Balestier Khalsa FC
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| Full name | Balestier Khalsa Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Tigers | ||
| Founded | 1974 as Fathul Karib | ||
| Ground | Toa Payoh Stadium | ||
| Capacity | 3,800 | ||
| Chairman | S. Thavaneson | ||
| Manager | Akbar Nawas | ||
| League | Singapore Premier League | ||
| 2021 | Singapore Premier League, 7th of 8 | ||
| |||
Balestier Khalsa Football Club is a Singaporean professional football club that competes in the Singapore Premier League. Founded in 1898, Balestier Khalsa is considered as the oldest football club in Singapore.
History[]
Tracing their origins all the way back to 1898, the club was formed as Fathul Karib and based in Farrer Park. One of the highlights over the following half century, before the side was renamed Balestier United Recreation Club in the 1970s, was providing nine players to the Singapore side which competed in the 1958 Asian Games, losing 2–1 to both continental heavyweights South Korea and Israel.[1]
Balestier United Recreational Club[]
The club's name was changed to Awne F.C[2] in April 1975, when it joined the inaugural National Football League. The team captured the Singapore Cup in 1958 and 1992. The club played in the Singapore Premier League (the forerunner to the S.League) from 1988 to 1995. The club became the first club in Singapore to bring in foreign players when they signed two Yugoslavian players, Josko Spanjic and Boris Lucic, for the 1989 season. Balestier United are currently still active in local football, competing in the National Football League Division 1. Former Balestier Khalsa players such, Ruhaizad Ismail, Daniel Ong and Syafiq Zainal all played for the team as well.
Balestier Central[]
In 1996, Balestier United Recreational Club became a founder member of the S.League and changed its name to Balestier Central.
Clementi Khalsa[]
Clementi Khalsa was formed as a club to represent Singapore's Sikh community and joined the S.League in 1999. Prior to the merger with Balestier Central, the club was based in the Clementi area of Singapore and played its home games at the Clementi Stadium.
Merger[]
The club is an amalgamation of Balestier Central Football Club and Clementi Khalsa Football Club who merged at the end of the 2002 S.League season. Due to its link with Clementi Khalsa, the club is very popular amongst Singapore's Sikh community.
Balestier Khalsa[]
On 10 August 2012, Balestier Khalsa won the first League Cup Plate Final as the team defeated Young Lions in the Jalan Besar Stadium.
In 2013, Darren Stewart signed several players from his former team, Gombak United and formed a strong foundation of the team, including foreign players Kim Min-ho and Park Kang-jin, together with Singapore national team player Qiu Li and proved to be a success. On 14 September 2013, The Tigers went one level higher by scoring a huge 4–0 win over DPMM FC in the League Cup Final and clinched their first ever silverware. Captain, Paul Cunningham and the team lift the trophy as well as clinching 3rd placing in the Singapore Cup.
Balestier Khalsa signed former U-21 Croatian international Goran Ljubojević on 11 February 2014 as their first ever marquee signing.[3] As well as Emir Lotinac of Serbia from Novi Pazar. The Tigers won their first ever Singapore Cup on 7 November 2014, beating Home United 3–1 with Goran, Kim and Park scoring the goals.[4] Thus, qualified for AFC Cup in the following year.
The Tigers make their continental competition debut on 24 February 2015, losing 0–3 to Hong Kong Premier League champions, Kitchee. 10 March, they almost held eventual 2015 champions, Johor Darul Ta'zim to goalless draw but the visitor scored in the stoppage time. Balestier Khalsa finally got their historical first win in the following week, Jonathan Xu scoring his and Tiger's maiden AFC Cup goal and Miroslav Krištić's goal beating East Bengal 2–1. On 10 July 2015, Balestier Khalsa lost narrowly 2–1 against Albirex Niigata (S) to finish runner up in the League Cup.
In 2016, Balestier Khalsa qualified for AFC Cup as Singapore's 2nd best local team and got their first away goals/ point in the AFC Cup, held Dhivehi Premier League champions, New Radiant 2–2 at Malé. They continue to improved their run in the competition and winning Kitchee & New Radiant 1–0 and 3–0 at home. Balestier Khalsa finished 4th in the Singapore Cup after losing to Ceres-La Salle in the third place playoff.
