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SINGAPORE - They were the first foreign side to win a football trophy in Singapore when they bagged the League Cup in 2009.
They were also well in the hunt for the S-League title in 2009, until FIFA suspended the Football Association of Brunei Darussalam (BAFA) due to government interference in their affairs, and they were barred from completing the final five fixtures of the season.
But DPMM FC will return to the S-League next year to complete the 14-team roster, ending the hopes of the likes of Sembawang Soccer Academy, who had applied to join the competition next year.
The ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) received word from the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) last week, and yesterday confirmed the Brunei side's return to Singapore's domestic football competitions.
"DPMM's return is the worst kept secret in local football," said Tampines Rovers coach Steven Tan, who guided the Stags to the S-League title this year.
"They are a good team that will probably finish in the top five, it should be very interesting next year."
The FAS have yet to make the announcement of DPMM's return.
BAFA have got their house in order and renamed themselves the National Football Association of Brunei Darussalam. The move has seen them reinstated by FIFA, paving the way for DPMM to secure their ticket back to Singapore.
DPMM will join Malaysia's Young Tigers, a team largely made up of Ong Kim Swee's side that struck gold at the SEA Games in Indonesia last month, in an S-League that will expand from 12 to 14 teams.
Vjeran Simunic, DPMM coach in 2009, will return with the team, and he said: "This is good news for us. We have started preparing (since October) and it is not easy from the start especially with the players having had no games for the past two years.
"We are working very hard and I can say that we are at 75 per cent to the level that we want to reach."
Croatia's Ivan Jerkovic has left SAFFC and rejoined the team he played for in 2009. Irishman George O'Callaghan and Ghanaian forward Osman Bashiru are also understood to have signed with the team, and DPMM are reportedly hosting several other foreigners on trial to fill the fourth slot.
SAFFC were the main beneficiaries of DPMM's enforced exit in 2009, winning the title after the Brunei's side's league results were expunged.
The Warriors' coach Richard Bok welcomed their return, and he told Today: "They were a strong team that provided excitement when they were playing then, and we welcome their return.
"Ivan (Jerkovic) has joined them, and they seem to have retained most of their local players and signed good foreign ones. They should be a strong team again."
In 2009, S-League clubs travelled to Bandar Seri Begawan, where DPMM held their home games at the Hassanal Bolkiah Stadium, with crowds reaching numbers of 10,000, and Today understands the same arrangement will follow next year.
It will mean much travelling for Tampines and Home United.
Both Tampines and Home will compete in the AFC Cup next year, and the Stags have been drawn in Group F with Hong Kong's Kitchee FC, Vietnam's Song Lam Nghe An and Malaysia Super League runners-up Terengganu.
Tan does not foresee any problems, and said: "I'm sure the FAS will make proper arrangements and work around our fixtures.
"We look forward to DPMM's return."
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