Champs League hunger spurs Sailors to 3rd WPL title

It was a familiar sight at the Choa Chu Kang Stadium on Sept 15, as blue and silver confetti rained down on the Lion City Sailors, who clinched their third consecutive Deloitte Women's Premier League (WPL) title and $25,000 prize money after a 6-0 victory over Still Aerion.

- Kimberly Kwek

But things were not quite the same as compared to previous years. Going into the final match of the season, it was not just a threepeat on the line, but also another appearance in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Women's Champions League.

Having had that first taste of continental competition in August, the Sailors were hungry for the chance to keep testing themselves against regional sides.

Their inaugural AFC Women's Champions League (AWCL) campaign in Jordan may have ended in the preliminary stages following a 4-1 loss to India's Odisha FC and a 5-0 defeat by the host's Etihad Club, but it also spurred them on to make a return to the competition.

"After we experienced the AWCL, the stakes were a lot higher so coming into this game, we were very determined to win the league to go back and play in the AWCL next year," said forward Raeka Ee, whose teammates presented her with a cake in celebration of her 21st birthday the next day.