Lion City Sailors FC
Lion City Sailors Football Club, commonly referred to as The Sailors or LCS, is a Singaporean professional football club based in Bishan, Singapore, competing in the Singapore Premier League, the top tier of the Singapore football league system. The club has won three league titles, a record 6 Singapore Cups and 2 Community Shields.
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| Full name | Lion City Sailors Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Sailors | ||
| Short name | LCS | ||
| Founded | 2020 (as Lion City Sailors) | ||
| Ground | Bishan Stadium | ||
| Capacity | 6,254 | ||
| Owner | Sea Limited | ||
| Chairman | Forrest Li | ||
| Manager | Risto Vidaković | ||
| League | Singapore Premier League | ||
| 2022 | Singapore Premier League, 2nd of 8 | ||
| Website | Club website | ||
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LCS is one of the most successful football clubs in Singapore, with its club owner being Forrest Li, who also owns Sea Limited.
History
The Police Sports Association was founded in 1945 to organize 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, the club won the inaugural President's Cup in 1968, then reached and lost the next two finals.
Home United (1997–2019)
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.
The team's nickname was the "Protectors" and its mascot, a dragon. The team's home ground is Bishan Stadium.
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.[1]
The club had qualified to the AFC Cup for the tenth time with their best result in the 2004 AFC Cup where they reached the semi-final.
Lion City Sailors (2020-present)
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.[2] The club was officially renamed as Lion City Sailors Football Club and its signature red colour was replaced with white and blue. LCS' main aim following its rebranding was to boost professionalism in Singaporean football, with becoming a Southeast Asian super club its long-term goal.[3] The new name, Sailors, was a homage to the country's maritime heritage.
On 21 January 2021, the club created history by smashing the Singapore Premier League transfer-fee record with the signing of midfielder Diego Lopes from Portuguese top-flight side Rio Ave for 1.8 million euros on a three-year deal.[4]
On 18 May 2021, Kim Do-Hoon, who led Korea Republic's Ulsan Hyundai FC to victory in 2020 AFC Champions League, joined the Sailors on a two-and-a-half year deal. During his first season, he led the Sailors to win the 2021 Singapore Premier League title and the 2022 Singapore Community Shield. Lion City Sailors went on to qualified for their first ever AFC Champions League tournament in the club history. On 18 April 2022, the club defeated K League 1 club Daegu FC 3–0 in the 2022 AFC Champions League, their first AFC Champions League win since their rebranding. Kim Do-Hoon side had bounced back from an opening 4–1 defeat by Urawa Reds to beat Daegu 3-0 before picking up four points in a goalless draw and 3–2 win over China's Shandong Taishan however, Sailors maiden AFC Champions League campaign ends after Daegu comeback to make it 2–1 in the final Group Stage fixtures. Their tally of seven points is the best showing by a Singapore side at the AFC Champions League.
Lion City Sailors Football Academy
In February 2013, Home United opened and operated a football academy, Home United FC Youth Football Academy (HYFA).[5] HYFA comprises ten futsal courts, two full-size football pitches, an events plaza, staff offices, meeting rooms and a Sports Performance Centre.[6]
In June 2020, the launch of the new Lion City Sailors Football Academy was announced, along with further plans on youth development and its investments.[7] It was given a one-star rating by the Asian Football Confederation.[8]
On 24 April 2021, the Lion City Sailors announced the construction of a new training facility along Mattar Road that will be the home to the Sailors and as well as the club academy's scholars and trainees. The facility will, when completed, become Singapore's first fully-integrated football training centre.
On 29 July 2022, LCS officially opened its new S$10 million training centre. Spanning 28,000 square meters, the training centre features five football pitches, one hybrid 11-a-side pitch, one artificial turf 11-a-side pitch, and three 7-a-side pitches. Besides the football pitches, the centre will also feature a fully equipped gym, physiotherapy rooms, a video analytics room, team locker rooms, a recreation room, as well as study rooms for academy trainees.[9] The training centre is the most tangible manifestation of the Sailors’ commitment to excellence as the club drives towards its vision of reinvigorating Singapore football.
