7 football clubs in Singapore that faded into history

SINGAPORE: The Football Association of Singapore (FAS) announced on Wednesday (Dec 6) that it is searching for a 10th club to take part in the Singapore Premier League (SPL).

The SPL, formerly known as the S.League, was officially launched in 1996 with a field of eight local clubs. In the years since, many teams – both foreign and local – have joined and left the only professional sports league in Singapore.

Here is a look back at seven of them.

Previously known as the Singapore Armed Forces Football Club (SAFFC), Warriors FC are the most successful club in SPL history, winning the league title nine times between 1997 and 2014. They also won the Singapore Cup four times during their era of dominance.

Nicknamed the Rhinos, the Warriors were one of the S.League's founding members. They called the Choa Chu Kang Stadium home and counted Singapore legend Fandi Ahmad among their notable players and coaches.

In 2010, they became the first Singapore club to win an AFC Champions League match when they beat China's Henan Jianye 2-1. It remained the only victory by a Singapore side at Asian football's premier competition until 2022, when the Lion City Sailors beat South Korea's Daegu FC.

The club was renamed Warriors FC in 2013, with TODAY reporting at the time that the move was aimed at opening up "more marketing and sponsorship opportunities".

They began running into financial trouble in 2018, however, and at the end of the following year, FAS instructed them to sit out the2020 SPL season after they failed to pay their players and staff.

The club has not competed in the SPL since.

Founded as Wellington FC, Woodlands Wellington adopted their name as they joined the S.League for its inaugural season in 1996.

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