One of Singapore’s most storied football clubs has been renamed BG Tampines Rovers, in a bold move to help propel the club forward.
The move comes after the club announced a partnership with Thai club side BG Pathum United. which will include receiving support from BG Pathum’s affiliated partner club Cerezo Osaka from the J-League.
The announcement was made on 23 September 2023, the same day the Football Association of Singapore held their annual congress.
Tampines Rovers is perhaps one of Singapore’s most recognised and historic football clubs.
The club was one of the founding members of the S-League which was inaugurated in 1996.
Among the chairmen who have helmed the club include Quah Kim Song, Teo Hock Seng (photo below), Krishna Ramachandra and Desmond Ong, its current chairman.
The Stags have five league titles and four Singapore Cup trophies to their name since 1996.
Through the partnership, both BG Tampines Rovers and BG Pathum will “seek to foster a close relationship on-and-off the field”.
The off-field initiatives will include co-branding initiatives, as well as the appointment of BGPU officials to TRFC’s management board.
The Stags will also enjoy the use of BG Pathum’s facilities for pre-season and mid-season preparations and will be able to “tap upon BGPU’s resources in relation to new football technologies, cutting-edge sports science, as well as marketing and social media and fan engagement”.
The club added that the partnership BG TRFC “hopes to be able to forge towards a new future for the club, as well as for Singapore football as a whole”.
It is also understood that the Thai club is also expected to take over the operations of the Stags at the end of the three-year partnership.
Singaporeans currently involved in Bg Pathum include Irfan Fandi, Ikhsan Fandi, Ryhan Stewart and Head of Youth Football Kadir Yahaya.
MAIN PHOTOS: BG TRFC