Football in Singapore started in the 1890s during the British colonial of Singapore. There have been various competitions over the years with the S.League as the leading national league of Singapore. It was founded in 1996 and took over the defunct FAS Premier League. The next tier is the Singapore National Football League or more commonly known as the NFL which is the longest national leagues in Singapore. An FAS Island Wide League was then formed to allow new teams to qualify for the NFL. Beside the national leagues, there have also been various amateur football leagues which gives opportunity for players who want to pursue their career in football or a platform for the former professional players to continue playing the beautiful game of football.