Lion City Sailors FC
Lion City Sailors Football Club, formerly Home United Football Club, is a professional football club that plays in the Singapore Premier League.
History
The Police Sports Association was founded in the mid-1940s to organise football activities for the Singapore Police Force. It sent two teams to compete in the Singapore Amateur Football Association League in the 1950s and 1960s, but neither team won any trophies. Under coach Choo Seng Quee, Police SA won the inaugural President's Cup in 1968, then reached and lost the next two finals. In 1979, it joined the National Football League, was placed in Division III, and immediately earned promotion to Division II. In 1980, Police SA won the Division II title, the President's Cup and the Boggars Cup. In 1985, it was national league champions, after setting a national record as the only team to go unbeaten for 17 consecutive games. The performances of Police SA led to its selection as one of eight teams to compete in the newly formed S.League.When the S.League was formed in 1996, the club was known as the Police Football Club. The following year, its name was changed to Home United to reflect the fact that the team represented not only the Singapore Police Force, but also other HomeTeam departments of the Singapore Ministry of Home Affairs such as the Singapore Civil Defence Force and the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority.
Home United was two-time S.League winners and holders of a record six Singapore Cup trophies. It was the first club to achieve the S.League and Singapore Cup double in 2003.
The team's nickname was the "Protectors"; its mascot, a dragon; its home ground, the Bishan Stadium.
On 14 February 2020, the club was privatised for the first time in its history, when Singaporean billionaire Forrest Li announced that he had purchased a 100% stake in the club. Home United Football Club was officially renamed Lion City Sailors Football Club, and its signature red kits and badge were replaced with white tops and a blue crest.
Lion City Sailors Football Academy
Home United was the first and only S.League club to own and operate its own football academy. Located at 8 Mattar Road, HYFA comprises ten futsal courts, two full-size football pitches, an events plaza, staff offices, meeting rooms and a Sports Performance Centre.According to its mission statement, HYFA will: help local, talented youths to achieve excellence in the sport of football as professional players, technical support staff, club administrators, or referees, in tandem with their academic pursuits; help them become law-abiding and responsible individuals; and help raise the standards for professional football clubs in Singapore so that Singapore qualifies for the World Cup.
In June 2020 numerous news sources announced the launch of the new the Lion City Sailors Football Academy and further plans on youth development and its investments.
Seasons
Season | League | Pos. | P | W | D | L | GS | GA | Pts | Singapore Cup | League Cup |
1996-1 | S.League | 6th | 14 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 22 | 23 | 17 | ||
1996-2 | S.League | 8th | 14 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 18 | 40 | 8 | ||
1997 | S.League | 9th | 16 | 2 | 1 | 13 | 17 | 41 | 7 | ||
1998 | S.League | 7th | 20 | 8 | 4 | 8 | 42 | 28 | 28 | Third place | |
1999 | S.League | 1st | 22 | 15 | 6 | 1 | 42 | 16 | 51 | Third place | |
2000 | S.League | 4th | 22 | 11 | 7 | 4 | 38 | 21 | 40 | Winners | |
2001 | S.League | 3rd | 33 | 23 | 3 | 7 | 69 | 36 | 72 | Winners | |
2002 | S.League | 2nd | 33 | 18 | 10 | 5 | 71 | 42 | 64 | Quarter-finals | |
2003 | S.League | 1st | 33 | 26 | 2–3 | 2 | 104 | 42 | 85 | Winners | |
2004 | S.League | 2nd | 27 | 17 | 2 | 8 | 76 | 43 | 53 | Runners-up | |
2005 | S.League | 4th | 27 | 14 | 4 | 9 | 62 | 44 | 46 | Winners | |
2006 | S.League | 4th | 30 | 15 | 6 | 9 | 49 | 40 | 51 | Preliminary | |
2007 | S.League | 2nd | 33 | 24 | 6 | 3 | 73 | 35 | 78 | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals |
2008 | S.League | 3rd | 33 | 23 | 3 | 7 | 75 | 31 | 72 | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals |
2009 | S.League | 4th | 30 | 16 | 5 | 9 | 50 | 32 | 53 | Quarter-finals | Third place |
2010 | S.League | 3rd | 33 | 18 | 11 | 4 | 55 | 31 | 65 | Round of 16 | Quarter-finals |
2011 | S.League | 2nd | 33 | 25 | 2 | 6 | 81 | 29 | 77 | Winners | Semi-finals |
2012 | S.League | 5th | 24 | 11 | 7 | 6 | 43 | 29 | 40 | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals |
2013 | S.League | 2nd | 27 | 16 | 3 | 8 | 42 | 25 | 51 | Winners | Quarter-finals |
2014 | S.League | 4th | 27 | 13 | 5 | 9 | 51 | 41 | 44 | Runners-up | Quarter-finals |
2015 | S.League | 6th | 27 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 38 | 34 | 36 | Runners-up | Group stage |
2016 | S.League | 4th | 24 | 11 | 4 | 9 | 50 | 42 | 37 | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals |
2017 | S.League | 3rd | 24 | 15 | 5 | 4 | 58 | 26 | 50 | Semi-finals | Group stage |
2018 | Singapore Premier League | 2nd | 24 | 12 | 7 | 5 | 48 | 36 | 43 | Semi-finals |
- 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
Current squad
U23U23
U23
U23
U23
U23
U23
U23
U19
U19
U19
U19
U19
U19
Club officials
Management
- Chairman: Forrest Li
- General Manager: Badri Ghent
Technical staff
- Team Manager: Herwandy Hamid
- Head Coach: Aurelio Vidmar
- Assistant Coach: Noh Rahman
- Goalkeeper Coach: Chua Lye Heng
- Sports Performance Specialist: Shazaly Ayob
- Sports Trainer: Fazly Hasan
Head coaches
- Steve Darby
- Zsolt Bücs
- P. N. Sivaji
- Lee Lim-saeng
- Philippe Aw
- Aidil Sharin Sahak
- Saswadimata Dasuki
- Noh Rahman
- Radojko Avramovic
- Noh Rahman
- Aurelio Vidmar
Honours
- S.League: 2
- National Football League Division One: 1
- Singapore Cup: 6
- Singapore Community Shield: 1
- President's Cup: 1
- FAS Challenge Cup: 1
- Prime League: 8
- Singapore FA Cup: 3
Performance in AFC competitions
- Asian Club Championship: 1 appearances
- AFC Cup: 8 appearances
AFC clubs ranking
Current Rank | Country | Team |
46 | Istiklol | |
47 | Al-Wehdat | |
48 | Home United | |
49 | Al-Zawra’a | |
50 | Altyn Asyr |
Performance by coach
Manager | career | Win % | Achievements | ||||
Lee Lim-saeng | December 2009 - December 2014 | 2013 Singapore Cup | - | - | - | - | - |
Philippe Aw | December 2014 - August 2016 | - | - | - | - | - | |
Aidil Sharin | August 2016 - December 2018 | 2018 AFC Cup Zonal finals | - | - | - | - | - |
Saswadimata Dasuki | December 2018 - April 2019 | Singapore Community Shield | - | - | - | - | - |
Noh Rahman | April 2019 - July 2019 | - | - | - | - | - | |
Radojko Avramović | July 2019 - August 2019 | - | - | - | - | - | |
Noh Rahman | August 2019 - Present | - | - | - | - | - |
Sponsors
- Main Sponsor: Sea Limited
- Kit Supplier: Puma