JSSL Singapore
 | This article contains promotional content. (September 2018) |
| Founded | 2002 |
|---|---|
| Website | www |
JSSL Singapore (or Junior Soccer School and League Singapore) is a privately owned youth soccer academy based in Singapore which runs regular league tournaments and also provides professional coaching for competitive pathway development. It is also known as the Largest Youth Tournament in Asia.
As of 2025, JSSL Singapore managed 15 youth leagues categories with more than 450 teams and over 6,000 youth players and coaches across 15 countries.[1] The academy was founded in 2002, and as of 2025, it is based at "The Arena" in Woodleigh Park, Singapore after being forced to relocate from the Home United Youth Football Academy grounds by the Singapore Land Authority following complaints from residents of very high noise levels.[2]
History
[edit]In 2017, JSSL was forced to relocate after Home United Youth Football Academy (HYFA) was ordered by the Singapore Land Authority to restrict operations on its two 11-a-side pitches at Mattar Road, both managing director Harvey Davis and executive director who is a former Manchester United defender, Paul Parker criticised the manner of the eviction. Prior to the injunction, the academy had been made aware of complaints about the noise from residents living nearby and had taken measures to mitigate the problem, but it was not enough. After a few weeks of being left in a limbo, JSSL finally found a new home at The Arena, a brand spanking new sports park at Woodleigh, which also incorporates Singapore’s first Cafe Football, which is partly owned by Manchester United icons Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville.
Format
[edit]The tournament begins with a group stage. Teams are divided into groups of six or seven teams, where all teams play each other once. Following that, the top four placed teams of the group will qualify for the knockout stage, while the remaining teams in the group will qualify to the Plate knockout stages series. The tournament is played under all applicable FIFA rules. Each game is given 25 minutes with no half time.
Currently there are eleven boys categories each ranging from 6-years old until 16-years old and for girls there are four categories each ranging from 10-years old until 16-years old.
All fixtures and results will be updated immediately after the end of the game. Positions in the table will be updated according to all other results too. The automated system will also allow teams to know their knock-out game schedules and timings immediately after the group stage fixtures are done.
Tournament app
[edit]The official JSSL 7s Mobile App is available for all Apple and Android devices. Matches, schedules, results, tournament updates, videos, images, social media can all be accessed through the interactive JSSL 7s App.
Management
[edit]JSSL Singapore is led by owner and managing director Harvey Davis, alongside general manager Gavin Lee and executive director Paul Parker, a former England and Manchester United defender. In addition, the academy contracts over 20 coaches across the various age divisions.[3]
Venue
[edit]With JSSL growing year by year, with more venues and fields to play on, waiting time is minimised. The main venue is located at based at "The Arena" in Woodleigh Park.
| Venue | Location | Nearest MRT |
|---|---|---|
| The Arena | Woodleigh Park | NE11 Woodleigh |
| Mattar Training Centre (Sunday Only) | Mattar Road | DT25 Mattar |
| Tampines SAFRA | Tampines Street 92 | DT31 Tampines West |
| Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) | Somapah Road | DT34 Upper Changi |
| The Rainforest Sports Hub | West Coast Highway | CC25 Haw Par Villa |
| Dempsey | Harding Road | TE12 Napier |
| Woodlands Stadium | Woodlands Street 13 | NS9 Woodlands |
| Categories | Venue | Categories | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boys | Boys | ||
| Under 7 (Gold Package) | The Arena | Under 7 (Non-Gold Package) | Tampines SAFRA |
| Under 8 (Gold Package) | Under 8 (Non-Gold Package) | ||
| Under 9 (Gold Package) | Under 9 (Non-Gold Package) | Tampines SAFRA, Dempsey | |
| Under 10 (Gold Package) | Under 10 (Non-Gold Package) | ||
| Under 11 (Gold Package) | SUTD | Under 11 (Non-Gold Package) | The Rainforest Sports Hub, Dempsey |
| Under 12 (Gold Package) | Under 12 (Non-Gold Package) | ||
| Under 13 (Gold Package) | Under 13 (Non-Gold Package) | Woodlands Stadium | |
| Under 14 (Gold Package) | Under 14 (Non-Gold Package) | ||
| Under 15 (Gold Package) | Under 15 (Non-Gold Package) | ||
| Under 16 (Gold Package) | Under 16 (Non-Gold Package) | ||
| Girls | Others | ||
| Under 10 | SUTD | Professional Academy U16s | The Arena |
