The StarHub League cup draw was held at the FAS headquarters on Thursday evening as Football Association of Singapore and StarHub announced the increment in prize money as well as an entirely new format for the competition scheduled to be held between 26 July and 11 August.
The winner of the StarHub League Cup will walk away with SGD$30,000 in prize money, an increment of SGD$10,000 from the 2011 edition. The runners’ up of the competition will receive SGD$15,000 in prize money. This is also the first time that the competition will be sponsored by StarHub.
On top of the top two teams receiving prize money for the achievements to be decided on 11 August, the third placed team from each group will enter into a Plate Competition under the new format. The winner of the Plate competition will walk away with SGD$5,000 in prize money.
Members of the media will also select a brand new winner for the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the 2012 StarHub League Cup by casting votes for the player who shines brightest in the two week tournament. The winner of the MVP award will walk away with SGD$1,000 in prize money.
2011 League Cup winners Albirex Niigata (S), alongside Tampines Rovers, Home United and SAFFC were seeded in the draw. Tanjong Pagar United was handed the worst possible draw as they will face in-form SAFFC and current S-League league leaders Brunei DPMM in Group A.
Malaysia’s Harimau Muda will not participate in this competition.
The competition was first won by Woodlands Wellington in 2007 during its inaugural season.Gombak United,Brunei DPMM, Etoile FC and AlbirexNiigata(S) were the tournament’s previous winners.
The competition had been widely used by coaches to allow younger players from the Prime League to step up and stake claims for a senior team spot. It is also a competition that usually saw fringe players participating in.
The last three edition of the competition had been won by foreign sides in the Great Eastern Yeo’s S-League. With the local sides showing great form over the last few rounds of matches, do not be too surprised should a local side win it this time round.
StarHub will broadcast one semi-final and the final ‘live’ on SuperSports Arena (StarHub TV Channel 112/201). SuperSports Arena is a complimentary sports channel available to all StarHub TV customers. Viewers can also watch the ‘live’ matches on any Internet-enabled PC, Mac, iPad or tablet via SuperSports Arena on StarHub’s value-added service TV Anywhere at www.starhubtv.com. ‘Live’ coverage will be shown on StarHub TV onMobile as well.
StarHub League Cup Groupings and first round fixtures:
Group A: Singapore Armed Forces FC, Tanjong Pagar United FC, Brunei DPMM FC
Group B: *Albirex Niigata (S), Balestier Khalsa FC, Geylang United FC
Group C: Home United FC, Courts Young Lions, Hougang United FC,
Group D: Tampines Rovers FC, Woodlands Wellington FC, Gombak United FC
26th July 2012: Singapore Armed Forces FC vs Tanjong Pagar United FC
26th July 2012: Home United FC vs Courts Young Lions
27th July 2012: Albirex Niigata (S) vs Balestier Khalsa FC
27th July 2012: Tampines Rovers FC vs Woodlands Wellington FC
29th July 2012: Tanjong Pagar United FC vs Brunei DPMM FC
29th July 2012: Courts Young Lions vs Hougang United FC
30th July 2012: Balestier Khalsa FC vs Geylang United FC
30th July 2012: Woodlands Wellington vs Gombak United FC
01st Aug 2012: Brunei DPMM FC vs Singapore Armed Forces FC
01st Aug 2012: Hougang United FC vs Home United FC
02nd Aug 2012: Geylang United FC vs Albirex Niigata (S)
02nd Aug 2012: Gombak United FC vs Tampines Rovers FC
04th Aug: QF 1 (1st Grp A vs 2nd Grp C)
04th Aug: QF 2 (1st Grp C vs 2nd Grp A)
05th Aug: QF 3 (1st Grp B vs 2nd Grp D)
05th Aug: QF 4 (1st Grp D vs 2nd Grp B)
Plate Semi Finals:
06th Aug: Plate SF 1 (3rd Grp A vs 3rd Grp C)
06th Aug: Plate SF 2 (3rd Grp B vs 3rd Grp D)
07th Aug: SF 1 (Winner QF 1 vs Winner QF 2)
08th Aug: SF 2 (Winner QF 3 vs Winner QF 4)
Plate Final (Winner Plate SF 1 vs Winner Plate SF2)
Final (Winner SF 1 vs Winner SF 2)