Players
Squad
- As of 24 February 2023[10]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Under-21s and Academy
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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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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Club officials
Management
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Chairman |   Forrest Li |
| Sporting Director | Badri Ghent |
| Technical Director |  Luka Lalić |
| Team Manager | Carolyn Chia
|
| Head Coach |  Risto Vidaković |
| Assistant Coach |  Pablo Muñiz |
| Head of Video Analytics | |
| Goalkeeper Coach |  Kris Stergulc |
| Assistant Goalkeeper Coach | Chua Lye-heng |
| Conditioning Coach | Dževad Šarić |
| Head of Performance |  Mark Onderwater |
| Head of Rehabilitation | Mike Kerklaan |
| Head of Technical Training |  Rodrigo Costa |
| Physiologist | Niels Van Sundert
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| Sportstherapist | Fathul Nur Hakim |
| Sports Trainer | Fazly Hasan
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| Head of Logistics | Zahir Taufeek |
| Performance Analyst | Nigel Goh |
| Video Analyst | Adi Saleh |
| Data Analyst | Daniel Lau |
| Under-21s Head Coach | Daan Van Oudheusden |
Sponsors
| Kit Supplier | Main Sponsor | Sleeves Sponsor |
|---|---|---|
 Puma |
Sea Limited |
Shopee |
Affiliated clubs
- Borussia Dortmund (2021–present)
Lion City Sailors and eight-time Bundesliga champions, Borussia Dortmund sign partnership focused on youth development and knowledge sharing. The commitment will see a series of youth development programmes, coaching, educational and professional exchanges as well as football training camps in Germany. This partnership between BVB and LCS will harness the growing commitment to build a strong infrastructure for Singapore's youth football development and overall support the growth in areas of sports science, sports medicine, analytics and talent scouting. The partnership will see an annual training camp in Dortmund for the LCS Football Academy's elite team, with an additional training stint pencilled in for selected footballers from the academy's scholarship programme.
- Feyenoord (2022–present)
The Lion City Sailors and 15-time Eredivisie champions, Feyenoord Rotterdam have forged a 3-year partnership focused on youth development and education. The commitment will see a series of youth development programmes, coaching, educational and professional exchanges as well as football training camps in the Netherlands, with Sailors supporting Feyenoord's brand exposure in Singapore.
Performance
Performance by coach
The following table provides a summary of the coach appointed by the club.
- Statistics correct as of 7 Nov 2022
| Manager | Career | Pld | W | D | L | Win % | Achievements |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Lee Lim-saeng |
Jan 2010 – December 2014 | 184 | 111 | 32 | 41 | 60.3 | 2011 Singapore Cup2013 Singapore Cup |
| Philippe Aw |
December 2014 – July 2016 | 55 | 21 | 14 | 20 | 38.2 | |
| Aidil Sharin Sahak |
August 2016 – December 2018 | 91 | 50 | 17 | 24 | 54.9 | |
| Saswadimata Dasuki |
December 2018 – April 2019 | 12 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 33.3 | 2019 Singapore Community Shield |
| Noh Rahman (interim) |
April – June 2019 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 37.5 | |
| Radojko Avramović |
July – August 2019 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 50.0 | |
| Noh Rahman (interim) |
August – November 2019 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 14.3 | |
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Aurelio Vidmar |
December 2019 – April 2021 | 22 | 13 | 5 | 4 | 59.1 | |
| Robin Chitrakar (interim) |
May – June 2021 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 100.0 | |
| Kim Do-hoon |
June 2021 – August 2022 | 36 | 22 | 8 | 6 | 61.1 | 2021 Singapore Premier League |
| Luka Lalic (interim) |
August - December 2022 | 12 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 41.7 | |
| Risto Vidaković |
December 2022 - | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
Performance by Competition
Singapore Premier LeagueThe following table provides a summary of the result by season.
AFC CompetitionThe following table provides a summary of the result by season.
