Geylang International FC
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| Full name | Geylang International Football Club |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Eagles |
| Founded | 1974 |
| Ground | Bedok Stadium |
| Capacity | 4,000 |
| Chairman | Ben Teng |
| Head Coach | Hasrin Jailani |
| League | S.League |
| 2016 | 6th |
| Website | Club home page |
Geylang International Football Club (known as Geylang United from 1996 to 2012) is a professional football club based in Bedok, Singapore. The club is one of the successful teams in the country back in the 1970s and 1980s, winning the most number of titles in the FAS Premier League. Apart from that, the club has also won a number of titles in the National Football League and President Cup. After the S.League was formed in 1996, the club has won the league twice. They have also won the Singapore FA Cup and Singapore Cup once.
The club was founded as International Contract Specialists (ICS) Football Club in 1973 and entered the league system via the National Football League Division Three in 1974. The club used to play their home game at Geylang Field. However, since the club have a huge following from the fans during that period of time, all games had to be played either in Jalan Besar Stadium or Kallang Stadium due to the crowd. The most successful period for the club was between 1988 and 1993 when players such as Malek Awab and Razali Saad helped the club to win six FAS Premier League titles in a row and two President's Cup.
Began in 1973 as International Contract Specialists Football Club, then club founder Colin Ng was planning to build of the strongest team in Singapore. Back then, the club was funded by donations from well-wishers after players were not paid. By giving sponsors and being able to travel abroad as rewards, he hopes that this will motivate the players to do well. It eventually became much more successful when they entered the league system via the FAS Division Three in 1974 and won both the Division Three title and the President's Cup in their debut season. After a change of name to Geylang International Football Club in 1975, they took part in the newly revamped National Football League and eventually won their first NFL title. They went on to win that title, including the President’s Cup in 1976. They won their third NFL title in 1977 and the President's Cup the following year. A relegation in 1981 prompted the arrival of a new management committee that guided the club back to the top division in 1983. In 1984, club president Kasim Chik financed the club and businessman Patrick Ang, who joined in 1986, managed to secure sponsors for them. Despite being relegated that year, they returned to Division 1 of the NFL the following season and the golden era began. In 1988, the FAS started a semi-professional league competition called "The FAS Premier League" as the top tier of the Singapore football league structure. The competition which lasted for eight years was dominated by them, who won six consecutive titles from 1988 -1993 before finishing third in 1994 and runners-up in 1995.
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