Sembawang Ranger FC Home Jersey Early 2000s

Sembawang Ranger FC Home Jersey Early 2000s

Sembawang Rangers or better known as The Stallions WERE a club in the S.League. They were one of the founding members of the S.League and retained their name and identity until the year 2003, when they folded due to financial difficulties.

They were always a mid-table club and their peak was reaching the Quarter-Finals of the 2002 Singapore Cup! Some of my earliest memories of the club include watching their brand of entertaining but often ill-disciplined football(Including seeing a red card for a Sembawang defender who did a fine save with his hands in an S.League match).

One of their most famous alumni is none other than the legendary Noh Alam Shah!

In recent years, there has been talks of the revival of Sembawang Rangers, but so far, all the plans seem to have fallen through. There is however, a Sembawang Sports Club in the National Football League, but they have no relation to the Sembawang Rangers of Old. Will we one day see the revival of clubs like Sembawang Rangers, Jurong FC or even Clementi Rovers FC?

Singapore U-16 Youth Football Jersey 04/05

Singapore U-16 Youth Football Jersey 04/05

Before Nike sponsored Singapore, there was Diadora. This Italian brand provided the Tiger Brand for the National Team and the Diadora jerseys for the youth squads. This jersey was given to me by my friend, whom im very grateful to, for this gift. He used to play for the National Youth Team in an outfield position.

I've always wondered why Singapore teams would order long-sleeved jerseys since the weather is so hot in Singapore. The answer i got was that sometimes they have matches or tours in temperate countries and they need it to keep warm. Nevertheless, i have actually worn this when i went trekking during winter and its surprisingly comfortable!

Once again, the year of the jersey cannot be exactly confirmed as there are no available pictures on the web of it. But hopefully, i have narrowed it down to the years of 2004 and 2005! 

Geylang United FC Away Jersey Late 90s

Geylang United FC Away Jersey Late 90s

A Nike S.League Jersey???? Yes, many S.League clubs used to be sponsored by Nike. Geylang United FC was once one of such clubs. The exact year of this jersey is unknown, but according to sources, it is from the late 90s to early 00s and this was a Sunday Youth Team Soccer Jersey. As Geylang United is located in the east, this event/team was probably sponsored by the Marine Parade Community Development Council, which has been printed on this jersey.

Another rare aspect of this jersey is that its tag indicates that it was MADE IN UK!

Unbelievable!! In this day and age of jerseys being Made in Indonesia or Vietnam, a MADE IN UK Nike S.League Jersey is certainly a rare sight and an indication of the heights which it once achieved.

Currently, the only S.League team sponsored by Nike is the Courts Young Lions, due to the team being under FAS. Now this beggars the question, will we be able to see another team being sponsored by the big brands such as Nike, Adidas or Puma anytime soon? Or will it be left to the smaller boys such as Diadora, Thorb and Waga to stamp their mark on the S.League!

Tampines Rovers Football Club Home Jersey 2010

Tampines Rovers Football Club Home Jersey 2010

Tampines Rovers FC is one of the most successful clubs in Singapore ever! Chairman Teo Hock Seng has dedicated a lot of his time and also money in order to make this club a huge success. In the 2010 S.League season, they achieved 2nd place, losing to Etoile FC by a single point. Since then, they have never looked back! For the past 2 seasons (2011 and 2012), they have won the S.League title and look set to clinch the 2013 S.League title. With a loyal fan-base and a huge volume of resident's living in the Tampines township, the club looks set for even greater heights when their new stadium is completed in future.

The Club also boasts many big names who have played for them including: Aleksander Duric, Khairul Amri, Mustafic Fahrudin and Zulkarnaen Zainal (Zul), whose penalty miss i will never forget.

I do not have much information about Player No.24 Hairul. If you should know more about who he is, kindly comment on this post and let me know! Your tips are most welcomed!

Photo Credit: Gale

Etoile FC 2011 Home Jersey

Etoile FC 2011 Home Jersey

This jersey comes as matchworn. There were some pulls and some cracks to the printing, but still in good shape overall. I particularly like this jersey very much as it is an extremely rare jersey of Etoile FC in their final season in the Sleague. Furthermore, this jersey was not available for public retail. 

This jersey is made from the Acono brand which also designed Woodlands Welington FC's jersey in 2012. Acono is actually a Thai brand and is one that is seldom seen in Singapore. On the left sleeve of this jersey, there is a gold CHAMPIONS patch as Etoile FC won the title in their inaugural 2011 season.

The player who used this jersey, Serge Souchon-Koguia played for Etoile FC in 2010 and 2011, before moving on to Tanjong Pagar United in 2012. He is one of the rare foreign Sleague players who actually represented their country whilst still in the Sleague. Souchon is a Central African Republic international and played for his country in the 2012 African Nations Cup qualifiers.

I am not too sure where he is playing now.

