Warriors Football Club was a Singaporean professional football club based in Choa Chu Kang, Singapore, that played in the Singapore Premier League, the top division of football in Singapore. Before changing 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, not all players from the team came from the Armed Forces. Some were internationals and others were foreign.
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| Full name | Warriors Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Rhino Warriors | ||
| Founded | 1975 (as Singapore Armed Forces Sports Association (SAFSA) 1996 (as Warriors FC) | ||
| Dissolved | 2019 | ||
| Ground | Choa Chu Kang Stadium | ||
| Capacity | 4,268 | ||
| Chairman | Lam Shiu Tong | ||
| League | Singapore Premier League | ||
| 2019 | Singapore Premier League, 7th of 9 | ||
| Website | http://www.warriorsfc.org.sg | ||
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The club's original choice of mascot was a wolf, but club officials chose a rhinoceros, which represents discipline, spirit, courage and teamwork.[2]
Warriors are currently the most successful club in the history of the Singapore league since its inception, having won the league title a record 9 times in 1997, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2014 and finishing second on four occasions in 1996, 1999, 2001 and 2005.
History
1975–1995
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 that they repeated in 1978, when they also captured the National Football League title to complete 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 emerge as unbeaten champions. The President's Cup was won by them 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 and their convincing displays led to their selection as one of eight clubs to compete in the newly formed S.League.[3]
1996–2005
The club than revamp it named to Singapore Armed Forces Football Club (SAFFC) and also adopt a new mascot as in its club logo where they joined the inaugural S.League in 1996. The reserve team which still keep its old name and old logo also resulted in the withdrawal of SAFSA from the National Football League. SAFSA would not participate in Singaporean football leagues again until 1999, when they rejoined the league. SAFFC than finished second in 1996 in its debut season where they signed 5 Croatian players Ivica Raguž, Jure Ereš, Velimir Crljen, Davor Mioč and Goran Grubesic. With Grubesic leaving the club at the end of the 1996 season, SAFFC continued with 4 of the remaining foreigners where the club went on to win back-to-back S.League title in 1997 and 1998.
After retiring from football, club captain Fandi Ahmad took over from Mladen Pralija as the club head coach in 1999 where he guided them to win the S.League title in 2000 and 2002.
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.
2006–2012
Singaporean Richard Bok took over as SAFFC's head coach in 2006 and led them to four consecutive league championships from 2006 to 2009.
In 2008, SAFFC became the first Singaporean club to achieve a back-to-back domestic double, after winning both the S.League and the Singapore Cup in 2007 and 2008.
AFC Champions League debut
In 2009, SAFFC qualified for the AFC Champions League by defeating Thailand champions PEA and PSMS Medan of Indonesia in the Eastern zone play-offs, becoming Singapore's first-ever representative at 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. They lost all of their matches, except for a 1–1 draw against Shanghai Shenhua at home.
In 2010, SAFFC qualified for their second consecutive AFC Champions League by registering a 3–0 home win against Sriwijaya of Indonesia and defeated Muangthong United of Thailand in the Eastern zone play-off final, again at home. Against Henan Jianye of China in the group stage, they drew in the two teams' first encounter and won the return leg 2–1 in Singapore, finishing third in a group that also contained familiar rivals Suwon Samsung Bluewings and former champions Gamba Osaka.
2013–2019
On 20 January 2013, SAFFC announced that they had changed their name to Warriors Football Club ahead of the 2013 S.League season.[1]
Englishmen Alex Weaver, in his first full season as coach of Warriors FC, clinched the 2014 S.League title on the last day of the competition for the Warriors. With DPMM of Brunei leading the table until the last day, the Warriors scored a 1–0 win over Albirex Niigata Singapore and received a favour from Tampines Rovers, who beat DPMM 2–1 to hand Warriors their first title in 5 years and their 9th title in the league's 19-year history.
However, good times did not last for the Warriors. In November 2019, the team were brought to court and charged with 107 counts of not paying salaries for their staff.[4] In total, they failed to pay more than S$350,000 in salaries to about 30 employees, including players, coaches and supporting staff.
2 days after the incident was reported, ST reported that there were 2 parties that were interested to take over Warriors FC.[5]
On 31 December 2019, the FAS had instructed the Warriors to sit out the 2020 Singapore Premier League season due to their financial and legal issues.[6] They applied to return to the Singapore Premier League and Singapore Cup competitions for 2021 to no avail.[7]
Stadium
The Warriors were initially based at the Jurong Stadium until 2000, before permanetely moving to the 4,268 capacity Choa Chu Kang Stadium in 2001.
Permanently sealed success into history at Choa Chu Kang Stadium
The stadium has become familiar for its elegant and soaring curved white steel roof, with supporting pylons, that covers the main grandstand. The football pitch itself consists of a self-watering "cell-system" turf pitch installation, supplied from Switzerland and approved by FIFA for international competition. The club has won 6 League titles during their time here.
Before the 2015 SEA Games commenced, they had to vacate Choa Chu Kang Stadium and instead played their home matches at the Woodlands Stadium for the 2015 season instead.
Seasons
| Season | Name Changed | League | Pos. | P | W | D | L | GS | GA | Pts | Singapore Cup | League Cup |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996-1 | Singapore Armed Forces | S.League | 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 | Third place | |||
| 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 | Warriors | 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 | ||
| 2016 | 7th | 24 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 39 | 39 | 28 | Preliminary | Group stage | ||
| 2017 | 5th | 24 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 33 | 36 | 34 | Preliminary | Runners-up | ||
| 2018 | Singapore Premier League | 5th | 24 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 32 | 35 | 28 | Quarter-finals | ||
| 2019 | 7th | 24 | 6 | 5 | 13 | 40 | 56 | 22 | Runners-up |
- 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 play-off 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 won two points instead of one.
