Sporting Afrique FC
Encyclopedia
Sporting Afrique Football Club is a defunct professional football
club which played in Singapore
's S.League
in 2006. The team was made up not of Singaporeans, but of players of Africa
n descent. Its squad consisted of players from Nigeria
, Cameroon
, Kenya
and Ghana
. The club finished in 9th place out of 11 teams in the S.League in 2006. They were involved in a number of off-field controversies, and were not invited to participate in the S.League again in 2007. The club played its home games at the Yishun Stadium
.
In allowing Sporting Afrique to join the league, the S.League hoped that their involvement would make the competition more exciting, and possibly unearth some good players who might be able to change the nationality to Singaporean and thus play for the Singapore national football team
(as Nigerian-born Agu Casmir
and Itimi Dickson
had done).
In June 2006, it was reported that, while the players had been promised monthly salaries of S$1,600 (~US$1,000), they only received S$100 a month (~US$60), as S$700 was deducted for food (reportedly a monotonous diet of rice and chicken), and S$800 for accommodation despite all 22 team members living 5 or 6 per room in the same house in an area where a typical house rental was around S$3,000. Their contracts also forbade talking to the media, but team members contacted the BBC anonymously, drawing international attention. Club president Collin Chee, who had initially claimed to be "not short-changing any of them", eventually backed down and agreed to raise their salaries to S$600, with performance bonuses and better housing.
At the conclusion of 2006 season, the team finished in 9th place out of 11 teams in the S.League – well below the initial target of a top-3 finish.
The club applied to play in the S.League again in 2007, and submitted plans to the Football Association of Singapore
(FAS) for a significant overhaul of their management. However, in December 2006, the FAS announced that the club's application to participate in the league in 2007 had been rejected.
Cameroon
Ghana
Kenya
Nigeria
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 which played 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. The team was made up not of Singaporeans, but of players of Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
n descent. Its squad consisted of players from Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
, Cameroon
Cameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...
, Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
and Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
. The club finished in 9th place out of 11 teams in the S.League in 2006. They were involved in a number of off-field controversies, and were not invited to participate in the S.League again in 2007. The club played its home games at the Yishun Stadium
Yishun Stadium
Yishun Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Yishun, Singapore, within the vicinity of Khatib MRT Station. The stadium holds 3,400 people.-History:* The Yishun Stadium is currently used mostly for soccer matches....
.
In allowing Sporting Afrique to join the league, the S.League hoped that their involvement would make the competition more exciting, and possibly unearth some good players who might be able to change the nationality to Singaporean and thus play for the Singapore national football team
Singapore national football team
The Singapore national football team is the national association football team of Singapore. The team comes under the organization of the Football Association of Singapore...
(as Nigerian-born Agu Casmir
Agu Casmir
Agu Casmir , is a professional soccer player who plays for the Persija Jakarta in the Indonesia Super League and the Singapore national football team.He took up Singapore citizenship in 2004....
and Itimi Dickson
Itimi Dickson
Itimi Dickson Edherefe is a Singapore international football player who last played for Geylang United.-Club career:Previously, he played for Jurong FC, Woodlands Wellington FC, Young Lions and Persitara Jakarta Utara....
had done).
In June 2006, it was reported that, while the players had been promised monthly salaries of S$1,600 (~US$1,000), they only received S$100 a month (~US$60), as S$700 was deducted for food (reportedly a monotonous diet of rice and chicken), and S$800 for accommodation despite all 22 team members living 5 or 6 per room in the same house in an area where a typical house rental was around S$3,000. Their contracts also forbade talking to the media, but team members contacted the BBC anonymously, drawing international attention. Club president Collin Chee, who had initially claimed to be "not short-changing any of them", eventually backed down and agreed to raise their salaries to S$600, with performance bonuses and better housing.
At the conclusion of 2006 season, the team finished in 9th place out of 11 teams in the S.League – well below the initial target of a top-3 finish.
The club applied to play in the S.League again in 2007, and submitted plans to 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...
(FAS) for a significant overhaul of their management. However, in December 2006, the FAS announced that the club's application to participate in the league in 2007 had been rejected.
Notable players
Cameroon
- Jacques Ngo'o
- Christian Priso
- Ejienne Kaze Teffo
Ghana
- Frederick Addai
Kenya
- Thomas Biketi
- Harrison Muranda
- Nicholas Muyoti
- Christopher Nyangweso
Nigeria
- Segun Adebayo
- Churchill Agofure
- Lukmon Anifaloyin
- Kehinde Hussani Badmus Udo Fidelis Chika
- Lucky Diokpara
- Julius Ejueyitsi
- Peter Lipede
- Ferdinand Nnodim
- Ifesinachi Nwaigwe
- Nwankwo Ogochukwu
- Michael Onyia
- Fortune Udo
- Obot Udoaka
- Nzekwesi Udorji
- Samuel Umoh
- Sergio Yaale