Balestier Khalsa FC

Balestier Khalsa

Full name	Balestier Khalsa Football Club
Nickname(s)	Hala Tigers
Founded	1898;126 years ago (1898) as Fathul Karib 1975;49 years ago (1975) as Balestier United Recreation Club 1996;28 years ago (1996) as Balestier Central 2002;22 years ago (2002) as Balestier Khalsa
Ground	Toa Payoh Stadium
Capacity	3,800
Chairman	S. Thavaneson
Manager	Peter de Roo
League	Singapore Premier League
2023	Singapore Premier League, 4th of 9
Home colours Away colours
Current season

Balestier Khalsa Football Club is a Singaporean professional football club based in Toa Payoh, Singapore, that competes in the Singapore Premier League. Founded in 1898, the club is considered as the oldest football club in the country. The club have won the Singapore Cup, Singapore League Cup and the Singapore FA Cup once.

Balestier Khalsa is the fourth oldest club in the Asia continent and is the oldest club in the Southeast Asia region.

History

Founding and early years (1898–1997)

Tracing their origins all the way back to 1898, the club was formed as Fathul Karib on 10 October 1898 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 1975 as it was the outcome of re-organising the local football clubs structure by the Football Association of Singapore. During the time, Balestier United Recreation Club was providing nine players to the Singapore national team which competed in the 1958 Asian Games in Japan, losing 2–1 to both continental heavyweights South Korea and Israel. ^[1]

When Balestier United Recreation Club first 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.

S.League era as Balestier Central (1996–2002)

With the introduction of the S.League in 1996 and entities reintroduced as a professional football teams, Balestier United Recreational Club became a founder member of the S.League and competed under a new flagship name to Balestier Central.

Creating the foundation (2003–2012)

Merger with Clementi Khalsa and renamed as Balestier Khalsa

In 2002, Balestier Central took another turn as they merged with Clementi Khalsa at the end of the 2002 S.League season. 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.

Clementi Khalsa crest

On 10 August 2012, Balestier Khalsa won the first Singapore League Cup Plate Final as the team defeated Young Lions at the Jalan Besar Stadium.

Achieving more silverware and AFC Cup debut (2013–2017)

In 2013, head coach Darren Stewart signed Nigerian Obadin Aikhena, South Korean Jung Hee-bong and 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 in the 2013 Singapore League Cup Final and clinched their first ever silverware. Captain, Paul Cunningham and the team lift the trophy as well as clinching 3rd place in the 2013 Singapore Cup.

Marko Kraljević guided the club to their first ever AFC Cup debut in 2015 and is the club longest serving manager from 2014 until 2021.

Balestier Khalsa signed former U-21 Croatian international Goran Ljubojević on 11 February 2014 as their first ever marquee signing. ^[2] 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. ^[3] Thus, qualifying for the 2015 AFC Cup in the following year.

AFC Cup debut

The Tigers make their 2015 AFC Cup group stage debut on 24 February 2015, losing 0–3 to Hong Kong Premier League champions, Kitchee at the Mong Kok Stadium. On 10 March 2015, they almost held eventual Malaysia Super League champions, Johor Darul Ta'zim to goalless draw but the visitor scored in the 90+3 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 from India 2–1. Balestier Khalsa went on to finished at the bottom of the table with 3 points.

Balestier Khalsa went on to finish as runner-ups in the 2015 Singapore Charity Shield to Warriors FC. On 10 July 2015, Balestier Khalsa lost narrowly 2–1 against Albirex Niigata (S) to finish runner up in the 2015 Singapore League Cup.

For the 2016 season, Balestier Khalsa qualified for 2016 AFC Cup as Singapore's 2nd best local team and got their first away goals/points in the AFC Cup, as they held Maldives Dhivehi Premier League champions, New Radiant 2–2 at Malé. They continue to improved their run in the competition winning against Kitchee & New Radiant 1–0 and 3–0 at home however that wasn't enough for them to secured to the knockout stage as they finished in 3rd place with 7 points, 3 points away from 2nd place, Kaya FC. Balestier Khalsa finished 4th in the Singapore Cup after losing to Ceres-La Salle in the third place playoff.

