Even as blue and silver confetti rained down at the Choa Chu Kang Stadium on Sunday (September 15) night to commemorate the Lion City Sailors Women’s Team’s third consecutive Deloitte Women’s Premier League (WPL) title, there was a palpable feeling among the players that this was just the start of something bigger.

Indeed, the celebrations had barely died down before the WPL champions began thinking of a loftier goal – to make a stronger impression on the regional stage next year.

After all, winning the WPL title – which they did with an emphatic 6-0 victory over Still Aerion – meant that they qualified for next season’s Asian Football Confederation Women’s Champions League (AWCL). 

The Sailors Women had previously represented Singapore in their maiden AWCL campaign earlier in August, and acquitted themselves well in the Preliminary Stage despite losses against India’s Odisha FC and Jordan’s Etihad Club. 

“The stakes were very high coming into this game as we wanted the chance to play in the AWCL again. Our first AWCL campaign set a new benchmark for us in terms of fitness and tactical levels, and that’s a level that we want to be constantly competing at. I’m glad that we have given ourselves another chance to compete against these top Asian teams,” said Raeka Ee, who scored the Sailors’ – and Singapore’s – first-ever goal in the AWCL in that opening game against Odisha. 

The Sailors no. 9 – who turns 21 on Monday (September 16) – certainly walked the talk, as she nodded home Syazwani Ruzi’s right-wing cross after just five minutes to put the Sailors in front. 

Raeka was at it again in the 31st minute, producing a cheeky lob off Qarissa Putri’s lofted ball into the area to double the Sailors’ lead – the goal means she will end her debut WPL campaign as the league’s second-highest scorer with 18 goals, five behind Albirex’s Manami Fukuzawa. 

In front of a boisterous crowd filled with Sailors fans who came out in support with their drums and scarves, Daniel Ong’s charges kept pushing Aerion after the break and eventually scored another four goals. 

First, Sarah Zu’risqha cut inside her marker to fire home a brilliant low shot to make it 3-0 in the 60th minute, before mid-season signing Nurhidayu Naszri got in on the act with a sizzling 30-yard strike 15 minutes later for her first-ever Sailors goal, making her the 18th different scorer for the club in the WPL this season. 

Sarah then lashed a stunner into the top corner from the edge of the box in the 82th minute for the Sailors’ fifth, before teenager Nur Ain Salleh completed the rout with a fine volley just before full time. 

The final whistle was the cue for celebrations from the Sailors camp, as they duly donned t-shirts emblazoned with the words ‘3-peat champions: 2022. 2023. 2024’. In what has become an annual heartwarming ritual, the Sailors Women also held up the jerseys of players who were not present or had left the team, after contributing to the season. 

This included Madison Telmer, who left to further her education in the United States, and Nadia Nuraffendi, who missed the majority of the season with an anterior cruciate ligament injury, along with German midfielder Laura Gänser, who joined in the celebrations despite being deregistered in mid-season. 

In a season that saw significant changes within the Sailors’ ranks, with a shift towards a younger playing squad — most of whom are under the age of 22, including seven players promoted from the Girls Academy in 2024 — the Sailors Women can look back on a brilliant campaign, where they were pushed all the way by an Albirex side filled with experienced Singapore internationals.

“To win the title with this squad, which is younger compared to previous years, means a lot; it shows that the development pathway from our Academy to the WPL team is there, and I’m sure there will be more youths joining the senior team in the coming years,” said captain Umairah Hamdan. 

“It definitely took some time for the newer girls to get used to the intensity and grow accustomed to our style of play. But these girls are good players; they adapted to the changes and were willing to learn. They had the grit and confidence to play, which made a lot of difference.”

The planning has already started for 2025, with Daniel casting his eye towards their second AWCL voyage. 

“For us, it’s not just about being the best in Singapore. As a club, we want to be out there competing and excelling at the regional level,” said the 35-year-old, who succeeded Yeong Sheau Shyan in the off-season. 

“I believe we can challenge the teams overseas if we really focus on the development of our girls in Singapore. We’re going to focus on getting the team to close the gap in terms of fitness, as well as technically and tactically, so that we can put up a better performance in the AWCL.

“This exposure is very important, and we want the girls to constantly be playing football at a higher level.”