Home United FC Away Jersey 2000

Home United FC Away Jersey 2000

Home United Football Club is a football club set up to represent the Home Team in Singapore, made up of the Singapore Police Force, Singapore Civil Defence, the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Immigration and Checkpoints authority. It has won the Sleague twice(1999, 2003) and the Singapore Cup 5 times (2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2011)

One look at this jersey and you will immediately notice the sheer number of sponsor patches all around the jersey. Hence, we can see that this jersey originated close to the early years of the Sleague when there were plenty of sponsors wanting to sponsor the various Sleague Clubs.

Notable sponsors that we can notice on the patches and that DO NOT sponsor clubs in the Sleague currently are KFC, Nissan, Shell amongst others. Sponsorship has been a main problem in the Sleague in recent years as many clubs have been unable to find main sponsors or even co-sponsors. Hence, many of the jerseys have had less patches or just plain fronts without any sponsor's logos on them.

Home United FC is also know sponsored by the Kappa brand, which has provided it with modern and sleek looking jerseys. The jerseys they still play in are either in Red, Blue or White. They also continue to be sponsored by Coca Cola which has been sponsoring them loyally for many years.

This jersey brings back fond memories of the days where Sleague clubs had a huge motley of sponsors vying to have their patches printed on the club jersey. It provides us with a benchmark for the clubs to aim for and to one day have the happy problem of finding space on the jersey to print the sponsor.

This jersey was purchased in 2012 when i chance upon it at a local sports shop. The price was certainly not cheap as it was the last piece, but i seized it immediately as you seldom see a jersey lying around for more than 10 years!

Geylang United FC Goalkeepers Jersey 2009 Singapore Cup

Geylang United FC Goalkeepers Jersey 2009 Singapore Cup

                                       

Very seldom do i ever get a jersey which arrives with so much history. Well this happened to be one of them. This is the exact matchworn jersey worn by Yazid Yasin in the 2009 Singapore Cup Final in which Geylang United FC beat Bangkok Glass FC 1 - 0. Since then, it has been the last piece of silverware that they have worn thus far. In the game, Yazid pulled off a series of wonderful saves and also save a penalty in the last 10mins to lead his team to victory!

This is the Jersey worn by ex-Singapore International Yazid Yasin. He now plays for Woodlands Wellington FC and is probably one of the best goalkeepers not to have played more games for the Singapore Lions. Singapore has been blessed with many good goalkeepers and Yazid Yasin is surely one of them.

One thing to note about Singaporean Club Jerseys is that clubs sometimes have a different jersey or third jersey design specially for the Singapore Cup. The main difference is the RHB Patch at the back. Singapore Cup jerseys also do not come with the names printed, unlike Sleague jerseys.

Balestier Khalsa FC Home Jersey 2011

Balestier Khalsa FC Home Jersey 2011

Balestier Khalsa FC Home Jersey 2011 with Cunningham 5 Printing.

This is one of my favourite Balestier Khalsa FC Jerseys. I chose the Cunningham printing as he is the captain of the team and is one of the longest serving players in the Sleague. Balestier Khalsa is also one of the last few Sleague teams to be sponsored by Umbro. For the seasons 2010 and 2011, they have been sponsored by Civic, which provides Ambulance services.

Cunningham is a New Zealander international who has played one or two international games for the country. However, if im not wrong, those were friendly matches and if he fulfills the 5 year residential rule, he might be eligible for a Singaporean passport and to represent the Lions in the future. As a tall centre-back, he would add great physical presence to the squad.

Etoile FC Home Jersey 2010

Etoile FC Home Jersey 2010

This Jersey was worn in the inaugural 2010 season of Etoile FC's participation in the Sleague.

It comes with MENDY 12 printing.

Frederic Mendy received the golden boot award in the 2010 Sleague season as he scored 21 goals in 32 appearances. He then went on to play for Home Utd in the next season and last i heard, is now in Portugal. Etoile FC added flavour and variety to the Sleague but due to insufficient funds, had to pull out of the 2011 season.

This is not a matchworn jersey and is a really plain Diadora Template. The material is also thick and heavy and not dry-fit. This could be the reason why Etoile FC switched kit supplier the next season.

The jersey also came with a sponsor patch by HRMS Consulting later on in the season.

Photo Credit: Redsports

Albirex Niigata Singapore FC Home Jersey 2004 or 2005

Albirex Niigata Singapore FC Home Jersey 04 / 05

Either 2004 or 2005

As worn by No. 7 Hidetoshi Wakui who is now playing in Estonia

Attached are some of his pictures:

This is one of the first few home jersey of the Albirex Niigata FC Singapore who are a Japanese team taking part in the S.League. They do not have any local Singaporean players in the team and are used as a developmental squad for their parent club Albirex Niigata FC in Japan.

This jersey also has the Goal 2010 patch on the right sleeve and the Yeo's sponsor print at the back is pretty simple and different from the current versions. The number printing is also of the previous version whereby the world S.League appears printed on the number itself.

This jersey was bought from a Portuguese Seller at a pretty hefty price. But considering its rarity and age, it sure is a great steal!