Tight budget

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.

Singapore Premier League era (2018–present)

In 2018, Balestier Khalsa went on to sign 4 foreigners with Vedran Mesec, Keegan Linderboom and Dusan Marinkovic joining the Tigers for the upcoming newly revamp league.

On 22 October 2021, Akbar Nawas was announced as the head coach of Balestier Khalsa, succeeding Marko Kraljevic, who left a week prior. Before this, Akbar leads the 2nd division I-League club, Chennai City to become champions of the league in the 2018–19 I-League with current player, Iqbal Hussain. According to a club statement, Akbar has penned a two-year contract “worth more than S$170,000”. However, less than 1 year into the contract, Akbar would tender his resignation to join Thai League 2 side, Udon Thani, less than a week after a record 6-1 win against Hougang United.

On 27 August 2022, The Tigers recruit former Football Association of Malaysia Technical Director, Peter de Roo as an interim coach till the end of the 2022 season but on 30 November 2022, he was appointed to permanent role as head coach of Balestier Khalsa.

Peter de Roo started off the 2023 season making slight changes to his squad signing Alen Kozar from NŠ Mura and Masahiro Sugita from Albirex Niigata Singapore. Under his reign, Balestier Khalsa went on to win 3 consecutive matches against Tanjong Pagar United, Tampines Rovers and Brunei DPMM before losing to Albirex Niigata (S) 6–2. The Tigers also went on to have another fine run of form winning 4 consecutive match till Hougang United end the streak on 21 July 2023.

In the 2024–25 Singapore Premier League season, The Tigers sign an additional new signing of both Japanese player Kodai Tanaka and Riku Fukashiro, while Tunisian Ismail Sassi joined the club from AS Marsa. The club than particapted in the 2024 Selangor Asia Challenge pre-season tournament on 26 and 28 April 2024 respectively.

Sponsors

Kit Supplier	Main Sponsors
Adidas	Jeep Weston Corp

Stadium

Home of Balestier Khalsa, Toa Payoh Stadium

Balestier Khalsa played their home games at the Toa Payoh Stadium. The stadium are closed to the public during official events and S.League matches. The stadium can hold up to 3,800 spectators.

Media controversies

Fans who were watching the Singapore Premier League clash on Youtube over their mobile phones couldn't see what its going on as the poor broadcast angle from the main broadcast camera was so bad that fans could not even fathom what was happening on the pitch, let alone identify the players. Apart from the quality of the broadcast, viewers were also amused that the reserves were sitting on what appeared like “coffee-shop chairs.”

For the 2023 Singapore Premier League season, Balestier Khalsa will once again share Bishan Stadium with Lion City Sailors, as Toa Payoh Stadium is undergoing upgrading works. Balestier Khalsa will return to Toa Payoh Stadium upon the completion of the upgrading works.

On 8 October 2023, Toa Payoh Stadium, including will be demolished on 31 October 2023 in order to make way for a new Regional Sport Centre which will likely be opened in 2030. ^[4]

Players

As of 08 March 2024 ^[5]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK   SGP Mukundan Maran 2 DF   SGP Darren Teh 3 DF   SGP Tajeli Salamat 4 DF   SGP Syabil Hisham U23 5 DF   SGP Emmeric Ong 6 DF   SGP Madhu Mohana 7 FW   JPN Kodai Tanaka 8 MF   SVN Alen Kozar (Captain) 9 FW   TUN Ismail Sassi 10 FW   JPN Riku Fukashiro 11 DF   SGP Harith Kanadi 13 DF   SGP Amer Hakeem 14 DF   SGP Sameer Alassane 15 MF   SGP Lewis Lee U23

