Wikipedia

Lion City Cup

The Lion City Cup is a youth football tournament for boys. It was founded in 1977 by then Football Association of Singapore chairman Nadesan Ganesan, who organized the only Under-16 football tournament in the world, following the recommendation of FIFA's then secretary-general, Sepp Blatter, who was in Singapore for the 1982 Lion City Cup. The Cup has been credited with inspiring the creation of the 1985 FIFA U-16 World Championship hosted in China at FIFA's request.[1][2]

Lion City Cup
Organising bodyFootball Association of Singapore
Founded1977; 47 years ago (1977)
RegionSingapore Singapore
Number of teams4-14 (different years)
Current championsTokyo Verdy (1st win)
Most successful team(s)Football Association of Singapore (6 Wins)

History

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The Lion City Cup was first introduced in 1977, and the tournament was aimed at nurturing and developing youth footballing talents in Singapore. When the tournament was first started in 1977, it first featured youth teams from Malaysian state representative sides, given that there was keen interest in the Malaysia League and Cup competitions then. That year, a young Philip Yeo [arguably the most gifted footballer Singapore has ever known] who was the captain, helped Singapore emerge as champions after thrashing Pahang 5-0, in the finals played on 18 December 1977 at the old National Stadium. While the tournament was a regular annual affair from 1977 to 1982, the competition was discontinued from 1983 to 1989 because in 1982, the momentum of the event attracted the interest of FIFA, paving the way for the first FIFA U-16 World Cup in 1985. As a consequence, it became impracticable to hold the Lion City Cup with the same international caliber of invitees, and the competition was not held again until 1990 when it was revived in its original form and was an annual affair from that year until 2001, and then it went on a hiatus again for two years.

 
The tournament has been held at the Jalan Besar Stadium in Kallang as of now.

Multiple returns & hiatuses

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In 2004, it came back to life for three years and then was not held in 2007.

In 2008, Thailand U-17 beat the UAE U-17 in the final and the event was scrapped for another two years.

Then another 3 continuous years of competitions from 2011 to 2013, before being abolished in 2014 due to lack of sponsors.

The event returned in 2015 only to be discontinued for the next seven years.

2023 comeback

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The Lion City Cup returned for the 27th edition in 2023 after a seven-year hiatus. The 2023 edition was held on the 1st and 3rd September 2023, and featured regional sides Selangor (Malaysia), BG Pathum United (Thailand), Borneo Samarinda (Indonesia). Singapore’s representative was the National Development Centre (NDC) Under-15 team. This marked the first time that BG Pathum and Borneo F.C. participated in the tournament.[3]

2024

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The Lion City Cup returned for the 28th edition in 2024 as an U16 tournament. Held on 4 and 6 October 2024, it featured the 2023 holders, BG Pathum United (Thailand) and 2 other regional sides. Making their tournament debuts were Johor Darul Ta'zim F.C. (Malaysia) & Tokyo Verdy (Japan). Singapore’s representative was the National Under-16 team.[4]

Winners

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Edition Year Final Third place game Num. teams
Champions Score Runners-up Third place Score Fourth place
1st 1977   Singapore U-16 5–0   Pahang U-16   Kelantan U-16 2–0   Penang U-16 8
2nd 1978 a   Singapore 'A' 3–0   Selangor U-16   Singapore 'B' 2–1   Singapore 'C' 12
3rd 1979 b   Iraq U-16 3–1   Australia U-16   Thailand U-16 4–1   Singapore 'A' 14
4th 1980   Bahrain U-16 1–0   Saudi Arabia U-16   South Korea U-16 2–0   Thailand U-16 12
5th 1981   South Korea U-16 2–1   Bahrain U-16   Thailand U-16 3–1   Japan U-16 11
6th 1982   Thailand U-16 1–0   Saudi Arabia U-16   Japan U-16 1–0   Qatar U-16 9
Competition not held from 1983 to 1989
7th 1990   Singapore U-15 7–1   Terengganu U-16   Kuala Lumpur U-16 1–1   Perak U-16 6
8th 1991   Myanmar U-16 2–0   Singapore U-16   Hong Kong U-16 2–1   Selangor U-16 8
9th 1992   Indonesia U-16 0–0

(a.e.t.) (5–4 p)

