Warriors FC
| File:Warriors F.C. Logo.png | |||
| Full name | Warriors Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Warriors | ||
| Founded | 1975 | ||
| Ground | Choa Chu Kang Stadium | ||
| Capacity | 4,268 | ||
| Chairman | BG Lam Shiu Tong | ||
| Head Coach | Razif Onn | ||
| League | S.League | ||
| 2015 | 5th | ||
| Website | Club home page | ||
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Warriors Football Club is a Singaporean professional football club that plays in the top-tier S.League. Before they officially changed their name on 20 January 2013,[1] they were previously known as the Singapore Armed Forces Football Club (SAFFC) since their establishment on 16 February 1996. Despite their name back then, membership of the Armed Forces was not a prerequisite for players representing the team, and several international players have played for them.
Using a rhino as club mascot was their second suggestion after the S.League rejected their initial proposal of having a warrior as being out of line with the policy of clubs having animal mascots.[2]
Warriors F.C. is currently the most successful club in the history of the S.League, having won the title a record nine times: in 1997, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2014[3] and finishing second in 4 seasons: 1996, 1999, 2001, 2005 in the 21 years since the inception of the S.League.
The Warriors was based in Jurong Stadium till 2000 before moving to their current home ground Choa Chu Kang Stadium in 2001. In light of the preparation of the 2015 SEA Games, the Warriors had to vacate Choa Chu Kang Stadium and will instead play their home matches at the Woodlands Stadium for the 2015 season instead.
Contents
History
1975–2006
The Singapore Armed Forces Sports Association (SAFSA) football team was formed in 1975 to provide talented footballers serving National Service with opportunities to play competitive football. That year, they won the President's Cup, a feat they repeated in 1978, when they also captured the National Football League title to complete The Double. Their Under-19 team won the national Under-19 title in 1979, 1980 and 1983, while the 1981 season of the National Football League saw the SAFSA football team emerge as champions without losing a game. The President's Cup was captured again in 1984 and 1986, the latter time as part of a second Double, as they also won the National Football League on goal difference. In 1990, the Pools Cup went to the SAFSA football team and their convincing displays led to their selection as one of eight clubs to compete in the newly formed S.League.[4]
Singapore Armed Forces FC's entry into the S.League in 1996 also resulted in the withdrawal of SAFSA from the NFL. SAFSA would not participate in the local football leagues again till 1999, when they rejoined the National Football League.
SAFFC finished second in 1996, 1999 and won the league in 1997 and 1998.
Former Singapore international Fandi Ahmad took over from Mladen Pralija in 1999.
Three coaches were at the reins during this period, each lasting only one season. SAFFC finished second in 2005 but otherwise outside the top two.
2006–present
Richard Bok took over as club head coach in 2006 & led the Warriors to 4 consecutive championship 2006, 2007, 2008 & 2009.
In 2008, SAFFC became the first Singapore club to achieve the "double" back-to-back, after winning both the S.League and the Singapore Cup in 2007 and 2008.
In Asian Football Confederation Club competition, he led SAFFC to 2 Quarter Finals in 2007 & 2008. In 2009, SAFFC qualified into the AFC Champions League group stage by defeating Thai Champion PEA FC and PSMS Medan of Indonesia in the East playoff thus SAFFC making Singapore football history by being the first club from Singapore to qualified for the highest club competition in Asia.
SAFFC were drawn in a group with J.League champions Kashima Antlers, K.League champions Suwon Samsung Bluewings and Chinese Super League runners-up Shanghai Shenhua, and despite being confirmed as the group losers after a 5–0 loss to Kashima Antlers in Japan, they managed to win their first ever point in the competition with a 1–1 draw against Shanghai Shenhua at home.
In 2010, SAFFC qualified for their second consecutive AFC Champions League group stage by defeating Sriwijaya of Indonesia 3–0 at Jalan Besar stadium in Singapore and won on penalty in the East playoff Final with Muangthong United F.C. of Thailand in Singapore. SAFFC were group with former Champion Gamba Osaka of Japan, Henan Jianye of China and again Suwon Samsung Bluewings of Korea. SAFFC got their first ever away points with a draw against Chinese Super League side Henan Jianye in Henan, China. Thus equalling their 1 point in 2009. In the return leg on 13 April 2010 at Jalan Besar stadium in Singapore, SAFFC record their first ever historical AFC Champions League win with a 2–1 victory over Henan Jianye. Eventually finishing 3rd in the group ahead of Chinese Super League team Henan Jianye putting SAFFC and Singapore football on the map in Asia Football.
On 20 January 2013, SAFFC announced that they had changed their name to Warriors Football Club ahead of the 2013 S.League season.[1]
Alex Weaver, in his first full season as coach of Warriors F.C., clinched the 2014 S.League title on the last day of the competition for the Warriors. With Brunei DPMM leading the table until the last day, the Warriors scored a 1–0 win over Albirex Niigata Singapore FC and they received a favour from Tampines Rovers FC, who beat Brunei DPMM 2–1 to hand Warriors F.C. their first title in 5 years and their 9th title in the league's 19 years history.
