Sengkang Punggol FC
Encyclopedia
Hougang United Football Club is a professional football
club in Singapore
's S.League
. The club first made their debut in Singapore
's S.League
in 2006 under the name Sengkang Punggol Football Club. The club was a merger of two football clubs that previously played in the S.League – namely, Paya Lebar Punggol Football Club and Sengkang Marine Football Club. Together they formed Sengkang-Punggol Football Club. In 2011, the club rebranded themselves as Hougang United Football Club in order to identify themselves with the neighbourhood their stadium (Hougang Stadium
) is located (Hougang New Town). The club's home stadium, Hougang Stadium
, is also the home stadium for its predecessors, Paya Lebar Punggol FC and Sengkang Marine FC.
Sengkang Punggol finished runners-up in the inaugural Singapore League Cup
competition in 2007.
, with the initial aim of playing in 7-a-side tournaments, which were very popular at the time. The club's name arose after Newcastle United FC
of England
visited Singapore in 1981. With all the team's members being residents of Marine Parade fans of Newcastle United, they decided to name their club Marine Castle United FC.
Marine Castle United FC was registered with the Singapore Registry of Society on the 19 October 1981. In 1982, a four-year youth development programme was drawn up, aiming to develop and produce the club's players from 1986 onwards. This plan proved to be a success as many players were selected to represent Singapore in various youth tournaments. The young squads went on to achieve some noteworthy results, including:
Marine Castle's achievements at senior level had not been too impressive in the years leading to S.League
's formation in 1995. The club applied to be one of the eight teams that would participate in the inaugural S.League, but was not selected by the Football Association of Singapore
. Over the next two years, the club attempted to show skeptics that they had what it took to join Singapore's top league. They reached FA Cup semi-finals in 1995, become the National Football League's group champions in 1996, and were runners-up National Football League Division 1 in 1997.
Following this, Marine Castle United successfully applied to join the S.League in 1998. They became the eleventh team to join the S.League, together with Gombak United FC
. However Marine Castle did not initially enjoy much S.League success. They finished bottom of the league in their first two seasons. In 2000 and 2001, they climbed up one spot to finished eleventh out of twelve teams, above Balestier Central FC and Woodlands Wellington FC
respectively.
In 2002, Marine Castle FC changed its name to Sengkang Marine Football Club. The S.League wanted clubs to be closer to their heartlands and community. Marine Castle had been playing its S.League home games at the Hougang Stadium, and the change in name was made with the aim of reaching out more to fans in the nearby Sengkang
area. That year, the team's performances on the pitch improved, and they finished the S.League season in eighth place, their highest ever finish.
In 2003, Sengkang Marine finished the league season in eighth place again, but was then forced to bow out of the league due to financial difficulties. Both Sengkang Marine and Jurong FC
left the league after the 2003 season despite mid-table finishes as they could no longer afford to participate.
In 2005, Paya Lebar Punggol Football Club joined the S.League and finished tenth in its debut season. (Prior to joining the S.League, the team was previously a grassroots club known as Paya Lebar Kovan Football Club). Like Sengkang Marine FC before them, Paya Lebar Punggol FC played its S.League home games at the Hougang Stadium.
In 2006, Paya Lebar Punggol FC and Sengkang Marine FC decide to collaborate their resources and merge to form a club named Sengkang Punggol Football Club to play in the S.League. The newly-merged club finished in eleventh place in the 2006 S.League season.
mascot.
Marine Castle chose the dophin because it is a highly intelligent sea mammal, capable of working singularly or as part of a team. It represents dexterity, fleetness and determination.
Marine Castle thus became the first S.League club to have a marine animal as its mascot. Paya Lebar Punggol followed by adopting a seahorse as its mascot. When the two clubs merged, it was decided that the dolphin should be the new club's mascot.
On the 1st January 2011, the chairman of what is then Sengkang Punggol Football Club, Mr. Bill Ng, announced the changes that begins the rewriting of another chapter of the football club. Along with a change of name to the present "Hougang United Football Club", the club mascot has been changed to Chester the Cheetah.
The fan club is run by a passionate group of football fans who enjoy bringing the famous English football-stadium atmosphere to their own local football scene. In short, they are fans who appreciate the English football style of singing and chanting for 90 minutes for their Hougang United heroes.
Check out the Hougang Hools Gallery --> http://hougangunited.blogspot.com/p/hougang-hools.html
Jonathan Angelucci
(2006-07)
Kim Grant
(2006) Kenji Arai
(2010) Hiroyuki Yamamoto
(2008-09) Ricky Waddell
(2006) Amos Boon
(1999-10) Noh Rahman
(2009) Indra Sahdan Daud
(2009)
Sengkang Marine
Daniel Hill (2002-05) Grant Holt
(2002) James Morgan (2002) Jason White
(2003), (14 goals) Kim See-Man (2000)
Marine Castle
Doug Ithier
(1999) Michael Currie (1999) Ian Gore
(1998) Peter Anosike
(1998-99) Nduka Ugbade
(1998-99)
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
club in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
's S.League
S.League
The S.League is the top men's professional association football league in Singapore. The league was launched in 1996 and currently involves 12 clubs.-History:...