Performance in AFC competitions
- AFC Champions League: 3 appearances
- Asian Club Championship: 3 appearances
- AFC Cup: 4 appearances
- AFC Cup Winners Cup: 2 appearances
Awards
Player of the Year Award
Top scorers
| Season | Name | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 |  Jure Ereš | 28 |
| 1999 | Mirko Grabovac | 23 |
| 2000 | Mirko Grabovac | 19 |
| 2001 | Mirko Grabovac | 39 |
| 2002 | Mirko Grabovac | 34 |
| 2007 | Aleksandar Đurić | 37 |
| 2008 | Aleksandar Đurić | 28 |
| 2009 | Aleksandar Đurić | 28 |
| 2011 |  Mislav Karoglan | 33 |
* Mirko Grabovac was naturalised from 2002 until he renounced his Singaporean citizenship in 2008.
* Aleksandar Đurić was naturalised since 2007.
Honours
League
Cup
- Singapore Cup
- Champions (4): 1999, 2007, 2008, 2012
- Runners-up (3): 1998, 2000, 2019
- Singapore Community Shield
- President's Cup
- Champions (3): 1975, 1984, 1986
Reserve
- Singapore FA Cup
- Singapore League Cup
- Runners-up (2): 2009, 2017
Records and statistics
Top 10 all-time appearances
| Rank | Player | Years | Club appearances |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Rezal Hassan |
1996–2004,
2010–2013 |
312 |
| 2 | Daniel Bennett |
2002,
2003–2004 2007–2016 |
234 |
| 3 | Shahril Jantan |
2002–2003
2006–2012 |
167 |
| 4 | Zulfadli Zainal Abidin |
2009,
2011–2014 2016–2017 |
156 |
| 5 | Hafiz Osman |
2003–2011
2016–2017 |
153 |
| 6 |  Therdsak Chaiman |
2002,
2005–2009 |
145 |
| 7 | Shaiful Esah |
2005–2011
2016–2017 |
131 |
| 8 | Mustaqim Manzur |
2005–2011 | 127 |
| 9 | Marin Vidošević |
2012–2015 | 112 |
| 10 | Emmeric Ong |
2015–2019 | 111 |
Top 10 all-time scorers
| Rank | Name | Club Appearances | Total goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Therdsak Chaiman |
145 | 74 |
| 2 | Mislav Karoglan |
98 | 66 |
| 3 | Aleksandar Đurić |
74 | 57 |
| 4 |  Jonathan Béhé |
75 | 50 |
| 5 | Fazrul Nawaz |
94 | 43 |
| 6 |  Nicolás Vélez |
51 | 30 |
| 7 | John Wilkinson |
99 | 25 |
| 8 | Miroslav Pejić |
52 | 19 |
| 9 |  Park Tae-won |
61 | 17 |
| Indra Sahdan Daud |
58 |
- Biggest Wins: 9–0 vs Sembawang Rangers (On 15 June 2002)
- Heaviest Defeats: 8–1 vs Home United (On 18 August 2004)
- Youngest Goal scorers: Marijan Šuto ~ 19 years 7 months 3 days old (On 5 May 2016 vs DPMM)
- Oldest Goal scorers: Aleksandar Đurić ~ 39 years 2 months 4 days old (On 16 October 2009 vs Sengkang Punggol)
- Youngest ever debutant: Danial Zulkifli ~ 17 years 2 months 6 days old (On 25 July 2016 vs Geylang International)
Former managers
| Manager | Career | Achievements |
|---|---|---|
| Hussein Aljunied |
7 March 1983 – 31 December 1988 | – 1984, 1986 President's Cup |
| Ivan Raznevich |
1 January 1996 – 11 June 1996 | |
| Vincent Subramaniam |
11 June 1996 – 31 December 1998 | – 1997, 1998 S.League |
| Mladen Pralija |
1 January 1999 – 30 November 1999 | – 1999 Singapore Cup |
| Fandi Ahmad |
1 January 2000 – 30 November 2003 | – 2000, 2002 S.League |
 Jim Shoulder |
1 December 2003 – 30 November 2004 | |
 Kim Poulsen |
1 January 2005 – 31 October 2005 | |
| Peter Butler |
1 January 2006 – 9 May 2006 | |
| Richard Bok |
9 May 2006 – 31 December 2012 | – 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 S.League
– 2007, 2008, 2012 Singapore Cup – 2008, 2010 Singapore Community Shield |
As Warriors | ||
| Vengadasalam Selvaraj |
1 January 2013 – 12 June 2013 | |
| Alex Weaver |
12 June 2013 – 24 October 2015 | – 2014 S.League |
| Razif Onn |
26 October 31 – 1 December 2015 | |
 Karim Bencherifa |
1 December 2015 – 6 January 2016 | |
 Jörg Steinebrunner |
6 January 2016 – 14 May 2016 | |
| Razif Onn (2) |
14 May 2016 – 1 January 2018 | |
| Mirko Grabovac |
15 January 2018 – 1 November 2018 | |
| Azlan Alipah |
1 January 2019 – 31 December 2019 | |
References
External links
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