Home United

The Police Sports Association was founded in 1945 to organize football activities for the Singapore Police Force. It sent two teams to compete in the Singapore Amateur Football Association League in the 1950s and 1960s, but neither team won any trophies. Under coach Choo Seng Quee, the club won the inaugural President's Cup in 1968, then reached and lost the next two finals.

When the S.League was formed in 1996, the club was known as the Police Football Club. The following year, its name was changed to Home United to reflect the fact that the team represented not only the Singapore Police Force, but also other HomeTeam departments of the Singapore Ministry of Home Affairs such as the Singapore Civil Defence Force and the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority. Home United nickname was the "Protectors" and its mascot, a dragon.

In 1999, Dutch head coach Robert Alberts guided the club to secured their first ever piece of silverware guiding them to win the 1999 S.League title. Alberts also won the Singapore Cup back-to-back winning the 2000 and 2001 edition.

In 2003, head coach Steve Darby guided Home United in becoming the first club to achieve the S.League and Singapore Cup double where he also steer the club to won the 2005 edition of the Singapore Cup. Under Korean manager tutelage, Lee Lim-saeng who is also the longest tenure as head coach in the club history, guided Home United to win both the 2011 Singapore Cup and the 2013 Singapore Cup in his 4 years at the club. In 2010, Home United hosted EFL Championship club Burnley as part of their pre-season trip to Singapore.

The club had qualified to the AFC Cup for the tenth time with their best result in the 2004 AFC Cup where they reached the semi-final losing to Syrian club, Al-Jaish 6–1 on aggregate. In the 2018 AFC Cup group stage, Home United was drawn with Philippines side Ceres–Negros, Cambodia side Boeung Ket Angkor and Myanmar side Shan United with a tally of 4 wins, 1 draw and 1 lost seeing the Protectors qualifying to the AFC Cup knockout stage as group winners. Home United would go on to face Indonesian club, Persija Jakarta winning the two legged tie in a 6–3 aggregate where they would advanced to the zonal finals facing Ceres–Negros and eventually won 3–1 on aggregate against the Philippines side. Home United then qualified to the inter-zone play-off semi-finals of the AFC Cup facing North Korea side, April 25 where during the second leg of the tie, Home United suffered their worst ever defeat in the club history losing 9–1 at the Kim Il Sung Stadium.

On 14 February 2020, the club was privatised for the first time in its history. The club was officially renamed as Lion City Sailors and its signature red colour was replaced with white and blue. The new name, Sailors, was a homage to the country's maritime heritage. Lion City Sailors were led by Aurelio Vidmar, the former Socceroos captain, from 2020. He joined after a hugely successful stint with Adelaide United, reaching the 2008 AFC Champions League final. Vidmar made a couple of stud signings including Singaporean stars Hassan Sunny, Gabriel Quak and Shahdan Sulaiman, Japanese defender Kaishu Yamazaki, as well a prolific Australian striker, Andy Pengelly.

On 21 January 2021, the club created history by smashing the Singapore Premier League transfer record with the signing of midfielder Diego Lopes from Portuguese top-flight side Rio Ave for €1.8 million on a three-year deal.

With the motivation to rejuvenate the glory days, On 18 May 2021 Kim Do-hoon who led Korea Republic's Ulsan Hyundai to victory in 2020 AFC Champions League joined the Sailors on a two-and-a-half-year deal. During his first season, Kim led the Sailors to win the 2021 Singapore Premier League and the 2022 Singapore Community Shield. They also went on to qualify for their first ever AFC Champions League tournament. On 18 April 2022, the Sailors defeated the K League 1 club Daegu FC 3–0 in the 2022 AFC Champions League, their first AFC Champions League win since rebranding. They bounced back from an opening 4–1 defeat by the J1 League club Urawa Red Diamonds, before picking up four points in a goalless draw and 3–2 win over the Chinese Super League's Shandong Taishan. Sailors maiden AFC Champions League campaign ended with narrow 2–1 to Daegu in the final group stage fixture. Their tally of seven points is the best showing by a Singaporean side at the AFC Champions League.

In the 2022 Singapore Premier League match against Tampines Rovers on 24 July 2022, as the Sailors was contesting in a draw nearing to the end of the match, around the 87th minute of the match, with the score levelled at 1–1, things became heated as Tampines forward Boris Kopitović confronted Sailors defender Nur Adam Abdullah near the sideline. Other players, as well as coaches and staff from both sides got involved in the tussle. Kim Do-hoon appeared to get involved in a heated argument with Tampines assistant Fahrudin Mustafić. Pedro Henrique went on to score a header in the injury time to secure the three points for the Sailors. The Football Association of Singapore handed a three-match ban with immediate effect, with Kim being fined $2,000 and Fahrudin $3,000, for their violent conduct. In addition, both Sailors and Tampines were fined $5,000. Less than 24 hours after Kim was handed a three-match suspension and fine for violent conduct, Lion City Sailors made the shocking announcement of a "mutual agreement" to part ways with the Korean coach.