No. Pos. Nation Player 16 GK   SGP Martyn Mun 17 DF   SGP Jordan Emaviwe U23 18 MF   JPN Masahiro Sugita 20 DF   SGP Fudhil I'yadh U23 21 GK   SGP Hafiz Ahmad 22 GK   SGP Wayne Chew 23 FW   SGP Syukri Noorhaizam 30 MF   SGP Ignatius Ang 49 MF   SGP Elijah Lim — FW   SGP Amiruldin Asraf

Under-21s and Academy

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 51 FW   SGP Kian Ghadessy U21 54 MF   SGP Larry Lim U21 58 GK   SGP Efan QiszmanU21 61 MF   SGP Sahoo GarvU21 65 DF   SGP Irfan Mika'il Abdullah U21

No. Pos. Nation Player 67 MF   SGP Iftiqar Parizan U21 68 GK   SGP Suffian Abdullah U21 72 FW   ENG Max McCoy U21 75 GK   SGP Nuh Syazani HashariU21

Remarks:

On Loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF   SGP Sameer Alassane (National Service till 2023) — GK   SGP Martyn Mun (National Service till 2024)

No. Pos. Nation Player — GK   SGP Riki Kimura (National Service till 2024) — GK   SGP Ryan Praveen (National Service till 2025, to Young Lions FC)

Club officials

Position	Name
Chairman	S. Thavaneson
Vice Chairman	Darwin Jalil
General Manager	Tim Nee Cheng
Head coach	Peter de Roo
Assistant head coach	Syed Azmir
Goalkeeping coach	Yazid Yasin
Sports Trainer	Nurhaizal Sufri
Fitness coach	Rory Winters
Analyst	Razif Ariff
Physiotherapist	Danial Feriza
Kitman	Abdul Latiff

Domestic record

As Balestier Central/ Balestier Khalsa

Season	League	Pos.	P	W	D	L	GS	GA	Pts	Singapore Cup	League Cup
1996-1	S.League	3rd*	14	7	3	4	22	18	24
1996-2		3rd*	14	7	3	4	25	19	24
1997		4th	16	8	4	4	43	26	28
1998		4th	20	9	4	7	47	43	31	Group stage
1999		7th	22	6	8	8	25	27	26	Semi-final
2000		12th	22	3	5	14	16	42	14	Round of 16
2001		7th	33	8	11	14	43	57	35	Group stage
2002		11th	33	6	5	22	50	103	23	Group stage
2003		11th	33	5	2–6	20	37	76	25	Quarter-final
2004		8th	27	6	19	22	36	73	20	Quarter-final
2005		7th	27	10	6	11	45	52	36	Preliminary Rd
2006		7th	30	10	7	13	50	61	37	Semi-final
2007		9th	33	7	8	18	44	63	29	Quarter-final	Quarter-final
2008		12th	33	3	8	22	26	60	17	Round of 16	Third place
2009		11th	30	4	6	20	22	58	18	Round of 16	Group stage
2010		8th	33	10	7	16	26	40	37	Quarter-final	Preliminary Rd
2011		10th	33	7	5	21	28	63	26	Round of 16	Preliminary Rd
2012		6th	24	11	6	7	23	20	39	Round of 16	Plate Winners
2013		4th	27	12	7	8	38	28	43	Third place	Winners
2014		6th	27	11	7	9	46	34	40	Winners	Plate Runners-up
2015		4th	27	12	8	7	39	35	44	Quarter-final	Runners-up
2016		8th	24	4	7	13	23	42	19	Semi-final	Group stage
2017		7th	24	5	4	15	17	33	19	Preliminary Rd	Group stage
2018	Singapore Premier League	6th	24	7	6	11	25	36	27	Third place
2019		9th	24	4	5	15	37	58	17	Group Stage
2020		5th	14	5	4	5	22	28	19
2021		7th	21	5	4	12	31	52	19
2022		7th	28	7	3	18	45	78	24
2023		4th	24	12	0	12	60	71	36

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
1992–93	Asian Cup Winners' Cup	First round	Quảng Nam Đà Nẵng	Withdrew
2015	AFC Cup	Group F	Kitchee	1–2
			Johor Darul Ta'zim	0–1
			East Bengal	2–1
2016	AFC Cup	Group F	New Radiant	3–0
			Kitchee	1–0
			Kaya FC

Records and statistics

As of 12 December 2023.

