Langbahn Team – Weltmeisterschaft

Geylang International FC

Geylang International
Full nameGeylang International Football Club
Nickname(s)The Eagles
Founded1973; 51 years ago (1973) as International Contract Specialist
1975; 49 years ago (1975) as Geylang International
1996; 28 years ago (1996) as Geylang United
2013; 11 years ago (2013) as Geylang International
GroundOur Tampines Hub
Capacity5,000
ChairmanThomas Gay
Head coachMohd Noor Ali
LeagueSingapore Premier League
2023Singapore Premier League, 5th of 9
Websitewww.gifc.org.sg
Current season

Geylang International Football Club is a professional football club based in Bedok, Singapore, that competes in Singapore Premier League, the top division of football in Singapore. The club was founded in 1973 to build a successful football team that would be remembered for generations to come. They played their first season in 1974, winning the FAS Division Three League which earned them a spot in National Football League Division One the following year. They enjoyed their greatest successes in the 1980s and 90s, winning six consecutive FAS Premier League titles.

Geylang International has won 2 league titles and 1 Singapore Cup since the inception of a professional league in 1996. Their greatest season was in 1996, when they became the first team to win both the league title and the FA Cup. They also reached the 1997 Singapore FA Cup final, 2001 and 2003 Singapore Cup final, and the 2012 Singapore League Cup final as runners-up.

Geylang International has a traditional rivalry with closest neighbour Tampines Rovers. Matches between these two are referred to as the "Eastern Derby" which is known to be one of the best rivalries in Singapore football.

Due to their strong partnership with J.League club, Matsumoto Yamaga, The Japanese fan based has been seen cheering for Geylang International in their fruitful long-standing relationships.[1]

History

Beginnings and breakthrough (1973–1995)

Formally founded by Colin Ng in 1973 during a dinner gathering with Arshad Khamis, Gulam Mohamed and Omar Ashiblie, Ng planned to build one of the successful club in Singapore. They were soon known as International Contract Specialists Football Club (ICS) and played its first friendly match against Rollel, a Singapore Business Houses Football League (SBHFL) Division One league club on 15 November 1973 with a 2–0 win.[2][3] They made their season debut in 1974, walking away with 2 titles – FAS Division Three League & President's Cup with no losses. This was not too difficult for them as they had several star players and well-known footballers among their ranks. With the likes of Arshad Khamis, Dollah Kassim, Gulam Mohamed, Samad Allapitchay, Kamal Mohd Nor and Robert Sim, they had a formidable side that receives the respect from oppositions. The team coached by The Yap Brothers, Sebastian and Andrew were no stranger to Football Association of Singapore.

Name changed

For the new season, in line with the Football Association of Singapore plans to streamline footballs and have teams on geographical consideration for the Division One League, ICS changed its name to Geylang International as their home ground was based at Geylang Field, Lorong 12. In 1975, they entered the National Football League Division One and won it before adding another title in 1976. Their back to back victory was made sweeter by winning the 1976 President's Cup.[4]

A relegation in 1981 prompted the arrival of a new management committee that guided the club back to the top division in 1983. In 1984, club president Kasim Chik financed the club and businessman Patrick Ang, who joined in 1986, managed to secure sponsors for them. Despite being relegated that year, they returned to Division 1 of the National Football League the following season and the golden era began. In 1988, the FAS started a semi-professional league competition called the FAS Premier League as the top tier of the Singapore football league structure. they dominated all eight years of the league, winning six consecutive titles from 1988 to 1993 before finishing third in 1994 and second in 1995. Every game would see their home ground packed to the brim as fans clamoured to catch a game of the Eagles’ skilful players. Subsequently, due to the huge fan following which numbered in the thousands, all their games had to be played either in Jalan Besar Stadium or National Stadium. The success behind winning the FAS Premier League was also aided by the players they had. Notably players such as Malek Awab, Razali Saad, Dollah Kassim, Samad Allapitchay and Robert Sim all contributed to the success of the team. These were players who would also go on to represent the country. It might not be known widely by many but they even managed to attract one of the biggest European stars of that era to turn up in their club's colours. French forward and legend, Michel Platini visited Singapore to attend a football clinic conducted by them and played half a game for the Eagles to highlight the club's attraction.[citation needed]

Progressive and golden era (1996–2012)

