Balestier Khalsa FC
 | |
| Full name | Balestier Khalsa Football Club |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Tigers |
| Founded | 1898 |
| Ground | Toa Payoh Stadium |
| Capacity | 3,896 |
| Chairman | S Thavaneson |
| Head Coach |
 |
| League | Singapore Premier League |
| 2017 | S.League, 7th |
Balestier Khalsa Football Club is a professional football club which plays in Singapore Premier League. The club's logo depicts a Tiger, the nickname of the club, on top of a pair of Kirpan. The logo is made up of key elements from the two clubs it was merged from. The Tiger is the mascot of the Balestier half of the merged entity while the kirpan is a religious dagger worn by members of the Sikh faith, who were a major backer of half of the merged entity through the Clementi club.[1]
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.[2]
Balestier United Recreational Club
The club's name was changed to Balestier United Recreation Club[3] 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 playing for this team currently.
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.[4] 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.[5] 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 22 March 2018
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:
U23 These players are under the age of 23 to fulfill the league requirement of minimum of 6 U-23 players per team.
U19 Dusan Marinkovic and Sanjin Vrebac are registered for Balestier Khalsa U19 squad.
Honours
League
Cup
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 | |
22 |  | ||
| 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 | | |||
| 1999 | 7th | 22 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 25 | 27 | 26 | Semi Final | |
6 | |||
| 2000 | 12th | 22 | 3 | 5 | 14 | 16 | 42 | 14 | Round of 16 |  |
4 | |||
| 2001 | 7th | 33 | 8 | 11 | 14 | 43 | 57 | 35 | Group Stage |  |
8 | |||
| 2002 | 11th | 33 | 6 | 5 | 22 | 50 | 103 | 23 | Group Stage |  |
23 | | ||
| 2003 | 11th | 33 | 5 | 2-6 | 20 | 37 | 76 | 25 | Quarter Final |  |
9 | | ||
| 2004 | 8th | 27 | 6 | 19 | 22 | 36 | 73 | 20 | Quarter Final | |
7 | | ||
| 2005 | 7th | 27 | 10 | 6 | 11 | 45 | 52 | 36 | Preliminary Rd |  |
20 | |||
| 2006 | 7th | 30 | 10 | 7 | 13 | 50 | 61 | 37 | Semi Final | 15 | | |||
| 2007 | 9th | 33 | 7 | 8 | 18 | 44 | 63 | 29 | Quarter Final | Quarter Final |  |
9 | ||
| 2008 | 12th | 33 | 3 | 8 | 22 | 26 | 60 | 17 | Round of 16 | Third Place | |
6 | | |
| 2009 | 11th | 30 | 4 | 6 | 20 | 22 | 58 | 18 | Round of 16 | Group Stage | |
5 | ||
| 2010 | 8th | 33 | 10 | 7 | 16 | 26 | 40 | 37 | Quarter Final | Preliminary Rd |  |
11 | | |
| 2011 | 10th | 33 | 7 | 5 | 21 | 28 | 63 | 26 | Round of 16 | Preliminary Rd |  |
8 | | |
| 2012 | 6th | 24 | 11 | 6 | 7 | 23 | 20 | 39 | Round of 16 | Plate Winners | |
4 | | |
| 2013 | 4th | 27 | 12 | 7 | 8 | 38 | 28 | 43 | Third Place | Winners | |
12 | ||
| 2014 | 6th | 27 | 11 | 7 | 9 | 46 | 34 | 40 | Winners | Plate Runners-up | |
20 | | |
| 2015 | 4th | 27 | 12 | 8 | 7 | 39 | 35 | 44 | Quarter Final | Runners-up | |
16 | ||
| 2016 | 8th | 24 | 4 | 7 | 13 | 23 | 42 | 19 | Semi Final | Group Stage | |
10 | ||
| 2017 | 7th | 24 | 5 | 4 | 15 | 17 | 33 | 19 | Preliminary Rd | Group Stage | |
5 | ||
| 2018 | Singapore Premier League | 6th | 24 | 7 | 6 | 11 | 25 | 36 | 27 | 3rd/ 4th |  |
5 | ||
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 |
Continental record
| Season | Competition | Round | Club | Home | Away | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992-93 | Asian Cup Winners' Cup | First Round |  |
Withdrew | ||
| 2015 | AFC Cup | Group F |  |
1–2 | 3–0 | 4th |
 |
0–1 | 3–0 | ||||
 |
2–1 | 3–0 | ||||
| 2016 | AFC Cup | Group F |  |
3–0 | 2–2 | 3rd |
|
1–0 | 4–0 | ||||
 |
0–3 | 1–0 |
AFC clubs ranking
- As of 1 Dec 2017.[6]
| Rank | Team |
|---|---|
| 107 |  |
| 108 | |
| 109 | |
| 110 | |
| 111 |  |
Sponsors
| Kit Supplier | Main Sponsors |
|---|---|
|  |
References
- ↑ "Untold Stories, Southeast Asian Clubs: Balestier Khalsa". fourfourtwo.com. 14 April 2016. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
- ↑ "Untold Stories, Southeast Asian Clubs: Balestier Khalsa".
- ↑ "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.
- ↑ "AFC Club Ranking (1st December 2017 )". globalfootballranks.com. Asian Football Confederation. Retrieved 1 December 2017.