Young Lions (football team)

The Courts Young Lions are an under-23 football team from Singapore. Most of the members of the squad are players from Singapore's national under-23 team. The team comes under the direct control of the Football Association of Singapore (FAS), but is managed as a football club and has competed in Singapore's top club competition – the S.League – since 2003. By entering the Young Lions into the S.League, the FAS hopes to expose young players to top-level competition, thus helping to prepare them for international tournaments such as the Southeast Asian Games. As such, the Young Lions are one of the few football clubs in the world which place an age restriction on team members while playing in a top-flight professional league. Most of the Singaporean members in the Courts Young Lions squad also represent the country in under-23 international tournaments.

While the bulk of the Courts Young Lions squad is made up of members of Singapore's national under-23 team, the club also takes in promising young foreign players like Luka Savic in 2010. He played for FC Barcelona's youth team and once played for Villarreal CF B. He now plies his trade for SAFFC in the S-League. However, foreign players are normally only recruited into the Courts Young Lions squad if they could potentially change their nationality to Singaporean and be eligible to play international football for Singapore at some point in the future.

The aim of creating the club was to give young Singaporean players who had shown talent and a potential the opportunity for further exposure in Singapore's top league. It was also hoped that keeping the bulk of the national under-23 squad together at club level would improve Singapore's chances in the international arena, particularly at the Southeast Asian Games (where only under-23 players are allowed to compete in the football competition).

The Courts Young Lions play their league matches at the newly re-turfed Jalan Besar Stadium. Their best S.League finish was third, which they achieved in 2004 and 2006.

Malaysian domestic competition

In 2011, the Football Association of Singapore and the Football Association of Malaysia reached an agreement that would see greater cooperation between the two nations. One of the intended avenues will see Young Lions play in the Malaysian Super League and Malaysia Cup from 2012 onwards, the first time a Singaporean team has participated in Malaysian domestic football since Singapore won the 1994 M-League and Malaysia Cup double. Although the new Singapore team will have the existing Young Lions set up at its core, the squad will be permitted up to five local players over the age of 23, as well as a number of overseas players in accordance with the quota set out by the rules of the Malaysian competitions the team will play in.^[1]

National Football Academy

Most of the Courts Young Lions players come from the NFA (National Football Academy) and new players (from the NFA) will be promoted to the Courts Young Lions squad every season. The promoted players are the ones who have played well for the NFA teams (U-17, U18) which play in the Prime League, the youth league in Singapore.

S.League Record

• 2003 - 12th place (Wooden Spoonist)
• 2004 - 3rd place
• 2005 - 6th place
• 2006 - 3rd place
• 2007 - 5th place
• 2008 - 9th place
• 2009 - 8th place
• 2010 - 9th place

Singapore Cup Record

• 2003 - Quarter-finals
• 2004 - Quarter-finals
• 2005 - Quarter-finals
• 2006 - Quarter-finals
• 2007 - First Round
• 2008 - 4th place
• 2009 - First Round
• 2010 - 4th place

Singapore League Cup Record

• 2007 - Did not take part
• 2008 - 4th place
• 2009 - First Round
• 2010 - First Round
• 2011 - Did not take part

Sponsors

• Main sponsor: Courts
• Kit supplier: Nike

Current Squad

As of 1 April 2011

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

References

External links

• Official club website
• S.League website page on Young Lions