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Honours
League
- Singapore Premier League
- National Football League Division One
- Winners (1): 1985
Cup
- Singapore Cup: (record)
- Singapore Community Shield
- President's Cup
- Champions (1): 1980
- FAS Challenge Cup
- Champions (1): 1968
Reserves
- Prime League: (record)
- Singapore FA Cup
- Champions (3): 2013, 2015, 2016
Records and statistics
Top 10 all-time appearances
| Rank | Player | Years | Club appearances |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Juma'at Jantan |
2007–2011
2013–2019 |
273 |
| 2 | Song Ui-young | 2011–2023 | 226 |
| 3 | Abdil Qaiyyim |
2011, 2015–2019 | 164 |
| 4 |  Sirina Camara |
2013–2018 | 163 |
| 5 | Firdaus Idros |
2009-2013 | 146 |
| 6 | Hafiz Nor |
2012, 2018–present | 141 |
| 7 | Shahril Ishak |
2007–2010
2018–2021 |
130 |
| Izzdin Shafiq |
2013, 2017–2020 | ||
| 9 | Rosman Sulaiman |
2004–2005
2006–2012 |
124 |
| 10 | Shi Jiayi |
2007–2012 | 115 |
Top 10 all-time scorers
| Rank | Player | Club appearances | Total goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Song Ui-young |
273 | 79 |
| 2 |  Stipe Plazibat |
64 | 60 |
| 3 | Shahril Ishak |
130 | 48 |
| 4 |  Frédéric Mendy |
65 | 47 |
| 5 | Qiu Li |
84 | 37 |
| 6 |  Ken Ilsø |
54 | 36 |
| 7 | Faris Ramli |
108 | 34 |
| 8 | Gabriel Quak |
66 | 29 |
| 9 | Hafiz Nor |
141 | 25 |
| 10 | Kim Shin-wook |
35 | 24 |
- Biggest Wins: 1-10 vs Young Lions (13 August 2022)
- Heaviest Defeats: 9-1 vs 4.25 SC (28 August 2018)
- Youngest Goal scorers: Irfan Fandi ~ 19 years 2 months 2 days old (On 15 October 2016 vs Balestier Khalsa)
- Oldest Goal scorers: Shahril Ishak ~ 36 years 10 months 12 days (On 5 December 2020 vs Balestier Khalsa)
- Youngest ever debutant: Nathan Mao ~ 15 years and 5 days old (On 31 March 2023 vs Tampines Rovers)
References
- "Darby fears for S'pore football". Archived from the original on 15 November 2021. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
- "Football: Singapore tech firm Sea takes ownership of Home United; club changes name to Lion City Sailors FC". CNA. Archived from the original on 26 February 2021. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
- "Inside Lion City Sailors - The making of Singapore's first superclub". Goal. Archived from the original on 29 October 2020. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
- Narendaren Karnageran (21 January 2021). "Lion City Sailors sign Rio Ave's Lopes in landmark S$2.9m transfer". The New Paper. Archived from the original on 11 April 2023. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
- "In need of a sound compromise". AsiaOne. 16 January 2017. Archived from the original on 16 November 2021. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
- Osman, Shamir (10 June 2016). "Residents launch petition over Home United Youth Academy noise". The New Paper. Archived from the original on 11 April 2023. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
- Auto, Hermes (10 June 2020). "Football: Lion City Sailors commit $1 million into revamped youth academy | The Straits Times". www.straitstimes.com. Archived from the original on 15 June 2020. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
- Kwek, Kimberly (24 September 2020). "Football: Lion City Sailors' academy first in Singapore to receive One-Star rating from Asian confederation". The Straits Times. ISSN 0585-3923. Archived from the original on 16 November 2021. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
- Auto, Hermes (28 July 2022). "Football: Lion City Sailors launch $10m training centre as part of 'commitment to revitalise local football' | The Straits Times". www.straitstimes.com. Archived from the original on 24 February 2023. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
- "SPL 2023 Transfer Centre Club Guide: Lion City Sailors". Singapore Premier League. 24 January 2023. Archived from the original on 16 January 2023. Retrieved 24 January 2023.