| Under 14 | The Arena | All Age-Group Finals | |
| Under 16 | SUTD | ||
Past champions
[edit]| Season | Champions | Score | Runner-ups | Manager | Venue | Guest of Honour |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 |  Sporting CP
|
2–0 |  Perth Glory
|
Luis Vicente Mateo
|
Padang |  Emile Heskey
|
| 2018 |  Urawa Red Diamonds
|
3–0 | Perth Glory
|
Takanari Sueto
|
Padang | Teddy Sheringham
|
| 2019 | Arsenal
|
2–0 | Perth Glory
|
Dan Micciche
|
Our Tampines Hub |  John Arne Riise
|
| 2020 | Not held due to COVID-19 pandemic | |||||
| 20212 | ||||||
| 2022 | Tottenham Hotspurs
|
1–0 |  Valencia
|
 Yaya Touré
|
Our Tampines Hub | Michael Carrick
|
| 2023 | Valencia
|
1–0 | Tottenham Hotspurs
|
Vicente Amposta
|
Our Tampines Hub |  Dwight Yorke
|
| 2024 | Valencia (2)
|
4–0 | Melbourne City
|
Vicente Amposta (2)
|
The Arena | Danny Murphy
|
| 2025 | Valencia (3)
|
2–1 | Tottenham Hotspurs
|
Vicente Amposta (3)
|
The Arena | John Arne Riise
|
| Season | Champions |
|---|---|
| 2019 | Atletico Madrid
|
| 2020 | Not held due to COVID-19 pandemic |
| 2021 | |
| 2022 | Not hosted |
| 2023 | Valencia
|
| 2024 | Valencia (2)
|
| 2025 | Urawa Red Diamonds
|
Collaboration
[edit]In 2016, the media reported that JSSL Singapore and English club Fulham had started a partnership at the end of 2015 in which outstanding youth players in Singapore would be provided with the opportunity to train at the Fulham Academy for two weeks.[4]
- In 2017, JSSL Singapore invited Fulham FC's Under-15 team to participate in the JSSL Professional Academies Singapore International 7s, and fully funded their trip to Singapore to participate in the tournament.[5] Later that year, it was announced that Benjamin James Davis, a young Thai footballer holding Singaporean citizenship and the son of JSSL's director, had signed a two-year scholarship at Fulham's academy after rising through the ranks at JSSL Singapore and the Football Association of Singapore's Junior Centre of Excellence.[6]
In 2017, Felix Goddard, a German-born British youth who joined JSSL in 2013 at the age of 9, earned a spot at the Manchester City Academy.[7]
In March 2018, JSSL Singapore and local Singapore Premier League club Tampines Rovers officially announced a partnership to create pathways for talented youth players for professional development.[8] The agreement, initially set to last for three years until 2021, saw JSSL Singapore coordinate youth development programmes for Tampines Rovers and feed promising talents into the professional side's youth setup. In addition, JSSL Singapore also provided full scholarships to 60 local youth players between 6 and 14 years old to cover the costs of participation at the academy's programme for a year.
LALIGA has a firm commitment with the development of Youth Football since 2021 in Singapore its collaboration agreement until 2026 for the national project "Unleash the Roar!", together with Sport Singapore and the Football Association of Singapore.
Others
[edit]As of 2025, JSSL Singapore collaborate with Hotelplanner which has appointed over 10 official hotels. All hotels will offer the best rates available with the Holiday Inn Atrium Singapore, the no 1 Official Hotel where all of the participating team will be staying. The official hotels provide a range of 3 star to 5 star across different price ranges to accommodate all the teams needs and price ranges.
Former partnership
[edit]
Notable player
[edit]
Hevertton Santos
Felix Goddard
Ben Davies
Harvey Elliott- Omari Hutchinson
- Callum Hudson-Odoi
- Dominic Solanke
Anthony Elanga
Benjamin Tetteh
Jesús Vázquez- David Otorbi
- Rubén Iranzo
References
[edit]- ^ "Home". JSSL Singapore League 2017/18. Retrieved 2018-07-31.
- ^ Lim, Weixiang (23 January 2017). "Furious football academy finds new home alongside Cafe Football". FourFourTwo. Archived from the original on 25 January 2017. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
- ^ "Coaches". JSSL Singapore Football Club. Retrieved 2018-07-31.
- ^ "Fulham scout impressed with local youth talent". TODAYonline. Retrieved 2018-07-31.
- ^ "Academy's Singapore Trip | Fulham Football Club". www.fulhamfc.com. Retrieved 2018-08-01.
- ^ "Singapore teen Ben Davis signs pro contract with Fulham". The New Paper. 2018-07-13. Retrieved 2018-07-31.
- ^ Munirah, Sharifah (2017-11-22). "British teen joins Manchester City academy after Singapore stint". The New Paper. Retrieved 2020-06-26.
- ^ hermesauto (2018-03-01). "Football: Tampines Rovers and academy JSSL announce youth development tie-up". The Straits Times. Retrieved 2018-07-31.
- ^ "LALIGA's Valencia CF and Villarreal CF will participate in the 2025 edition of the JSSL Pro Academy 7's in Singapore". Página web oficial de LALIGA | LALIGA. Retrieved 2025-06-26.