. The club first made their debut in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
's S.League
S.League
The S.League is the top men's professional association football league in Singapore. The league was launched in 1996 and currently involves 12 clubs.-History:...
in 2006 under the name Sengkang Punggol Football Club. The club was a merger of two football clubs that previously played in the S.League – namely, Paya Lebar Punggol Football Club and Sengkang Marine Football Club. Together they formed Sengkang-Punggol Football Club. In 2011, the club rebranded themselves as Hougang United Football Club in order to identify themselves with the neighbourhood their stadium (Hougang Stadium
Hougang Stadium
Hougang Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Hougang, Singapore. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home stadium of Hougang United FC in the S-League. The stadium has a capacity of 2,500 people....
) is located (Hougang New Town). The club's home stadium, Hougang Stadium
Hougang Stadium
Hougang Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Hougang, Singapore. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home stadium of Hougang United FC in the S-League. The stadium has a capacity of 2,500 people....
, is also the home stadium for its predecessors, Paya Lebar Punggol FC and Sengkang Marine FC.
Sengkang Punggol finished runners-up in the inaugural Singapore League Cup
Singapore League Cup
The Singapore League Cup is an annual soccer competition in Singapore. It was launched in 2007, and is open to teams who play in the S.League.The 2007 competition was sponsored by SingTel, and officially titled the SingTel League Cup...
competition in 2007.
S.League Record
- 1998 - Marine Castle United: 11th place (Wooden SpoonistWooden spoon (award)A wooden spoon is a mock or real award, usually given to an individual or team which has come last in a competition, but sometimes also to runners-up. Examples range from the academic to sporting and more frivolous events...
) - 1999 - Marine Castle United: 12th place (Wooden SpoonistWooden spoon (award)A wooden spoon is a mock or real award, usually given to an individual or team which has come last in a competition, but sometimes also to runners-up. Examples range from the academic to sporting and more frivolous events...
) - 2000 - Marine Castle United: 11th place
- 2001 - Marine Castle United: 11th place
- 2002 - Sengkang Marine: 8th place
- 2003 - Sengkang Marine: 8th place
- 2004 - did not take part
- 2005 - Paya Lebar Punggol: 10th place (Wooden SpoonistWooden spoon (award)A wooden spoon is a mock or real award, usually given to an individual or team which has come last in a competition, but sometimes also to runners-up. Examples range from the academic to sporting and more frivolous events...
) - 2006 - Sengkang Punggol: 11th place (Wooden SpoonistWooden spoon (award)A wooden spoon is a mock or real award, usually given to an individual or team which has come last in a competition, but sometimes also to runners-up. Examples range from the academic to sporting and more frivolous events...
) - 2007 - Sengkang Punggol: 11th place
- 2008 - Sengkang Punggol: 11th place
- 2009 - Sengkang Punggol: 10th place
- 2010 - Sengkang Punggol: 11th place
- 2011 - Hougang United: 7th place
Singapore Cup Record
- 1998 - Marine Castle United: First Round
- 1999 - Marine Castle United: First Round
- 2000 - Marine Castle United: First Round
- 2001 - Marine Castle United: First Round
- 2002 - Sengkang Marine: 4th place
- 2003 - Sengkang Marine: First Round
- 2004 - did not take part
- 2005 - Paya Lebar Punggol: First Round
- 2006 - Sengkang Punggol: Quarter-finals
- 2007 - Sengkang Punggol: Quarter-finals
- 2008Singapore Cup 2008-First knockout round:The draw for the first knockout round was held on Friday, 5 April 2008 in Singapore. The first round matches started on 6 May.-----------------------------Quarter finals:First Legs----------------...
- Sengkang Punggol: First Round - 2009 - Sengkang Punggol: First Round
- 2010 - Sengkang Punggol: First Round
- 2011 - Hougang United: 4th place
Singapore League Cup Record
- 2007 - Sengkang Punggol: Runners-up
- 2008 - Sengkang Punggol: First Round
- 20092009 Singapore League CupThe 2009 Singapore League Cup kicked off on 1 June.For this season, the 12 teams will be divided into four groups of three in the preliminary round which will be played on a round-robin basis...
- Sengkang Punggol: First Round - 20102010 Singapore League CupThe 2010 Singapore League Cup will be held between 20 February to 7 March. The draw was held on Tuesday, 9 February 2010 in Singapore. The matches are played on a one match basis.-Bracket:-Preliminary Stage:The winners advance to the Quarter-Final stage.----...
