The Singapore Armed Forces Football Club (SAFFC) is a professional football club which is currently the defending champion in Singapore’s S.League. The club represents the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF).

SAFFC has won the S.League title a record seven times – in 1997, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2006, 2007 and 2008.

On 21 November 2008, SAFFC became the first Singaporean club to complete the double double of the S.League and the Singapore Cup, topping both competitions in 2007 and 2008.

In 2009, SAFFC became the first Singaporean club team to play in the prestigious Asian Champions League. The last time a Singaporean club team played in the highest Asian club competition, was the Asian Club Championship back in 2002.

The team’s nickname is the “Warriors”, and their mascot is a rhino. Their home ground is the Choa Chu Kang Stadium.

Prior to the formation of SAFFC for the S.League’s inaugural season in 1996, the Singapore Armed Forces Sports Association (SAFSA) football team represented the SAF in top-level local football competitions from 1975-95. SAFSA won Singapore’s National Football League (NFL) in 1978, 1981 and 1986, and the President’s Cup in 1975, 1984 and 1986. Over the years, SAFSA’s team included many outstanding players such as Hussein Aljunied, Dollah Kassim, Quah Kim Song, Lim Tien Jit, Muniandy Kumar, Seak Poh Leong, Lim Chiew Peng, Leong Kok Fann, Au-Yeong Pak Kuan, Malek Awab, V. Selvaraj, Salim Moin and Terry Pathmanathan. The objective of the SAFSA team was to provide opportunities for full-time National Servicemen and regular military personnel to contribute to the development of football in Singapore.

When S.League was formed in 1996, SAFSA withdrew from the NFL and SAFFC was formed to represent the SAF in the new professional league, with a team comprising a mix of foreign players, local professionals and full-time National Servicemen. The club was officially established on 16 February 1996. From 1996-2000, SAFFC played its home games at the Jurong Stadium. In 1999, SAFSA’s football team resumed participation in the NFL (which became Singapore’s second-tier league after the launch of the S.League). This enabled more talented football players enlisted in national service to play in a competitive league competition even if they were not selected to play for SAFFC’s S.League team.

In 2001, SAFFC moved into a new home stadium – the Choa Chu Kang Stadium.

SAFFC’s mascot is a rhinoceros. Initially the club had wanted its mascot to be a warrior, however the S.League decided that all its clubs should have an animal mascot. The S.League proposed that SAFFC’s mascot should be a wolf. However the club decided that the characteristics of the wolf did not reflect the image and character of the SAF, and instead opted for a rhino. The club’s nickname, however, has always been the “Warriors”.

In 2009, SAFFC created history by becoming the first Singaporean team to qualify for the 2009 AFC Champions League. They beat Provincial Electricity Authority (4-1) and PMS Medan (2-1). SAFFC are drawn with J-League Champions Kashima Anthers, K-LEague Champions, Suwon Samsung and Chinese Super League Runners up Shanghai Shenhua. They will create history in their first match against Shanghai Shenhua in China on March 11.

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