On 12 August 2022, Luka Lalić was appointed as the interim coach till the end of the 2022 season. The following day, he guided Lion City Sailors to their biggest ever victory, 1–10 away against Young Lions.

On 28 June 2023, the Sailors recruited Aleksandar Ranković on a two years contract. In his first match in charge, Ranković guided the team to a 7–1 away win against Tanjong Pagar United in the 2023 Singapore Premier League. On 26 July 2023, they played exhibition match at the Singapore National Stadium against Tottenham Hotspur, in which Shawal Anuar scored first. However, they ultimately lost 1–5 following poor defensive errors in the second half.

The Sailors embarked on their 2023–24 campaign with Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, Bangkok United and Kitchee. The club hosted most of the AFC Champions League group stage games at the Jalan Besar Stadium as its matched the requirement standards. On 4 October 2023, Lion City Sailors recorded their first win against Hong Kong side Kitchee with goals scored by Richairo Živković and Maxime Lestienne for a 2–1 away victory at the Hong Kong Stadium.

On 8 November 2023, the Sailors defeated two-time AFC Champions League winners Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 2–0, with Živković scoring both goals. They then won the 2023 Singapore Cup over defending champions Hougang United on 9 December.

For the 2024–25 Singapore Premier League season, Sailors made additions to their squad. On 26 February 2024, they signed Bart Ramselaar from Utrecht, the second most expensive signing in the league's history for a reported fee of €1.5 million (SGD$2.2 million). Lion City Sailors also signed Toni Datković from Spanish Segunda División side Albacete. On 7 March 2024, the Sailors announced the return of Song Ui-young since he left the club in 2023. On 4 May 2024, they won their third Singapore Community Shield after beating Albirex Niigata (S) 2–0, with Shawal Anuar and Maxime Lestienne scoring to secure the win. The Sailors also competed in both the inaugural 2024–25 AFC Champions League Two and the revived 2024–25 ASEAN Club Championship tournament.

With a losing streak in the ASEAN Club Championship, the Sailors turned their main focus on the inaugural AFC Champions League Two campaign, hosting Chinese club Zhejiang Professional in September. Club captain Hariss Harun broke the dreadlock in the 44th minute by scoring a volley from outside the box. In the 80th minute, Lestienne secured a 2–0 win with a skillful chip shot. In the next match against Indonesian side Persib Bandung at the Si Jalak Harupat Stadium on 24 October, both teams contested in a 1–1 draw after Maxime Lestienne delivered a cross towards Bailey Wright who scored a header to equalise for the Sailors. In the third fixture against Port at the Pathum Thani Stadium, Shawal Anuar scored a brace in the 14th and 17th minute. Later on, Song Ui-young scored to secure a 3–1 away win which put the Sailors at the top of the table. After two disappointing results which saw the opponents back from a two goal deficit, the Sailors needed to win in the final fixture to qualify for the knockout stage.

At home game against Port on 5 December, Song Ui-young scored a hat-trick which secured a 5–2 win, seeing Lion City Sailors qualifying to the round of 16 as group winners. During the round of 16 match against Muangthong United on 18 February 2025, Shawal Anuar set a record for the fastest goal in the competition history (18 seconds, beating the previous record of 26 seconds by Musa Barrow). The Sailors went on to grab a 3–2 win. In the reverse fixture on 20 February, the team went on to beat Muangthong United 4–0, which saw Lion City Sailors advance to the quarter-finals. In the quarter-final first leg against J1 League club Sanfreece Hiroshima, Lion City Sailors were heavily defeated 6–1 at the Edion Peace Wing Hiroshima. However, they were awarded a 3–0 win due to the Japanese side fielding an ineligible player. In the home fixture, Lennart Thy opened up the account for the hosts in the 20th minute, before Sanfrece scored in the 34th minute. The game ended up as a draw, with the aggregate score of 4–1 for Lion City Sailors. Therefore, against all odds, they qualified to the semi-finals, facing Australian club Sydney FC. Lion City Sailors managed to defeat Sydney FC with a 2–1 aggregate score, thus booking their spot in the 2025 AFC Champions League Two final, becoming the first football team from Singapore to reach the final of the continental competition. They lost the final to Emirati club Sharjah FC by 1–2. In the next match, Lion City Sailors won the league title in the season final fixture against Tampines Rovers, whereas against the same opponent in the 2024–25 Singapore Cup final, a goal from Bart Ramselaar sealed a domestic double.