- Sengkang Punggol: 3rd place - 20112011 Singapore League CupThe 2011 Singapore League Cup will be held between 19 to 30 July. The draw was held on Friday, 1 July 2011 in Singapore. The matches are played on a one match basis....
- Hougang United: Runners-up
History
Marine Castle United Football Club, one of Sengkang Punggol's predecessor clubs, was formed as in 1981 by residents of Marine ParadeMarine Parade
Marine Parade is a town and an urban planning area in Singapore directly to the east of the Central Area, Singapore's central business district.-Location:...
, with the initial aim of playing in 7-a-side tournaments, which were very popular at the time. The club's name arose after Newcastle United FC
Newcastle United F.C.
Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger...
of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
visited Singapore in 1981. With all the team's members being residents of Marine Parade fans of Newcastle United, they decided to name their club Marine Castle United FC.
Marine Castle United FC was registered with the Singapore Registry of Society on the 19 October 1981. In 1982, a four-year youth development programme was drawn up, aiming to develop and produce the club's players from 1986 onwards. This plan proved to be a success as many players were selected to represent Singapore in various youth tournaments. The young squads went on to achieve some noteworthy results, including:
- 1984 - National under-16, unbeaten up to quarter-finals
- 1985 - National under-18, second round
- 1986 - Champions of the Zulkifli Mohd Soccer Tournament
- 1987 - FAS Single Knock-Out Tournament, unbeaten
Marine Castle's achievements at senior level had not been too impressive in the years leading to S.League
S.League
The S.League is the top men's professional association football league in Singapore. The league was launched in 1996 and currently involves 12 clubs.-History:...
's formation in 1995. The club applied to be one of the eight teams that would participate in the inaugural S.League, but was not selected by the Football Association of Singapore
Football Association of Singapore
The Football Association of Singapore is the governing body of football in Singapore. It was founded in 1952. Prior to that, the Singapore Amateur Football Association, founded in 1892, was the governing body for football in Singapore...
. Over the next two years, the club attempted to show skeptics that they had what it took to join Singapore's top league. They reached FA Cup semi-finals in 1995, become the National Football League's group champions in 1996, and were runners-up National Football League Division 1 in 1997.
Following this, Marine Castle United successfully applied to join the S.League in 1998. They became the eleventh team to join the S.League, together with Gombak United FC
Gombak United FC
Gombak United Football Club is a professional football club which plays in Singapore's S.League.Gombak United rejoined the S.League in 2006, having previously played in the league from 1998 to 2002. The club's best S.League finishes to date have been fourth place in 2007. The club also won the Best...
. However Marine Castle did not initially enjoy much S.League success. They finished bottom of the league in their first two seasons. In 2000 and 2001, they climbed up one spot to finished eleventh out of twelve teams, above Balestier Central FC and Woodlands Wellington FC
Woodlands Wellington FC
Woodlands Wellington Football Club is a professional football club that plays in Singapore's professional football league, the S.League.The team's home ground is the Woodlands Stadium, which is at the northern part of Singapore...
respectively.
In 2002, Marine Castle FC changed its name to Sengkang Marine Football Club. The S.League wanted clubs to be closer to their heartlands and community. Marine Castle had been playing its S.League home games at the Hougang Stadium, and the change in name was made with the aim of reaching out more to fans in the nearby Sengkang
Sengkang
Sengkang is a sub-urban town in the north-eastern part of Singapore. The Sengkang Planning Area, an urban planning zone under the Urban Redevelopment Authority, covers the Housing and Development Board satellite new town of Sengkang New Town and rural Jalan Kayu.-Etymology and history:Meaning...
area. That year, the team's performances on the pitch improved, and they finished the S.League season in eighth place, their highest ever finish.
In 2003, Sengkang Marine finished the league season in eighth place again, but was then forced to bow out of the league due to financial difficulties. Both Sengkang Marine and Jurong FC
Jurong FC
Jurong Football Club was a professional football club, based in the Jurong area of Singapore. The club played in Singapore's S.League from 1997 to 2003. The team's best league finishes in this period were fifth place in both 1998 and 2001....
left the league after the 2003 season despite mid-table finishes as they could no longer afford to participate.
In 2005, Paya Lebar Punggol Football Club joined the S.League and finished tenth in its debut season. (Prior to joining the S.League, the team was previously a grassroots club known as Paya Lebar Kovan Football Club). Like Sengkang Marine FC before them, Paya Lebar Punggol FC played its S.League home games at the Hougang Stadium.
In 2006, Paya Lebar Punggol FC and Sengkang Marine FC decide to collaborate their resources and merge to form a club named Sengkang Punggol Football Club to play in the S.League. The newly-merged club finished in eleventh place in the 2006 S.League season.