  Kuala Lumpur U-16   Singapore U-16 1–0   Melaka U-16 8
10th 1993   Indonesia U-16 4–1   Western Australia   Pahang U-16 5–2   Kuala Lumpur U-16 8
11th 1994   Perth Kangaroos 3–2   Kuala Lumpur U-16   Hong Kong U-16 2–1   Pahang U-16 8
12th 1995   Singapore 'A' 1–0   Hong Kong U-16   Perth Kangaroos 3–1   AIK Stockholm U-16 8
13th 1996   South Korea U-16 4–0   AIK Stockholm U-16   Perth Glory c 2–0   Singapore U-16 8
14th 1997   AIK Stockholm U-16 3–2   Perth Glory U-16   Hong Kong U-16 0–0

(a.e.t.) (5–4 p)

  Singapore 'A' 8
15th 1998   India U-16 3–1   Perth Glory U-16   Singapore 'A' 6–5   Pahang U-16 8
16th 1999   India U-16 2–0   Perth Glory U-16   Singapore 'B' 1–2   Cambodia U-16 8
17th 2000   Olympia Athletic 3–0   Perth Glory U-16   Singapore U-16 2–1   Beijing Guoan U-16 6
18th 2001   Lyngby BK 6–0   St Stephen's   Wakayama U-16 5–4   Singapore U-16 4
Competition not held from 2002 to 2003
19th 2004   Singapore U-17 4–0   Hong Kong U-17   Malaysia U-17 and   Perth Glory U-17 5
20th 2005   Malaysia U-18 2–2(a.e.t.)

(4–2 p)

  Singapore U-18   AIK Stockholm U-18 2–2(a.e.t.)

(4–3 p)

  Football West 10
21st 2006   Singapore U-18 0–0(a.e.t.)

(7–6 p)

  Hong Kong U-18 Third place match not held 7
Competition not held in 2007
22nd 2008   Thailand U-17 1–1(a.e.t.)

(4–3 p)

  UAE U-17   Australia U-16 3–1   Uzbekistan U-17 8
Competition not held from 2009 to 2010
23rd 2011   Flamengo U-15 0–0(a.e.t.)

(4–3 p)

  Singapore U-16   Singapore U-15 4–0   Singapore U-15 6
24th 2012   Ajax U-16 4–1   Singapore U-16   Manchester City U-16 1–3   Vasco Da Gama U-16 6
25th 2013   Corinthians U-15 1–1(a.e.t.)

(5–3 p)

  PSV U-15   Eintracht Frankfurt U-15 3–2   Arsenal U-16 6
26th 2015   Tottenham Hotspurs U-15 4–0   Liverpool U-15   Singapore U-16 3–2   Singapore U-15 4
Competition not held from 2015 to 2022
27th 2023   BG Pathum United U-15 e 1–1(a.e.t.)

(4–3 p)

  Singapore NDC U-15 d   Selangor U-15 2–1   Borneo Samarinda U-15 4
28th[5] 2024   Tokyo Verdy FC 4–1   BG Pathum United   Johor Darul Ta'zim 5–1   Singapore U-16 4

Notes

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  • a: Singapore 'C' replaced Thailand U-16 which withdrew from the tournament
  • b: Indonesia was represented with players from Jakarta.
  • c: Perth Kangaroos were disbanded after the 1995 season and went back to their native country donning a new entry as Perth Glory [6]
  • d: FAS sent a team from the National Development Centre (NDU) to participate in the tournament.
  • e: BG Pathum United side which won Lion City Cup was their third tier U15 team.

Notable overseas players

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List of footballers that went on to play in Europe's top five leagues or represent their country at the FIFA World Cup

References

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  1. ^ "Looking back at 100 Years of Singapore soccer". AsiaOne. Archived from the original on 2011-08-24.
  2. ^ Dorai, Joe (11 December 1985). "Youth Cup revived". The Straits Times. p. 36.
  3. ^ Tianbao, Lin (2023-08-09). "Lion City Cup returns, U-15 team to feature". The Straits Times. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 2023-09-04.
  4. ^ "Singapore U-16 set to challenge regional powerhouses for the 2024 Lion City Cup - Football Association of Singapore". www.fas.org.sg. Retrieved 2024-10-05.
  5. ^ Teoh, Melvyn (2024-10-07). "Tokyo Verdy beat BG Pathum to clinch Lion City Cup; JDT third after thrashing S'pore U-16". The Straits Times. ISSN 0585-3923. Retrieved 2024-10-09.
  6. ^ "Lion City Cup". www.rsssf.org. Retrieved 2023-09-03.
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