As Geylang United Football Club, they were one of the eight teams in the inaugural season of the S.League in 1996. They won the first stage (the Tiger Beer Series) of the league season and finished fifth in the second stage (the Pioneer Series). They won the league after defeating SAFFC (the Pioneer Series champions) 2–1 in the Championship Play-off.[5] They completed the season with another trophy, beating the same team on penalties in the Singapore FA Cup. As the team was full of international stars, led by 1998 Iranian World Cup head coach Jalal Talebi, players such as Fandi Ahmad, Kadir Yahaya, David Lee, Hamid Reza Estili, Mohammad Khakpour, and Chris Riley, Vincent Subramaniam (Head Coach for SAFFC) identified them as the Manchester United of Singapore. As league champions, they qualified for the 1997–98 Asian Club Championship but were eliminated after losing 8–2 on aggregate by Japanese side Kashima Antlers in the first round.[citation needed]

The 1997 season was a disappointing season for them. They failed to defend the S.League title, finishing fifth. The Eagles also failed to defend the FA Cup, after losing to SAFFC in the finals. They did not win any silverware till 2001, when they won their second league title by a close margin. Both forwards, Aleksandar Đurić and Brian Bothwell scored 57 goals for the team. It was the best performing S.League season for the team; scoring 84 goals and conceding 28 goals. Just days after winning the league title, they suffered their worst defeat in history; losing 8–0 to Home United in the Singapore Cup finals. As league champions, they were guaranteed a slot in the qualifying round of the 2002–03 AFC Champions League but were eliminated after losing to Chinese side Shanghai Shenhua 5–1 on aggregate in the second round.[citation needed]

The 2002 season saw Geylang United finish third in both the S.League and Singapore Cup. They came close to winning their third S.League title and first Singapore Cup in 2003, only to finish runners-up to Home United for both competitions. As runners-up, they qualified to play in the AFC Cup 2004 due to Home United's double. Their debut in the AFC Cup 2004 was an impressive one. Despite losing their opening match, they managed to stay unbeaten for their next five games in the group stage. They went on to qualify for the quarter-finals, beating Malaysian club Perak FA before losing to Syrian side Al-Wahda in the semi-final.[citation needed]

Geylang United won their first Singapore Cup in 2009, beating Thailand side Bangkok Glass 1–0 at the Jalan Besar Stadium.[6] The win ensured them a place in the 2010 AFC Cup where they were placed in Group H alongside Vietnam SHB Da Nang, Thailand club Port and Hong Kong side Tai Po. However, they failed to qualify for the knockout stages, finishing 3rd in the group stages with four draws and two losses.[citation needed]

Weeks before the start of the 2012 season, Patrick Ang announced his retirement as club chairman. Ang, who had been with the club since 1986, moved up the ranks at the club as manager; vice-president; president and eventually chairman.[7] He was given the nickname "Geylang's Godfather" after helping the club to gain main and co-sponsors.[8] Former Singapore international, Leong Kok Fann took over the position. Mike Wong stepped down as coach after their 7–1 thrashing by Home United kept the club at the bottom of the league without a point.[9] Under-21 coach, Vedhamuthu Kanan, swopped roles with Wong.[10] Under the guidance of Kanan, the Eagles made it into the League Cup finals; only to lose in the final to Brunei DPMM.[11][12] In the league itself, Kanan gave the U21 players the chance to be in the first team. It turned out to be a positive effort as some of these players who were given the chance to play in the S.League matches performed better than some of the first team players. They ended the season second from bottom in the nine-team table.[citation needed]

Decline in performances (2013–2016)

Renamed as Geylang International

On 4 January 2013, the club announced in a pre-season press conference that it would change its club logo and name back to Geylang International Football Club.[13][14][15] The club has set on a vision statement, playing philosophy and values like discipline and commitment to a six-week training routine planned for the players to follow meanwhile on the community outreach side, there will be a new partnership with Singapore Management University [SMU] Mentorship Programme which includes opportunities to interact with the club players. A vision statement, playing philosophy and values like discipline and commitment have also been clearly set out, and a six-week training routine planned for the players to follow. They started off the season playing against Malaysian club Johor Darul Ta'zim, ATM FA and Selangor FA losing 1–0, 2–1 and drawing 0–0 respectively. The Eagles than sign three Japanese trios, Takuma Ito, Norihiro Kawakami and Shotaro Ihata however the squad saw plenty of long-term injury crisis, forcing their then-assistant coach, former Singapore international,Mohd Noor Ali to come out of retirement.[16] They finished the season in 9th place. On 19 August 2013, they face Hong Kong club, Sun Source winning the match 5–0 at the Bedok Stadium.

