Sporting Afrique FC
 | |
| Full name | Sporting Afrique Football Club |
|---|---|
| Nickname | The Flamingos |
| Founded | 2006 |
| Dissolved | 2007 |
| Ground | Yishun Stadium Yishun, Singapore |
| Capacity | 3,400 |
| Chairman | Collin Chee |
| Manager | R. Balasubramaniam |
| League | S.League |
| 2006 | S.League, 9th of 11 |
Sporting Afrique Football Club was a professional football club which played in Singapore's S.League in 2006. The squad consisted of mostly younger players from Nigeria, Cameroon, Kenya and Ghana.[1] The S.League hoped their involvement would make the competition more exciting, and possibly unearth players who might change their nationality and play for the Singapore national football team in the future.
History
[edit]Sporting Afrique started off their debut 2006 S.League season with a 2–1 win over Woodlands Wellington at the Yishun Stadium. The club finished in 9th place in its only S.League season.
Controversies
[edit]Sporting Afrique were involved in a number of off-field controversies, and their application to participate in the S.League in 2007 was rejected.[2] In June 2006, it was reported that, while the players had been promised monthly salaries of S$1,600, they only received S$100 a month. 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", agreed to raise salaries to S$600, with performance bonuses and better housing.[3] It was revealed that one of the players turned down a bribe of more than $5,000 ahead of an S-League match.[4]
Seasons
[edit]| Season | Pos | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | Singapore Cup |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 9th | 30 | 5 | 9 | 16 | 36 | 58 | 24 | Preliminary |
Notable players
[edit]
- Udo Fortune
- Lucky Diokpara
- Lukmon Anifaloyin
- Peter Lipede
- Sergio Yaale
- Obot Udoaka
- Julius Ejueyitsi
- Michael Onyia
- Segun Adebayo
- Agofure Churchill
- Kehinde Hussani Badmus
- Ferdinand Nnodim
- Ifesinachi Nwaigwe
- Nwankwo Ogochukwu
- Udorji Nzekwesi
- Samuel Umoh
- Udo Fidelis Chika (originally of Nigerian nationality)
Coach
[edit]
R. Balasubramaniam (2006 – 2007)
References
[edit]- ^ Rutherford, Peter (19 January 2007). "Sporting gives Africans chance to shine in S'pore". Reuters. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
- ^ Tan, Kenneth (10 March 2019). "Turning full circle: Family man Collin Chee opens up on abrupt departure from Singapore football and coming back with Dads for Life". JupiterFutbol. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
- ^ "Hopes dashed in Singapore". BBC Sport. 14 June 2006. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
- ^ Thomas Biketi’s Sporting Afrique set to disband Archived 2011-07-21 at the Wayback Machine
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