User:HKKickers/NUFC
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| Full name | Northern United Football Club |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The North Star |
| Short name | NUFC |
| Founded | 2023 |
| Ground | Wellington Primary School (7-aside) Bishan ActiveSG Futsal Court (Futsal) |
| Owner | Umar Khalish |
| Manager | Umar Khalish |
Northern United Football Club commonly referred to as Northern United is a Singaporean amateur football club based in Sembawang. The club is under the Singapore Football Social Association and participates in its competitions such as the Merlin Regionals and the Community Shield.
Founded in 2023, Northern United's emblem features a six pointed star due to the Mathematical term of six being a 'perfect number'. It highlights the club's desire to achieve and better themselves. The club's colours of yellow-beige and olive-green represents the scenery and the colour architecture of the club's founding in Sembawang. The club's motto is Menderita sekarang, kesoronokan kemudian ("Suffer now, pleasure later").
The club was founded with the intention to train players that were deemed not good enough into better players and people. The club sought out for players who had trouble with football and give them proper training and facilities. This meant that the club started as a developmental club but also signed experienced players for a balance.
The club has won one honour in the 2023 Merlin Regionals after a shocking run into the finals.
History
[edit]Formation
[edit]Northern United was founded at the start of 2023 by upcoming coach Umar Khalish. Umar sought for a platform for players to develop and hone their technical skills after a short stint at veteran club Teck Whye Hounds highlighted the lack of organisation for training and tactical experiment. The club was founded shortly after as an experiment to test the waters for Umar's ideas with the intention to bring in new and veteran players to balance out the environment. This way, players would be able to learn from each other and still be able to perform to a certain expectation.
Alongside Umar were former Teck Whye Hounds defender, Niq Aqimi, and former Sengkang Wolves striker, Naufal Nico. Both of which have played alongside and trained under Umar. Umar was also assisted by Hong Kong's media artist, Isaac Yeung, and regular, Clovis Yio, for discussions in bringing the club to activation. The club played their first game in Yishun against neighbours Sembawang FC for a test match. This saw the transfers of new players through Nico (Adam Mikhail) and Aqimi's (Aqid and Avinesh) connections. Northern United's first televised match would be against Vengeance FC at the legendary Buangkok Sports Park in a 20-7 defeat. The game saw the first set of players vital to the club's core in goalkeeper Hendra Putra, and all-rounder Yio.
2023 Merlin Regionals
[edit]The club was invited to participate in the 2023 Merlin Regionals held at Bishan. They were regarded as the underdogs due to extremely underwhelming results before the tournament kicked off including a 12-4 loss to Bokana FC at home. Not only were they at a disadvantage in talent, starting goalkeeper Hendra was unavailable in the last minute and a personal conflict with the at-the-time sports trainer meant that Umar was unavailable for the first two matches. This meant that Haris Nasrullah and Yio had to take up the roles of both goalkeeper and assistant coach. Nevertheless, the club progressed into the semi-finals where they beat Hawkguys on penalties and Serangoon Belgrade with the same outcome in the finals.
This turn of events led to Umar finalise his decision on announcing both Yio and Haris as his vice-captains.
First partnership
[edit]Northern United played their first match after the Merlin Regionals against Sengkang District 19 FC on 13 December 2023. Sengkang District was founded by former player Ian Aydin and both owners had agreed to play the match under the name of charity. This soon led to a partnership between the two clubs on 19 December 2023 with aims to help the newly formed club develop. This included the sharing of facilities, new ideas, and loan deals between both sides.
On 22 December 2023, following the scrutiny of Sengkang District by Teck Whye Hounds' captain, Aiman Rifqi, Northern United released a statement defending their partner club.
Stadiums
[edit]Endeavour Primary School
[edit]Endeavour Primary School was both the first stadium and training ground for Northern United. It was first used due to the close proximity to the club's owner's building. The ground hosted dressing room facilities for the hosts but it was deemed to small by regulations. The field also had minimal space as substitutes were only able to watch from the stands. The ground had no markings of the boundaries, center circle, or penalty box. It also had an uneven terrain and players complained about the usage of the area. The stadium is currently ranked as a half-star stadium by the SGFSA.
Wellington Primary School
[edit]Wellington Primary School was allocated as the club's official home ground for 7-aside games and made it's televised debut against Sengkang Wolves. The ground hosted a running track around the field, space for substitutes at the side lines and a Muslim restaurant near the facilities. The ground however did not have changing rooms and while the turf was even, there were no markings either. The stadium is currently ranked as a one-star stadium by the SGFSA
Bishan ActiveSG Futsal Court
[edit]The club's main futsal ground is in Bishan and was picked due to the closeness to the club's training facility. The ground has unique dimensions being narrow in width and longer in length. There are benches at the sidelines for substitutes and a well-tended dressing room for the home side. The dressing room has amenities such as benches, toilets, and showers for the players. The court is currently ranked as a four-star area by the SGFSA.
Training grounds
[edit]The club has trained at various pitches such as Yishun Primary School, Endeavour Primary School, and Wellington Primary School. The club eventually settled for Bishan Park as their training ground. It hosts a full eleven-aside pitch but two standard sized goalposts and two futsal goals. There is also a walkway shelter for players before and after training with vending machines for hydration.
Honours
[edit]- Merlin Regionals
- Winners (1): 2023
Statistics
[edit]Clovis Yio holds the record appearances for Northern United, having made 14 appearances for the club between 2023 and 2024. Yio is also the club's all time top scorer having scored 19 goals for the club.
Northern United's record win is against Turkey FC in a five-aside 11-4 win at St. Wilfried Futsal Court. The club's biggest competitive win came against Maestro Boys in a 4-0 win at the 2023 Merlin Regionals.
Players
[edit]Current Squad
[edit]Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Out on loan
[edit]Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Club officials
[edit]Club Board
[edit]| Position | Staff |
|---|---|
| Owner |  Umar Khalish
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| Director of Football | |
| Technical Director |  Isaac Yeung
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| Head of Goalkeeping | Clovis Yio
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Coaching Staff
[edit]| Position | Staff |
|---|---|
| Manager | Umar Khalish
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| Assistant manager | Vacant |
| Goalkeeping coach | Clovis Yio
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| Technical coach | Vacant |
Player of the Year
[edit]- 2023
Clovis Yio
Affiliated clubs
[edit]- Sengkang District 19 FC