Ahead of the 2025/26 Singapore Premier League (SPL) season, we look at each of the eight clubs participating in the domestic top flight. In today’s edition of our preview, we turn the spotlight on league and Singapore Cup runners up, BG Tampines Rovers.
Seasons: 30
Nickname: The Stags
Highest finish: 1st (2004, 2005, 2011, 2012, 2013)
2024/25 finish: 2nd
Chairman: Shungo Sakamoto
Head coach: Akbar Nawas
Captain: Syazwan Buhari
Key signings: Trent Buhaglar (Malta-Australia), Seiga Sumi (Japan), Hide Higashikawa (Japan)
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A new era dawns for BG Tampines Rovers in the 2025/26 season, with the Stags making sweeping changes both on and off the pitch in their quest to reclaim the league crown.
They were the early pace-setters last season, winning nine and going unbeaten in their first eleven league games. However, inconsistent performances saw them slip off the summit, with inconsistency costing them both the league title and the Singapore Cup.
Under new chairman Shungo Sakamoto, BG Tampines will look to channel previous frustrations into fuel for a renewed title push. The man tasked with leading that charge is Akbar Nawas, who replaces the outgoing Gavin Lee in the dugout. In his previous stint as Stags’ Head Coach in 2016, Akbar steered the team to a league runners-up finish and a quarter-final berth in the AFC Cup.
There are significant changes to the playing roster as well. Despite losing key figures Kyoga Nakamura and Seia Kunori, the Stags have maintained their strong Japanese flavour. Defender Takeshi Yoshimoto, midfielders Seiga Sumi and Koya Kazama, and forward Hide Higashikawa have all been added to the squad.
All eyes will be on Malta international Trent Buhaglar, who brings experience from the A-League with Sydney FC. They can also call on a strong core of Singapore internationals, including Shah Shahiran, Glenn Kweh, and Faris Ramli.
Akbar’s squad will face the rigours of the AFC Champions League Two (ACL2) and the ASEAN Club Championship (ACC), also known as the Shopee Cup in the season ahead. With their last trophy coming in 2019, the Stags are hoping to end their drought.
The Stags last won a domestic trophy – the Singapore Cup – in 2019, and they have an early opportunity to get their hands on silverware on 16 August when they face the Lion City Sailors in the league’s curtain-raiser, the Community Shield. They then begin their SPL campaign on 24 Aug with the season’s first Eastern derby against Geylang International.
Squad (as at time of publication)
Goalkeepers: Syazwan Buhari, Nalawich Inthacharoen
Defenders: Shuya Yamashita, Dylan Fox, Amirul Haikal, Takeshi Yoshimoto, Irfan Najeeb, Amirul Adli
Midfielders: Jacob Mahler, Seiga Sumi, Shah Shahiran, Koya Kazama, Joel Chew
Forwards: Faris Ramli, Trent Buhagiar, Glenn Kweh, Taufik Suparno, Zikos Chua, Rasul Ramli, Hide Higashikawa, Witthawat Phraothaisong