The 2014 season was something to look out for as Vedhamuthu Kanan flew to Argentina during the pre-season to look for new foreign players. It was later announced that Leonel Felice, Franco Chivilo and Joaquin Lopez had signed a 1-year contract.[17] In addition, Nazareno Velez joined in as assistant coach.[18] The Eagles started off their 2014 pre season friendlies participating in the IFA Shield 2014 in India playing against Kingfisher East Bengal, United Sports Club and Korean Sun Moon University at the Salt Lake Stadium. However, the season did not start well as one of the Argentinian players failed to get their employment pass before the season kicked off.[19] V. Kanan eventually got demoted back to coaching the U-21 team after 3 straight losses. German Jörg Steinebrunner was than appointed as the new head coach 24 hours before their next match.[20] Despite their poor league performance, Steinebrunner almost led the team to the finals of League Cup and Singapore Cup; only to lose both domestic competitions on penalty shoot-outs. The team ended the 2014 season in eighth place.

In 2015, Steinebrunner took this opportunity to get his own players ahead of the new season. The Eagles participated in the 2015 Kata Group Hotel Challenge Cup tournament in Thailand facing Phuket winning 1–3 in the 1st leg and 2–1 in the 2nd leg. They than fly off to Indonesia to face Semen Padang and FELDA United of Malaysia in a friendly match. The Eagles was inconsistent throughout the season, failing to win most of their matches. After their defeat in the semi-finals of the League Cup, they failed to collect any points for six consecutive games, remaining rooted to the bottom of the table for months. An unbeaten run in their last five matches with 3 wins and 2 draws allowed them to finish one place off the bottom.

Weeks after the 2015 S.League season ended, it was announced that Ben Teng would replace Leong Kok Fann as club chairman.[21][22] Ben Teng and his new management committee (comprising mainly Singaporeans who have worked in Dubai/Abu Dhabi previously) set about to revamp the club by recruiting young players from the disbanded LionsXII and Courts Young Lions, anchored by seasoned players such as Daniel Bennett and Indra Sahdan. Four players, Hairul Syirhan, Yuki Ichikawa, Nor Azli Yusoff and Shawal Anuar from the 2015 season were retained. In line with the club's philosophy of promoting young players from within, four Prime League players were promoted to the senior team (one was subsequently released to Young Lions at the request of FAS). The new 2016 squad also featured returning former Geylang Prime League players such as Stanely Ng, Amy Recha and Taufiq Ghani. Former Singapore international and championship winner with the 2001 Geylang team, Hasrin Jailani, was appointed as head coach. His teammate from the 2001 winning team, Mohd Noor Ali, was appointed as assistant head coach and Prime League coach. In its first S-League away match of the 2016 season against title favourites Tampines Rovers, the Eagles recovered from an early 2–0 lead by the hosts to lead 2–3 before an 86th-minute equaliser by the hosts.[23] Geylang International finished 5th out of the 9 teams competing in the 2016 S league.

Mohd Noor Ali era (2017–present)

In June 2017, Mohd Noor Ali took over as head coach of Geylang International, managing the team he had won the 2001 S league with as a player. The Eagles played their pre season friendlies against Malaysian club, Johor Darul Ta'zim, Melaka United and Petaling Jaya Rangers before returning home to face Philippines club, Ceres–Negros and Australian club, Rydalmere Lions winning 3–1 in the process at the Bedok Stadium. The Eagles improved on their previous position and attained 4th position in the 2017 S league. It was Geylang International's first top four finish in 14 years [24]

In 2018, Mohd Noor Ali went to abroad for a 1-year coaching stint with Japanese club Matsumoto Yamaga (as part of Geylang International's collaboration with their sponsor Epson). Noor Ali's venture abroad meant Hirotaka Usui took charge of The Eagles for the inaugural 2018 Singapore Premier League. Geylang International finished a disappointing 8th position that season.

In 2019, Mohd Noor Ali returned to Geylang International after guiding Yamaga's “B” team to a league title.[24] The Eagles welcomed new players like former Dutch U-20 Barry Maguire, and retained a strong youthful core in Darren Teh and Zikos Chua, and Azril Suhaili.[25] Zikos Chua scored vital late goals during the season, as the resilient Eagles finished a commendable 5th place in the 2019 Singapore Premier League. The Eagles Ultras watched and cheered on the team to 10 wins out of 24 matches. That season, The Eagles also knocked out defending champions Albirex Niigata (S)[26] en route to finishing 3rd in the 2019 Singapore Cup. The Eagles beat the 2019 Singapore Premier League champions, Brunei DPMM, in the 3rd/4th placing match 12–11 on penalties, after the match ended 2–2.