In 2017, due to tight budget, Balestier Khalsa signed 3 Myanmar national football team players, Aung Kyaw Naing, Kyaw Zayar Win, Nanda Lin Kyaw Chit from Nay Pyi Taw, Ayeyawady United and Yadanabon respectively.
Players[]
- As of 15 Dec 2021 [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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Remarks:
On Loan[]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Honours[]
- Singapore Cup
- Winners: 2014
- Community Shield
- Runners-up: 2015
- League Cup
- Winners: 2013
- Runners-up: 2015
- League Cup Plate Tournament
- Winners: 2012
- Runners-up : 2014
- FA Cup
- Winners: 2012
- President's Cup
- Winners: 1992
- FAS Challenge Cup
- Winners: 1958
Reserves[]
- Prime League
- Winners: 2012, 2013
Domestic record[]
As Balestier Central/ Balestier Khalsa
| Season | League | Pos. | P | W | D | L | GS | GA | Pts | Singapore Cup | League Cup | Top goalscorer | Managers | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996-1 | S.League | 3rd* | 14 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 22 | 18 | 24 |  Goran Paulic
|
22 |  Robin Chan
| ||
| 1996-2 | 3rd* | 14 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 25 | 19 | 24 | ||||||
| 1997 | 4th | 16 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 43 | 26 | 28 | 21 | |||||
| 1998 | 4th | 20 | 9 | 4 | 7 | 47 | 43 | 31 | Group stage | 19 | PN Sivaji
| |||
| 1999 | 7th | 22 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 25 | 27 | 26 | Semi-final | Eric Francis
|
6 | |||
| 2000 | 12th | 22 | 3 | 5 | 14 | 16 | 42 | 14 | Round of 16 |  Jason Ainsley
|
4 | |||
| 2001 | 7th | 33 | 8 | 11 | 14 | 43 | 57 | 35 | Group stage | Ali Imran Lomri Daorueang Krongpol
|
8 | |||
| 2002 | 11th | 33 | 6 | 5 | 22 | 50 | 103 | 23 | Group stage |  Itimi Owepa Wilson
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23 | Robin Chan
| ||
| 2003 | 11th | 33 | 5 | 2–6 | 20 | 37 | 76 | 25 | Quarter-final |  Kim Eun-Cher
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9 | Abdullah Noor
| ||
| 2004 | 8th | 27 | 6 | 19 | 22 | 36 | 73 | 20 | Quarter-final | Park Tae-won
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7 | Jang Jung
| ||
| 2005 | 7th | 27 | 10 | 6 | 11 | 45 | 52 | 36 | Preliminary Rd |  Kengne Ludovick
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20 | |||
| 2006 | 7th | 30 | 10 | 7 | 13 | 50 | 61 | 37 | Semi-final | 15 | Abdul Karim Razzak
| |||
| 2007 | 9th | 33 | 7 | 8 | 18 | 44 | 63 | 29 | Quarter-final | Quarter-final |  Ryuji Sueoka
|
9 | ||
| 2008 | 12th | 33 | 3 | 8 | 22 | 26 | 60 | 17 | Round of 16 | Third place | Paul Ekollo
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6 | Nasaruddin Jalil
| |
| 2009 | 11th | 30 | 4 | 6 | 20 | 22 | 58 | 18 | Round of 16 | Group stage | Oh In-kyun
|
5 | ||
| 2010 | 8th | 33 | 10 | 7 | 16 | 26 | 40 | 37 | Quarter-final | Preliminary Rd |  Rivaldo Costa
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11 | Nasaruddin Jalil Salim Moin
| |
| 2011 | 10th | 33 | 7 | 5 | 21 | 28 | 63 | 26 | Round of 16 | Preliminary Rd |  Mark McGough
|
8 | Salim Moin
| |
| 2012 | 6th | 24 | 11 | 6 | 7 | 23 | 20 | 39 | Round of 16 | Plate Winners | Park Kang-jin
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4 | Darren Stewart
| |
