Jurong FC

Jurong Football Club was a professional football club based in Jurong, Singapore. The club played in the S.League, the top division of football in Singapore from 1997 to 2003. Their best league finishes were fifth place in both 1998 and 2001.

The club was founded as Jurong Town Football Club in 1975, and prior to 1997 revamp, they were known as Jurong Football Club. The team won Singapore's President's Cup (now known as the Singapore Cup) in 1988 and 1989, and were runners-up in 1999 and 2002.

History

Pre S.League Era

The purpose of forming the club was to serve employees and residents in the Jurong Industrial estate.^[1] In 1975, the club organised the Jurong League which attracted a large number of workers. The club was given the Division One status. It was coached by the well known footballer of the 1960s, the late Rahim Omar. He coached the club for two years, after which it was relegated to Division Two till 1987. In 1988, Jurong Town was back in the top division and sponsored by Japan Airlines, the first company to come into a domestic competition with $100,000 sponsorship.^[2] This sponsorship helped the club to engage players like V. Sundramoorthy, Jeffrey Lazaroo, A.R.J. Mani, K Kannan, D. Tokijan and Lim Chiew Peng. Nazri Nasir and Lim Tong Hai who joined at the age of 16.^[3] Jurong Town won the President's Cup in that year^[4] and D. Tokijan was awarded the top scorer for the year. Jurong Town signed David Lee at the end of the 1988 season.^[5] In the late 1980s and early 1990s, their kits were sponsored by Hummel.^[6]

In 1990, the club signed Australians Tommy Marras and Peter Murphy. They finished second in the Premier League with goal difference to Geylang United. In 1991, Jurong Town was relegated to the Second Division. In 1992, the club was promoted again. In 1996, after relegations in the past three years, K Suppiah wanted to help Jurong Town. He engaged Jimmy Pearson to be the coach and M. Somasamy as a team manager.

1997–1999: Instability

1997 saw the former NFL side Jurong Town renamed themselves as Jurong FC and adopt a scorpion as their mascot. Jurong FC finished seventh out of nine teams in their first top domestic season. The club's notable achievements were ending Geylang United's unbeaten run and Alan McTurk scoring the fastest goal of the season. In 1999, Jurong FC star player, V Sundramoorthy, was appointed the coach. He became the first ever player-coach ^{[citation needed]} in the S.League history. Jurong finished in sixth position. That year they have also reached the final of the Singapore Cup. The club's captain, Jason Ainsley, was the top scorer with 19 goals; he was the third top scorer overall for that season. Jurong FC's main sponsor WSA Lines ended their sponsorship. Dalis Supait was recalled back to the national team after superb performances.

2003: Pulling out from the S-League

Finally in 2003, Jurong FC's financial problems forced the club to pull out from the S-League indefinitely, much to the dismay of its fans and supporters.

Club image

In 1997, Jurong Reptile Park sponsored the club in a 1 million deal^[7] and Jurong FC set up its first clubhouse at the park.^[8] The club also asked its fans to select a new mascot to associate with the new sponsor,^[9] and the winner was cobra.

Stadium

The club's original home ground was based at the old Jurong Stadium from 1975 until 1997. During the construction of the new Jurong East Stadium, Jurong FC used Bukit Gombak Stadium as their home ground for the 1997 S.League season.

Sponsors

Coaches list

Seasons

• 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.

Honours

Cup

• President's Cup
  • Champions (2): 1988, 1989

References

1. ^ "RIP Krishnan Suppaiah: Heart, head and hand for football". Sports247. 2017-10-19. Archived 6 February 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-02-06.
2. ^ "More incentives for Jurong". The New Paper. 3 December 1988. p. 35. Archived 6 February 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
3. ^ Hakikat Rai (28 September 1987). "Jurong eager on Suria for League". The Straits Times. p. 27.
4. ^ "GROUP PHOTOGRAPH OF WINNING TEAM OF PRESIDENT'S CUP FROM …". nas.gov.sg. Archived 6 February 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-02-06.
5. ^ "David the most expensive player". The New Paper. 3 December 1988. p. 36. Archived 6 February 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
6. ^ "Football: 'Respect' the way forward for Tampines Rovers as club signs two-year deal with Hummel | The Straits Times". straitstimes.com. 2018-01-30. Archived 6 February 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-02-06.
7. ^ "Fans pick Cobra". The New Paper. 8 August 1997. pp. Fans pick Cobra. Archived 6 February 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
8. ^ "Attractive offer for Jurong fans". The Straits Times. 14 December 1997. p. 44. Archived 6 February 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
9. ^ "Playing the name game". The New Paper. 30 July 1997. p. 47. Archived 6 February 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
10. ^ Mohan, Matthew (11 Feb 2024). "Never Too Old: The 72-year-old who has given most of his life to Singapore football". CNA. Retrieved 11 Sep 2025.
11. ^ "Pearson out, Krishnan in – The New Man". The New Paper. 2 Sep 1998. p. 32. Retrieved 11 Sep 2025.
12. ^ Tan, Noah (5 Jun 2016). "‘I would have loved to coach myself’: Sundram". todayonline.com. Retrieved 11 Sep 2025.

External links

• Official club website (archived 28 August 2005)
• S.League website page on Jurong FC