In 2022, the season will be remembered for Geylang's resilience to finish the season strong, after a slow start. After beating title favourites Lion City Sailors 1–0 in their opening game, Geylang went on an 11-game winless run despite putting in commendable performances. The newly revamped Geylang squad for 2022, consisting of a new group of foreign players - Vincent Bezecourt, Šime Žužul, Rio Sakuma, Takahiro Tezuka had to find a way to get back to winning ways. When Round 2 and 3 of the 2022 Singapore Premier League came around, Geylang International picked up form, picking up 5 wins in 6 games. By beating the Lion City Sailors 3–1 in the final round of matches (Round 4), and ending the season with a 1–1 draw with eventual champions Albirex Niigata (S), Geylang International finished the season 4th, matching their 4th-place finish in 2020.

Collaboration with City Football Group

In February 2023, Geylang International and City Football Group (CFG), one of world football's richest and most powerful organisations, have formalised a collaboration agreement that is set to contribute to the further development of the Singapore-based club which would make the Eagles the first South-east Asian team to be associated with CFG, which owns English Premier League champions Manchester City. Geylang club adviser Ben Teng, who was also the club's chairman from 2015 to 2020, played a key role in securing the deal. The agreement is set to be an initial, highly targeted collaboration between both entities with the potential to evolve into a broader, more comprehensive strategic partnership in the future. It will enable the club to start tapping into CFG's world class football knowledge, global network, technology, expertise and practices, allowing the club to improve its structure and operations. The partnership has already reaped benefits as CFG's Football Operations department helped Geylang to bring in striker Yushi Yamaya for the 2023 season, a former academy player of Yokohama F. Marinos, J-League champions and part of the CFG family.[27][28]

Geylang International started off the 2023 season in a Malaysia tour competing in the Harapan Cup in which they lost 4–0 to Penang and 1–2 to Kedah Darul Aman. The Eagles have a great record against their rivals, Tampines Rovers getting 2 wins and 1 draw in the league match.

In preparation for the inaugural two years league cycle 2024–25 season, Geylang International turned their attention towards Japanese national signing Keito Hariya, Ryoya Taniguchi, 2021 Singapore Premier League 'Player of the Year' winner, Tomoyuki Doi and also loaning in youngster, Sora Tanaka from partnership club, Matsumoto Yamaga. The Eagles also retained Japanese duo, Rio Sakuma and Takahiro Tezuka while Vincent Bezecourt remained the only European foreign in the club. Geylang International started off their season with a brilliant display getting 10 points with 2 wins, 4 draws and 0 lost in their first six matches where the club also ended Lion City Sailors winning streak making them drop points in their first four matches. The club also went on to beat Albirex Niigata (S) in a 6–0 thrashing win on 6 July 2024 where Tomoyuki Doi went on to scored 3 hat-tricks in 7 league matches.

Sponsors

Period Kit Main Sponsor
1996 Italy Diadora Japan Hitachi
1997 United States Hewlett-Packard
1998 Singapore Akira
1999–2002 United States Nike Singapore Ponggol Marina
2003 No sponsors
2004–2006 Singapore Pan Singapore Akira
2007–2008 Italy Diadora Singapore Five Stars Tours
2009 Italy Lotto
2010–2013 No sponsors
2014 Singapore Rotary Engineering
2015 Singapore Dreamatron No sponsors
2016 Singapore THORB Japan Epson
2017–2022 Thailand FBT
2023 Australia Rolos[29]
2024–present Singapore Vector Green

Affiliated clubs

On 23 November 2016, Geylang International and Matsumoto Yamaga signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in a press event which was held earlier today at the Marina Bay Floating Platform. This MOU will enable both clubs to establish a platform to exchange expertise and knowledge with the objective of promoting cohesion and development of football between the two clubs. The MOU spells out possible areas of collaboration such as the exchange of players and technical staff for training attachments and loans. Geylang will be looking to select promising players from its Active SG-GIFC Soccer Academy and junior teams to send on short training stints with Matsumoto Yamaga while the Japanese club is also looking into the possibility of sending players from their junior team to Singapore for a pre-season training stints. Amongst the key initiatives of the partnership with Matsumoto Yamaga is the exchange programmes for head coach, Mohd Noor Ali, who had a one-year attachment with the Japanese side in 2018, where he guided their B team to the Japan FA's Under-18 Football League Nagano prefecture title while on 17 August 2018, Anders Aplin become the first Singaporean football player to sign for a J.League team signing on loan until the end of the 2018 J2 League season in November.