| 2013 | 4th | 27 | 12 | 7 | 8 | 38 | 28 | 43 | Third place | Winners | Qiu Li
|
12 | ||
| 2014 | 6th | 27 | 11 | 7 | 9 | 46 | 34 | 40 | Winners | Plate Runners-up | Goran Ljubojević
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20 | Marko Kraljević
| |
| 2015 | 4th | 27 | 12 | 8 | 7 | 39 | 35 | 44 | Quarter-final | Runners-up | Miroslav Krištić
|
16 | ||
| 2016 | 8th | 24 | 4 | 7 | 13 | 23 | 42 | 19 | Semi-final | Group stage | Niko Tokić
|
10 | ||
| 2017 | 7th | 24 | 5 | 4 | 15 | 17 | 33 | 19 | Preliminary Rd | Group stage | Hazzuwan Halim
|
5 | ||
| 2018 | Singapore Premier League | 6th | 24 | 7 | 6 | 11 | 25 | 36 | 27 | Third place |  Keegan Linderboom
|
5 | ||
| 2019 | 9th | 24 | 4 | 5 | 15 | 37 | 58 | 17 | Group Stage | Hazzuwan Halim Šime Žužul
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10 | Khidhir Khamis Marko Kraljević
| ||
| 2020 | 5th | 14 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 22 | 28 | 19 | Sime Zuzul
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6 | Marko Kraljević
| |||
| 2021 | 7th | 21 | 5 | 4 | 12 | 31 | 52 | 19 | 15 | |||||
| 2022 | Akbar Nawas
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As Clementi Khalsa
| Season | League | Pos. | P | W | D | L | GS | GA | Pts | Singapore Cup |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | S.League | 11th | 22 | 3 | 6 | 13 | 29 | 55 | 15 | Round of 16 |
| 2000 | 8th | 22 | 5 | 10 | 7 | 33 | 46 | 25 | ||
| 2001 | 9th | 33 | 7 | 9 | 17 | 43 | 76 | 30 | Group stage | |
| 2002 | 10th | 33 | 7 | 4 | 22 | 45 | 84 | 25 |
- The 1996 season of the S.League was split into two series.
- 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.
Continental record[]
| Season | Competition | Round | Club | Home | Away | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992–93 | Asian Cup Winners' Cup | First round |  Quảng Nam Đà Nẵng
|
Withdrew | ||
| 2015 | AFC Cup | Group F |  Kitchee
|
1–2 | 3–0 | 4th |
 Johor Darul Ta'zim
|
0–1 | 3–0 | ||||
 East Bengal
|
2–1 | 3–0 | ||||
| 2016 | AFC Cup | Group F |  New Radiant
|
3–0 | 2–2 | 3rd |
| Kitchee
|
1–0 | 4–0 | ||||
 Kaya FC
|
0–3 | 1–0 |
Sponsors[]
| Kit Supplier | Main Sponsors |
|---|---|
 Adidas
|
 Jeep
|
See also[]
- History of Singaporean Indians
- History of Indian influence on Southeast Asia
- Indian diaspora
- Indian Singaporeans
- Sikhism in Singapore
- Singapore Khalsa Association FC
- List of Indian organisations in Singapore
References[]
- ^ "Untold Stories, Southeast Asian Clubs: Balestier Khalsa". Archived from the original on 22 April 2016. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
- ^ "History and Tradition of Balestier Khalsa FC". Balestier Khalsa. Retrieved 17 April 2014.
- ^ "Ljubojevic hopes for injury-free season at Balestier - Goal.com". goal.com. 11 February 2014. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
- ^ "Balestier Khalsa with first-ever RHB Singapore Cup win". espnfc.com. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
- ^ "Balestier Khalsa FC Player List". Singapore Premier League. 12 March 2021. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
External links[]
- Balestier Khalsa FC
- Football clubs in Singapore
- Association football clubs established in 1898
- 1898 establishments in Singapore
- Singapore Premier League clubs