Club Mascot
In 1998, when Marine Castle United joined the S.League, all clubs playing in the league were required to have an animal mascot to represent their team. Marine Castle chose a dolphinDolphin
Dolphins are marine mammals that are closely related to whales and porpoises. There are almost forty species of dolphin in 17 genera. They vary in size from and , up to and . They are found worldwide, mostly in the shallower seas of the continental shelves, and are carnivores, mostly eating...
mascot.
Marine Castle chose the dophin because it is a highly intelligent sea mammal, capable of working singularly or as part of a team. It represents dexterity, fleetness and determination.
Marine Castle thus became the first S.League club to have a marine animal as its mascot. Paya Lebar Punggol followed by adopting a seahorse as its mascot. When the two clubs merged, it was decided that the dolphin should be the new club's mascot.
On the 1st January 2011, the chairman of what is then Sengkang Punggol Football Club, Mr. Bill Ng, announced the changes that begins the rewriting of another chapter of the football club. Along with a change of name to the present "Hougang United Football Club", the club mascot has been changed to Chester the Cheetah.
Hougang United FC Supporters Club
The Hougang United official fan club also known as the Hougang HOOLs (Hougang.Only.One.Love) was officially inaugurated on the 1st January 2011, just as the football club underwent a change of name (from Sengkang-Punggol Football Club to the present Hougang United Football Club).The fan club is run by a passionate group of football fans who enjoy bringing the famous English football-stadium atmosphere to their own local football scene. In short, they are fans who appreciate the English football style of singing and chanting for 90 minutes for their Hougang United heroes.
Check out the Hougang Hools Gallery --> http://hougangunited.blogspot.com/p/hougang-hools.html
Current Squad
Prime League Squad
Former Players
Sengkang PunggolJonathan Angelucci
Jonathan Angelucci
- External links :*...
(2006-07)
Kim GrantKim Grant (footballer)
Kimberley Tyrone "Kim" Grant is a Ghanaian former footballer and is the manager of F.C. Takoradi. Grant has been involved in professional football for over 18 years, playing in European and Asian leagues.-Club career:...
(2006) Kenji Arai
Kenji Arai
is a Japanese footballer.-Career:Arai entered professional football with Albirex Niigata after graduating from Rissho University in 2001 but was unable to hold on to the first team place although he played 20 league games for Albirex Niigata in his first season...
(2010) Hiroyuki Yamamoto
Hiroyuki Yamamoto
is a Japanese footballer who plays as a defender for Pattaya United of the Thai Premier League.-Club career:He started his career playing for his faculty team in the Tokyo University, soon moving on into the Japan Football League, the 3rd tier of the Japanese football league system to play for...
(2008-09) Ricky Waddell
Ricky Waddell
Richard Alexander "Ricky" Waddell , is a Scottish footballer currently without a club following his release from Clyde. He is a winger.-Career:...
(2006) Amos Boon
Amos Boon
Amos Boon is a Singaporean football goalkeeper currently playing for Sengkang Punggol FC.-Football career:Boon started his S.League career with Tanjong Pagar United FC in 1996, which he stayed for three years...
(1999-10) Noh Rahman
Noh Rahman
Mohamed Noh Rahman is a Singaporean footballer, born on 2 August 1980, and plays for S-League team, Singapore Armed Forces FC and also the Singapore national football team as a defender....
(2009) Indra Sahdan Daud
Indra Sahdan Daud
Indra Sahdan bin Daud is a professional footballer who is currently playing for SAFFC as a striker.-Club career:...
(2009)
Sengkang Marine
Daniel Hill (2002-05) Grant Holt
Grant Holt
Grant Holt is an English footballer, currently playing in the Premier League for Norwich City. He plays as a striker and is club captain....
(2002) James Morgan (2002) Jason White
Jason White (footballer born 1971)
Jason Gregory White is an English former professional footballer. He played as a striker.-Career:White began his career with Derby County in 1990, but after failing to break into the Rams first team, he left to join Scunthorpe United the following year...
(2003), (14 goals) Kim See-Man (2000)
Marine Castle
Doug Ithier
Doug Ithier
Doug Ithier is an Australian football player most notable for playing for Perth Glory, Walsall, and throughout Asia including Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Brunei and China...
(1999) Michael Currie (1999) Ian Gore
Ian Gore
Ian George Gore is an English former professional footballer. He played as a centre-back.-Football career:...
(1998) Peter Anosike
Peter Anosike
Peter Ikechukwu Anosike is a football striker from Nigeria.-Football career:Anosike played club football for various clubs in Nigeria, Belgium, Australia and in Singapore....
(1998-99) Nduka Ugbade
Nduka Ugbade
Nduka Ugbade is a Nigerian footballer. He formerly played with Perak FA in Malaysia.-International:As a youth player, fresh from St...
(1998-99)