On 30 October 2022, both club reaffirmed their close and long-standing relationship as the club officials went to Japan to explore future collaborations going into the seventh year of partnership since 2016. Geylang International has a memorandum of understanding with J.League outfits, Matsumoto Yamaga that was signed in 2016, while Epson's relationship with the club also dates back to the same year when it became the club's platinum sponsor. In the last seven years, Epson has enjoyed premium hospitality access to the club's home matches and has also supported the local football community and youths with the staging of the Epson Youth Cup.[30]

Geylang International and V.League, Ho Chi Minh City has higned a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that aims to further the growth of football through the open sharing of technical expertise and knowledge between both clubs. Under this MOU, cooperative efforts between both clubs will be boosted in four key sectors; training, attachments, player transfers, and fan club support. It will also allow the two clubs to send their youth and senior squad to train or participate in short-term tournaments within each other's regions. The agreement will also ensure the priority of players’ transfer for both clubs as well as facilitate the exchange of players and technical staff for training attachments. Additionally, both parties will strive to increase each other's club profile in their own regions and encourage cultural exchanges and interactions between their fan clubs. This includes providing support, privileges, and on-site concierge services for official club tours, visits, or match attendances requested by each other's fan clubs through their respective clubs.

On 1 February 2023, Geylang International had become the first Southeast Asian club to partner the group. The agreement is set to be an initial, highly targeted collaboration between both entities with the potential to evolve into a broader, more comprehensive strategic partnership in the future. This unprecedented commitment in Geylang International's history will enable the club to start tapping into CFG's football expertise, know-how, technology, and best practices, allowing the club to improve its structure and operations.

Stadiums

Bedok Stadium Entrance

The Eagles’ home ground is the Bedok Stadium, located in the eastern part of Singapore. It is used both for football matches and community events. Besides that, the pitch is also used by the club for their training sessions. The stadium has a natural grass football pitch, an 8-lane running track and some athletic facilities. The stadium are closed to the public during official events and S.League matches. The stadium can hold up to 3,800 spectators. The stadium is currently managed by the Singapore Sports Council.

Our Tampines Hub

The Eagles’ home ground moved to Our Tampines Hub for the 2019 Singapore Premier League season, which they share with Tampines Rovers.[31]

Supporters

Wherever The Eagles play, they are well supported by a loyal and vocal set of supporters called The Ultras Eagles. Usually decked in black and green, they come with loud drums and a strong set of lungs, roaring on the team and setting a matchday scene unlike anything most of Singapore have ever seen. The passionate supporters have also formed a close bond with the team. This is especially evident when the Ultras and The Eagles players and coaching staff heartily participate in a post match song together, after every game, whether the team wins, loses, or draws.[32]

Official anthem

Geylang International Football Club's Official Anthem, "We Are The Mighty Eagles" was launched on 22 February 2022. The anthem will be played at all home matches, before kick-off, half-time and whenever a goal is scored by the Eagles. The anthem is composed by Evil Singing Pandas a band from Singapore and Bangkok, Thailand.[33]

The anthem is also being used in various videos promoting the club, including a behind the scenes pre-season photoshoot and tribute clip to the main sponsor Epson in 2022.[34][35]

Players

As of 30 Jun 2024

First team squad

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Singapore SGP Hairul Syirhan
4 MF Japan JPN Takahiro Tezuka
5 DF Japan JPN Rio Sakuma (Vice Captain)
6 DF Singapore SGP Akmal Azman
7 MF Singapore SGP Naufal Azman
8 MF Singapore SGP Joshua Pereira (Captain)
9 FW Japan JPN Tomoyuki Doi
10 MF France FRA Vincent Bezecourt
11 MF Singapore SGP Huzaifah Aziz
No. Pos. Nation Player
13 DF Singapore SGP Faisal Shahril
14 DF Singapore SGP Ahmad Syahir
16 FW Singapore SGP Iqbal Hussain
17 DF Singapore SGP Naqiuddin Eunos
18 DF Japan JPN Keito Hariya FP U21
19 FW Singapore SGP Zikos Chua U23
22 DF Singapore SGP Shakir Hamzah
23 FW Japan JPN Ryoya Taniguchi
24 GK Singapore SGP Rudy Khairullah

