FC Jurong to build on community connection with new partner SKASports

SINGAPORE – Since putting down roots here over two decades ago, Singapore Premier League (SPL) club Albirex Niigata (Singapore) have built a strong following in the west.

Renamed FC Jurong from the 2026-27 season, the club now want to expand on their community connection, after inking a partnership on May 16 with India’s SKASports Investments, which will come in as a minority shareholder.

With the deal, the aim is to drive growth in areas such as international partnerships, youth player development and football performance.

At a press conference at the Jurong East Stadium on May 16, club chairman Daisuke Korenaga said: “Our goal is to build a club that will continue for 100 years…

“A club that is deeply connected to the local community and one that becomes a part of people’s daily lives. We believe this is the true value of a football club.

“A football club does not exist only on the pitch, it is also a platform where players, fans, local communities, businesses and culture come together and FC Jurong wants to be such a place where different people meet, connect and create new possibilities.”

With the partnership, SKASports director Sudhir Menon hopes to tap on the Indian community and bring them on board as fans in two phases. He said: “In the first phase, we would like to expand the brand awareness of FC Jurong to the Indian community, both in India and in Singapore.

“In the second phase, we would like to bring FC Jurong to the visibility of Indian business community members here and Indian businesses in India who have a presence in Singapore, which is a commercial aspect and development that will happen.

“We would also like to get access to the Indian market, do specific programmes, target them (players) and then find the best talent to have them here.”

The deal had come about when Korenaga travelled to Cambodia in December 2025 and Menon contacted him to discuss a potential partnership. SKASports also owns a minority stake in Cambodian Premier League club Angkor Tiger FC.

While it is a positive development, they are not about to follow in the footsteps of their SPL rivals and champions Lion City Sailors, who in 2020 became the league’s only privatised club.

The latter are backed by home-grown tech firm Sea Limited, whose founder, chairman and chief executive officer Forrest Li is also president of the Football Association of Singapore (FAS).

Korenaga said: “The Sailors and FC Jurong are a different club. They have a different plan, while we are more towards a community plan… The story is different, but sometimes (we have the same goals).”

FAS general secretary Badri Ghent said: “It’s a very significant milestone, not just for the club, but for the SPL.

“For FC Jurong, they’ve always been at the forefront of innovation, of pushing boundaries and especially from the element of community engagement, and for them to be fully entrenched now as a Singapore club, I think it’s a big success.

“As we can see with the Lion City Sailors’ success, we hope that other clubs can also push the boundaries in their own way, whether it’s by way of community engagements, whether it’s by way of private or commercial sponsorships.”

Since starting here in 2004 as the satellite team of Japanese club Albirex Niigata, they have won six league titles, four Singapore Cups and four Community Shields.

They had for 20 years maintained a team who comprised mainly university students from Japan and academy players from the J1 League.

In 2024, the club transitioned into a local outfit, which meant that they followed the same competition rules as local teams, including foreign player quotas. They were also eligible to play in regional competitions such as the Asian Champions League, should they earn a spot.

In April, the club showed their ambition by signing former Japan international Keisuke Honda for the 2026-27 season.

Looking ahead, Menon noted that while Jurong will aim to qualify for regional competitions and win the SPL, these are “just milestones on our journey and not the destination”.

He added: “The purpose for the club is to be a part of the community.

“We want to bring people together, come to the stadium, build friendships, be their first choice because football is a discretionary expenditure…

“A person choosing between a movie ticket and watching football, we want to step up from being triers, we want to be their must-choice.”

In their final match of the SPL season at the Jurong East Stadium on May 16, Albirex beat the Young Lions 3-0, courtesy of goals from Zulqarnaen Suzliman (fifth minute), Yang Hyeon-ju (29th) and Shingo Nakano (66th).

The White Swans are on 47 points, leapfrogging BG Tampines Rovers (46) to second place, and will earn an AFC Champions League Two play-off spot if the Stags lose to the Sailors on May 17.