Top 10 all-time appearances

Ranl	Player	Years	Club appearances
1	Zaiful Nizam	2013–2021	231
2	Poh Yi Feng	2008–2015	194
3	Ahmad Syahir	2013–2021	167
4	Hazzuwan Halim	2014–2021	157
5	Fadli Kamis	2016–2021	150
6	Zulkiffli Hassim	2012–2016	140
7	Paul Cunningham	2010–2014	130
8	Nurullah Hussein	2014–2019	107
9	Ho Wai Loon	2011–2016, 2021–present	101
10	Emir Lotinac	2014–2016	97

Top 10 all-time scorers

Rank	Player	Club appearances	Total goals
1	Shuhei Hoshino	92	43
2	Ryoya Taniguchi	60	36
3	Hazzuwan Halim	157	32
4	Šime Žužul	54	31
5	Miroslav Krištić	67	29
6	Goran Ljubojević	37	27
8	Kim Min-ho	83	25
8	Ludovick Takam	30	24
9	Park Kang-jin	91	20
10	Paul Cunningham	130	19

• Biggest Wins: 7–1 vs Sengkang Punggol (1 July 2006)
• Heaviest Defeats: 8–1 vs Tampines Rovers (11 November 2022)
• Youngest Goal scorers: Sameer Alassane ~ 18 years 5 months 2 days old (On 26 May 2016 vs Home United)
• Oldest Goal scorers: Fabian Kwok ~ 34 years 2 months 15 days (On 1 June 2023 vs Lion City Sailors)
• Youngest ever debutant: Aqil Yazid ~ 17 years 2 months 5 days (On 14 March 2021 vs Young Lions)

Honours

Cup

• Singapore Cup
  • Champions (1): 2014
• Singapore Community Shield
  • Runners up (1): 2015
• Singapore League Cup
  • Champions (1): 2013
  • Runners up (1): 2015
• Singapore League Cup
  • Plate Winners: 2012
  • Runners up (1): 2014
• President's Cup
  • Champions (1): 1992
• FAS Challenge Cup
  • Champions (1): 1958

Reserves

League

• Prime League
  • Champions (2): 2012, 2013

Cup

• Singapore FA Cup
  • Champions (1): 2012

See also

• History of Singaporean Indians
• History of Indian influence on Southeast Asia
• Indian diaspora
• Indian Singaporeans
• Sikhism in Singapore
• Singapore Khalsa Association
• List of Indian organisations in Singapore

References

1. "Untold Stories, Southeast Asian Clubs: Balestier Khalsa". Archived from the original on 22 April 2016. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
2. "Ljubojevic hopes for injury-free season at Balestier - Goal.com". goal.com. 11 February 2014. Archived from the original on 28 August 2017. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
3. "Balestier Khalsa with first-ever RHB Singapore Cup win". espnfc.com. Archived from the original on 28 July 2017. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
4. "Toa Payoh Integrated Development To Be Completed In 2030, Will Have Sports Facilities, Polyclinic & Library". Must Share News - Independent News For Singaporeans. 26 February 2023. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
5. "SPL 2023 Transfer Centre Club Guide: Balestier Khalsa FC". Singapore Premier League. 24 January 2023. Archived from the original on 16 January 2023. Retrieved 24 January 2023.

External links

• Official club website
• S.League website page on Balestier Khalsa FC