Under-21s and Academy

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
51 GK Singapore SGP Naufal Affandi U21
52 DF Singapore SGP Nizwan Izzairie U21
53 DF Singapore SGP Sho Gamoh U21
54 FW Australia AUS Jake Ellenberger U21
55 DF Singapore SGP Syafi Suhaimi U21
56 MF Singapore SGP Raiyan Noor U21
57 DF Singapore SGP Hud Ismail U21
58 DF Singapore SGP Shafrel Ariel U21
59 FW Singapore SGP Abdul Muqsid Izzet U21
60 FW Singapore SGP Syed Muhammad U21
62 FW Singapore SGP Aniq Zulfadli Matin U21
63 MF Singapore SGP Nabil Zikry U21
No. Pos. Nation Player
65 GK Singapore SGP Azakhir Azali U21
66 MF Singapore SGP Nur Mohamed Ikhsanuddin U21
67 MF Singapore SGP Aidil Rosli U21
68 MF Singapore SGP Irgy Zulkilfli U21
69 MF Singapore SGP Hafiy Ismat U21
70 FW Singapore SGP Syazwan Latiff U21
71 MF Singapore SGP Kayden Neo U21
72 DF Australia AUS Barnaby Davies U21
73 DF Singapore SGP Kyan Neo U21
74 DF Singapore SGP Irfan Rifqi U21
75 FW Singapore SGP Tariq Shahid U21
76 FW Belgium BEL Nils Vandersmissen U21

Players on loan

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
DF Singapore SGP Ilhan Noor (National Service till 2025, to Young Lions)
54 DF Singapore SGP Kieran Teo (National Service till 2025, to Young Lions)
53 MF Singapore SGP Muthukumaran Navaretthinam (National Service till 2025)

Club officials

In February 2020, Thomas Gay, co-founder and deputy chairman of Goodrich Global Pte Ltd, and the club's vice-chairman for the last two years, took over from Ben Teng as the chairman of Geylang International.[36] Ben Teng will remain as the Eagles' club adviser and will oversee their strategic direction, specifically in the building of alliances with overseas clubs.[37]

Management

Position Name
Chairman Thomas Gay
Club Advisor Mohd Fahmi Aliman
Ben Teng
Honorary Secretary Andy Wang
Honorary Treasurer Lim Yiak Tiam
General Manager Jason Jayden Chua
Team Manager Leonard Koh
Finance Manager Adelene Wee
Clubhouse Manager Maureen Chia
Head of Media Calvin Koh

Technical Team

Position Name
Head Coach Mohd Noor Ali
Assistant Coach Syed Azmir
Fitness Coach Sofiyan Hamid
Sports Trainer Fazly Hasan
Goalkeeper Coach Yusri Aziz

Honours

Type Competition Titles Seasons
League Singapore Premier League 2 1996, 2001
FAS Premier League 6 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993
National Football League Division One 3 1975, 1976, 1977
FAS Division Three 1 1974
Cup Singapore Cup 1 2009
Singapore FA Cup 2 1996, 2007
Singapore League Cup 'Plate Winners' 1 2016
President's Cup 6 1974,[38] 1976, 1978, 1990, 1991, 1995
Others Prime League 3 1998, 2006, 2011

Bold is for those competition that are currently active.

Records and statistics

As of 27 November 2024.

Top 10 all-time appearances

Rank Player Years Club appearances
1 Japan Yuki Ichikawa 2014–2021 205
2 Singapore Shah Hirul 2008–2015 161
3 Singapore Syed Thaha 2004-2005

2007–2011

2015

142
4 Singapore Yazid Yasin 2009–2012,

2015–2016

139
5 Singapore Amy Recha 2011–2013

2016–2017

2019–2021

132
6 Singapore Syed Fadhil 1997–2002

2004–2007

2010–2012

121
7 Singapore Hafiz Rahim 2003–2004

2006–2011

112
8 Singapore Shawal Anuar 2014–2019 111
9 Singapore Yasir Hanapi 2008–2011

2013

101
10 Slovakia Rastislav Beličák 2008–2010 96

Top 10 all-time scorers

Rank Player Club appearances Total goals
1 Slovakia Jozef Kapláň 95 54
2 Japan Tomoyuki Doi 20 33
3 Singapore Shawal Anuar 111 32
4 Singapore Amy Recha 132 30
5 France Vincent Bezecourt 66 23
6 Singapore Masrezwan Masturi 80 22
7 Croatia Šime Žužul 29 19
8 Japan Bruno Suzuki 32 18
9 South Korea Kim Jae-hong 66 17
10 Argentina Leonel Felice 33 16
Singapore Hafiz Rahim 112
  • Biggest Wins: 0–9 vs Sengkang Marine (On 18 July 2002)
  • Heaviest Defeats: 0–8 vs Lion City Sailors (On 11 April 2021)
  • Youngest Goal scorers: Zikos Chua ~ 16 years 11 months 30 days old (On 14 April 2019 vs Young Lions)
  • Oldest Goal scorers: Daniel Bennett ~ 38 years 9 months 18 days old (25 October 2016 vs Home United)
  • Youngest ever debutant: Zikos Chua ~ 16 years 2 months 19 days old (On 4 July 2018 vs Young Lions)