Seasons
| Season | S.League | Singapore Cup | Singapore League Cup | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |||
| 1996-1 | 4th | 14 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 27 | 25 | 18 | ||
| 1996-2 | 1st | 14 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 32 | 14 | 32 | ||
| 1997 | 1st | 16 | 12 | 1 | 3 | 42 | 11 | 37 | ||
| 1998 | 1st | 20 | 14 | 4 | 2 | 46 | 17 | 46 | Runners-up | |
| 1999 | 2nd | 22 | 14 | 7 | 1 | 63 | 24 | 49 | Winners | |
| 2000 | 1st | 22 | 16 | 4 | 2 | 53 | 15 | 52 | Runners-up | |
| 2001 | 2nd | 33 | 24 | 2 | 7 | 101 | 46 | 74 | 2nd Runners-up | |
| 2002 | 1st | 33 | 26 | 6 | 1 | 104 | 37 | 84 | Quarter-finals | |
| 2003 | 3rd | 33 | 20 | 2–5 | 6 | 68 | 37 | 69 | Group stage | |
| 2004 | 4th | 27 | 14 | 3 | 10 | 45 | 48 | 45 | Quarter-finals | |
| 2005 | 2nd | 27 | 15 | 7 | 5 | 54 | 41 | 52 | Semi-finals | |
| 2006 | 1st | 30 | 20 | 8 | 2 | 71 | 36 | 68 | Quarter-finals | |
| 2007 | 1st | 33 | 25 | 4 | 4 | 95 | 38 | 79 | Winners | Withdrew |
| 2008 | 1st | 33 | 24 | 5 | 4 | 85 | 34 | 77 | Winners | Quarter-finals |
| 2009 | 1st | 30 | 22 | 1 | 7 | 73 | 31 | 67 | Round of 16 | Runners-up |
| 2010 | 4th | 33 | 16 | 5 | 12 | 56 | 41 | 53 | Round of 16 | Quarter-finals |
| 2011 | 3rd | 33 | 21 | 3 | 9 | 74 | 39 | 66 | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals |
| 2012 | 7th | 24 | 9 | 5 | 10 | 43 | 41 | 32 | Winners | Semi-finals |
| 2013 | 7th | 27 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 38 | 38 | 35 | Preliminary | Group stage |
| 2014 | 1st | 27 | 16 | 5 | 6 | 53 | 35 | 53 | Preliminary | Group stage |
| 2015 | 5th | 27 | 11 | 4 | 12 | 40 | 51 | 37 | Quarter-finals | Group stage |
- The 1996 season of the S.League was split into two series. Tiger Beer Series winners Geylang United defeated Pioneer Series winners Singapore Armed Forces in the Championship playoff to clinch the S.League title.
- 2003 saw the introduction of penalty shoot-outs if a match ended in a draw in regular time. Winners of penalty shoot-outs gained two points instead of one.
Players
S.League 2016 squad
- As of 18 January 2016[5]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Prime League 2016 Squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Women's Premier League 2016 Squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Club officials
Management
- Chairman: BG Lam Shiu Tong
- Co-Chairman: Philip Lam Tin Sing
- Vice-Chairman: SLTC Lim Teck Keong & Donald Tan
- Honorary Secretary: Paul Poh
- Treasurer: Lester Wong
- Club Advisor: Laurence Goh
- General Manager: Paul Poh
- Marketing & Event: Carree Lim Ailun
Technical staff 2016
- SLeague Head Coach / Technical Director: Razif Onn
- SLeague Assistant Coach: Hairi Su'ap
- SLeague Team Manager: Eugene Cheang
- Goalkeeper Coach: Scott Starr
- Head Fitness Trainer: Scott Starr
- Assistant Fitness Trainer: Shazaly Ayob
- Head Sports Trainer: Silas Abdul Karim
- Logistic Officer: Abdul Latiff Bin Abdul Hamid
- Prime League Head Coach: Mohamed Razif Bin Onn
- Prime League Team Manager: Suzanna Foo
- Prime League Sports Trainer: Ainul Hikmah Borhan Nurdin
- Prime League Goalkeeper Coach: Yusri Bin Abdul Aziz
- Women Head Coach: Mohamad Hisham Bin Roslan
- Women Team manager: Carree Lim Ailun
- Women Sports Trainer: Mohamad Azhar Bin Mohamed Idros
- COE Head Coach: Mohamed Razif Bin Onn
- COE U17 Coach: Effendi Rahmat
- COE U17 Coach: Azlan Alipah
- COE U15 Coach: Darus Salleh
- COE U15 Coach: Sophian Hamid
- COE Goalkeeper Coach: Yusri Aziz
- COE Sports Trainer: Ainul Hikmah Borhan Nurdin
Former Coaches
Vincent Subramaniam (1996–98)
Mladen Pralija (1999)- Fandi Ahmad (2000–03)
Jimmy Shoulder (2004)
Kim Poulsen (1 July 2005 – 30 June 2006)- Richard Bok (9 May 2006 – 31 Dec 2012)
- V. Selvaraj (1 Jan 2013 – 12 June 2013)
Alex Weaver (12 June 2013 – 24 October 2015)
Jorg Steinebrunner (2016 – )
Honours
Domestic
League
- S.League: 9
- National Football League Division One: 3
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- 1978, 1981, 1986
Cups
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- 1975, 1984, 1986
Performance in AFC competitions
- AFC Champions League: 3 appearance
- Asian Club Championship: 3 appearances
- AFC Cup: 4 appearances
- AFC Cup Winners Cup: 2 appearances
Sponsors
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ http://www.safwarriors.com.sg/home/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=10&Itemid=11
- ↑ http://www.sleague.com/Web/main.aspx?ID=693b0933-5803-4580-a1bf-c0504756b2ee,,&TargetPageID=
- ↑ Malathi Das and Palakrishnan (1996), "S.League: the kick-off", Singapore Professional Football League Pte Ltd, p. 38
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
