong Town Football Club, who renamed themselves Jurong FC, joined the competition taking the number of participating clubs to 9. As a result of the construction of the new Jurong East Stadium being incomplete, Jurong FC used Bukit Gombak Stadium as their home ground for the 1997 S.League season.
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Location of teams in 1997 S.League
| Team | Stadium | Capacity | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Balestier Central | Toa Payoh Stadium | 3,900 | Toa Payoh |
| Geylang United | Bedok Stadium | 3,900 | Bedok |
| Jurong | Bukit Gombak Stadium | 3,000 | Bukit Batok |
| Home United | Jalan Besar Stadium | 8,000 | Kallang |
| Singapore Armed Forces | Jurong Stadium | 6,000 | Jurong |
| Sembawang Rangers | Yishun Stadium | 3,400 | Yishun |
| Tampines Rovers | Tampines Stadium | 3,600 | Tampines |
| Tiong Bahru United | Queenstown Stadium | 3,800 | Queenstown |
| Woodlands Wellington | Woodlands Stadium | 4,300 | Woodlands |
Foreign players
edit| Club | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 | Player 4 | Player 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Balestier Central | Goran Paulić
|
Marko Kraljević
|
Bojan Hodak
|
None | None |
| Geylang United |  Hamid Reza Estili
|
Mohsen Garousi
|
 Warren Spink
|
 Martin Tierney
|
None |
| Home United |  Egmar Goncalves
|
Fabio da Silva
|
 Zsolt Bucs
|
None | None |
| Jurong FC |  Musah Edoe
|
Tanko Tetumah
|
Alan McTurk
|
None | None |
| Singapore Armed Forces | Ivica Raguž
|
Jure Ereš
|
Velimir Crljen
|
Davor Mioč
|
None |
| Sembawang Rangers | Zlatko Vidan
|
 Milomir Šešlija
|
 Ousmane N'Diaye
|
 Ignacio Tuhuteru
|
 Gary Blissett
|
| Tampines Rovers | Scott O'Donell
|
 Chris Jackson
|
None | None | None |
| Tiong Bahru United | Nicodeme Boucher
|
Dragan Talajić
|
 Émile Mbouh
|
 Håkan Söderstjerna
|
None |
| Woodlands Wellington |  Jan Janostak
|
Stuart Young
|
Max Nicholson
|
None | None |
Final table
edit| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Singapore Armed Forces | 16 | 12 | 1 | 3 | 42 | 11 | +31 | 37 | Qualification to Asian Club Championship first round |
| 2 | Tiong Bahru United | 16 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 33 | 16 | +17 | 34 | |
| 3 | Woodlands Wellington | 16 | 11 | 0 | 5 | 35 | 29 | +6 | 33 | |
| 4 | Balestier Central | 16 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 43 | 26 | +17 | 28 | |
| 5 | Geylang United | 16 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 23 | 18 | +5 | 25 | |
| 6 | Tampines Rovers | 16 | 4 | 3 | 9 | 22 | 38 | −16 | 15 | |
| 7 | Jurong FC | 16 | 4 | 3 | 9 | 15 | 33 | −18 | 15 | |
| 8 | Sembawang Rangers | 16 | 1 | 5 | 10 | 19 | 37 | −18 | 8 | |
| 9 | Home United | 16 | 2 | 1 | 13 | 17 | 41 | −24 | 7 |
Source: RSSSF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored
Top scorers
edit| Rank | Name | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Goran Paulić |
Balestier Central | 21 |
| 2 | Egmar Goncalves |
Home United | 15 |
| 3 | Jure Ereš |
Singapore Armed Forces | 14 |