Seasons

Season League Pos. P W D L GS GA Pts Singapore Cup League Cup
1996-1 S.League 1st 14 9 1 4 27 14 28
1996-2 5th 14 6 3 5 20 16 21
1997 5th 16 6 7 3 23 18 25
1998 3rd 20 11 5 4 32 18 38 Group stage
1999 4th 22 9 8 5 33 21 35 Quarter-finals
2000 3rd 22 13 2 7 42 29 41 Third place
2001 1st 33 23 7 3 84 28 76 Runners-up
2002 3rd 33 17 8 8 80 39 59 Third place
2003 2nd 33 21 3–2 7 75 30 71 Runners-up
2004 7th 27 10 7 10 43 43 37 Semi-finals
2005 8th 27 7 5 15 38 57 26 Preliminary
2006 10th 30 6 5 19 22 62 23 Round of 16
2007 6th 33 10 9 14 43 44 39 Round of 16 Withdrew
2008 6th 33 13 6 14 56 57 45 Round of 16 Round of 16
2009 6th 30 12 4 14 36 39 40 Winners Quarter-finals
2010 5th 33 12 11 10 32 30 47 Round of 16 Quarter-finals
2011 8th 33 13 2 18 43 63 41 Round of 16 Quarter-finals
2012 11th 24 5 6 13 28 50 21 Round of 16 Runners-up
2013 9th 27 8 8 11 31 38 32 Quarter-finals Quarter-finals
2014 8th 27 8 8 11 33 34 32 Quarter-finals Semi-finals
2015 8th 27 7 7 13 36 44 28 Quarter-finals Semi-finals
2016 5th 24 10 7 7 35 29 37 Quarter-finals Group stage
2017 4th 24 11 3 10 32 37 36 Preliminary Semi-finals
2018 Singapore Premier League 8th 24 5 5 14 26 57 20 Quarter-finals
2019 5th 24 10 3 11 41 48 33 Third place
2020 4th 14 6 2 6 18 22 20
2021 6th 21 6 2 13 33 52 20
2022 4th 28 10 9 9 48 46 39 Group stage
2023 5th 24 10 3 11 41 52 33 Group stage
  • 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.

Former managers

Manager Season Achievements
Singapore Andrew Yap 1973 – 1974
Malaysia Haji Ahmad Bakri Fahrin 1974 – 1976 1974, 1976 President's Cup

– 1974 FAS Division Three

– 1975, 1976 National Football League Division One

Singapore Dennis Bent 1977 – 1978 – 1977 National Football League Division One
Singapore Cheng Meng Sak 1979 1978 President's Cup
Australia Zayid Ramsay 1980 – 1988 1988 FAS Premier League
Singapore Ibrahim Awang[39] 1989 1989 FAS Premier League
Singapore Sulaiman Karim 1989 – 1991 1989, 1990, 1991 FAS Premier League

1991 President's Cup

Singapore Subhash Singh 1991 – 1994 1992, 1993 FAS Premier League
Singapore Vincent Subramaniam 1994 – 1995 1995 President's Cup

S.League

Iran Jalal Talebi 1 January 1996 – 12 March 1997 1996 S.League

1996 Singapore FA Cup

Singapore Robert Lim 13 March 1997 – 14 October 1997
New Zealand Douglas Moore 15 October 1997 – 31 December 1998
New Zealand Alan Vest 1 January 1999 – 26 July 2000
Singapore Seak Poh Leong 17 July 2000 – 31 December 2000
South Korea Jang Jung 1 January 2001 – 31 December 2001 2001 S.League
Singapore Seak Poh Leong (2) 1 January 2002 – 26 August 2002
South Korea Jang Jung (2) 27 August 2002 – 30 November 2002
Australia Scott O'Donell 1 January 2003 – 31 May 2005)
Singapore Seak Poh Leong (3) 1 June 2005 – 31 December 2005
Thailand Attaphol Buspakom 1 January 2006 – 8 August 2006
Singapore Lim Tong Hai 9 August 2006 – 4 October 2007
Slovakia Joseph Herel 1 January 2008 – 22 October 2008
Singapore Lim Tong Hai (2) 23 October 2008 – 31 October 2008
Singapore Mike Wong 1 January 2009 – 16 March 2012
Singapore Kanan Vedhamuthu 17 March 2012 – 19 March 2014
Germany Jörg Steinebrunner 21 March 2014 – 31 December 2015
Singapore Hasrin Jailani 1 January 2016 – 20 June 2017
Singapore Mohd Noor Ali 20 June 2017 – 1 February 2018

Singapore Premier League

Japan Hirotaka Usui 1 February 2018 – 29 September 2018
Singapore Mohd Noor Ali (2) 21 December 2019 – present

Notable Managers/Players

Coach

Players

Club Captains

Year Captain
1974 Singapore Gulam Mohammad
1975 Singapore TBC
1976 Singapore TBC
1977 Singapore TBC
1978 Singapore TBC
1979 Singapore TBC
1980 Singapore TBC
1981 Singapore TBC
1982 Singapore TBC
1983 Singapore TBC
1984 Singapore TBC
1985 Singapore TBC
1986 Singapore TBC
1987 Singapore TBC
1988–1995 Singapore Razali Saad
 
Year Captain
1996 Singapore TBC
1997 Singapore TBC
1998 Singapore TBC
1999 Singapore TBC
2000 Singapore TBC
2001 Singapore TBC
2002 Singapore TBC
2003 Singapore TBC
2004 Singapore TBC
2005 Singapore TBC
 
Year Captain
2006 Singapore TBC
2007 Singapore TBC
2008 Singapore TBC
2009 Singapore TBC
2010 Singapore TBC
2011 Singapore TBC
2012 Singapore Yazid Yasin
2013 Slovakia Jozef Kaplan
2014 Singapore Ridhuan Muhammad
2015 Slovakia Jozef Kaplan
2016–2017 Singapore Isa Halim
2018 Singapore Anders Aplin
2019 Singapore Darren Teh
2020–2021 Japan Yuki Ichikawa
2022 Singapore Zaiful Nizam
2023–present Singapore Joshua Pereira

Performance in AFC competitions

2002–03: Qualifying East – 3rd Round
1989: Qualifying Stage
1990: Qualifying Stage
1991: Qualifying Stage
1998: First Round
2004: Semi-finals
2010: Group stage
1990/91: First Round
1991/92: First Round

Continental record

Season Competition Round Opponents Home Away Aggregate
2002-03 AFC Champions League Qualifying Zone 2 Round 4 China Shanghai Shenhua 3–0 2–1 5–1
2004 AFC Cup Group E India East Bengal 2–3 1–1 2nd out of 4
Maldives Island FC 1–0 0–5
Malaysia Negeri Sembilan 2–1 0–1
Quarter-finals Malaysia Perak FA 3–2 1–2 3–5
Semi-finals Syria Al-Wahda 0–1 1–1 2–1
2010 AFC Cup Group H Hong Kong Tai Po 1–1 1–1 3rd out of 4
Vietnam SHB Đà Nẵng 1–1 3–2
Thailand Thai Port 0–1 2–2
2021 AFC Cup Group I Malaysia Terengganu Cancelled
Cambodia Visakha
East Timor Lalenok United

Media controversies

2016 Post-season issues

On 7 November 2016, The Straits Times reported that Geylang International will not pay two of their players' December salaries. Former Singapore national captain Indra Sahdan and Carlos Delgado were affected. It is believed that the club docked Indra's salary as it is displeased that he missed many training sessions while Delgado had some disagreement with the management over money. Club chairman, Ben Teng revealed that as many as 12 players signed two-year full-time contracts at the beginning of this season. The management committee made most of the decisions regarding the handing out of contracts last season, before Teng came on board to replace Leong Kok Fann. Teng added that he has spoken to all the players and will intend to honour their contracts. In addition, some players, who supplemented their income by driving for Uber, have been ordered to stop such off-field activity. Teng revealed his concern and decided to impose a ban on such activities. The players have signed declarations that they do not have other employment outside of football. As professional, players should be focused on raising our playing standards and should not be distracted by off-field activities.[42]

2018 Foreign Players Recruitment

On 13 February 2018, Geylang International attempted to recruit foreign players online. The advertisement was swiftly removed once the public took notice of it.[43] Despite this, Geylang International continued to boast a crop of talented foreign players. Japanese central defender and fan favourite Yuki Ichikawa played in his 7th season with Geylang International during the 2020 Singapore Premier League season. Yuki will be remembered for scoring the dramatic last minute winner against his former club Albirex Niigata in the first game of the Eagles' 2019 season. Barry Maguire also starred for The Eagles in the 2019 season, scoring a tremendous long range goal against the Young Lions, winning the 2019 Singapore Premier League Goal of the Year award.[44]

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