Tampines Rovers

Several teenaged football enthusiasts formed the club in 1951 as "Tampenis Rovers", "Tampenis" being an alternative spelling for Tampines until the 1980s. The claim to have been formed in 1945 appears to have arisen from confusion with another club, Rovers SC, that were very successful between 1948 and 1953.

In 1952, "Tampenis Rovers" were admitted into the SAFA League as a "new club". In 1955, they were in Division 2A of the SAFA league.

"Tampenis Rovers" were not registered as a society under the Societies Ordinance before 30 November 1962. The change in spelling from "Tampenis" to "Tampines" took place sometime after 1963, in which year they were in Division Three (under the old spelling).

By 1967, they were back in Division Two. In 1968, they won promotion from Division Two to Divison One, playing in Division One in 1969. In 1966, the Singapore Amateur Football Association (SAFA) had changed its name to Football Association of Singapore (FAS).

Despite finishing third in the FAS league in 1974, Tampines Rovers were placed in Division 2 of the newly formed National Football League in 1975. At the end of 1975, they were promoted to Division I after winning all their league matches and reached the President's Cup final, where they lost 0–1 to the Singapore Armed Forces Sports Association in front of a national record crowd for a domestic game of nearly 30,000. They finished third in their first season in Division One of the NFL in 1976. By the mid-1970s, Tampines Rovers was one of the best supported clubs in Singapore, with star players like Quah Kim Song.

They continued to challenge for honours over the next decade, reaching another President’s Cup final in 1978, then emerging as national champions in 1979, 1980, and 1984.

Tampines Rovers were relegated to the second tier in 1988, but won the second tier division in 1994 under a new management team. They were one of eight clubs selected in 1995 to compete in the newly formed S.League, which was due to launch in 1996.

When "Tampines Rovers Football Club" was registered in 1996 to participate as a professional club in the S. League, the amateur club, Tampines Rovers Sports Club, formed in 1951 and registered as a society sometime after 14 December 1962, remained, and continued to participate in the NFL and Singapore FA Cup, even winning the Singapore FA Cup twice, in 2003 and 2004 (years in which professional clubs in the S. League did not participate). The professional club and the amateur club even played against each other in an FA Cup tie in October 1997, which the professional club won 8-2. The amateur club ceased to exist by the end of the 2000s.

S.League era (1996–2017)

Tampines did not finish higher than sixth place in the first six seasons of the S.League. In 2002, the Stags secured the services of Malaysian coach, Chow Kwai Lam, who guided them to the Singapore Cup and two fourth-place finishes.

Vorawan Chitavanich era (2004–2010)

The 2000s marked the golden era of Tampines Rovers under Thai head coach Vorawan Chitavanich, during which the club amassed a squad filled with stalwarts like Nazri Nasir, Noh Alam Shah, Sead Muratović, Fahrudin Mustafić and Rezal Hassan. Vorawan also recruited fellow both Thailand players, Santi Chaiyaphuak and Choketawee Promrut to strengthen the team. Together, they clinched Tampines Rovers's first S.League and Singapore Cup double in 2004. The following season, they successfully defended their S.League title in 2005, were named the "S.League Team of the Decade" and became the first Singapore team to win the ASEAN Club Championship. The Stags were the 2006 Singapore Cup champions, but finished runners-up to SAFFC in the league. Tampines Rovers then ended the 2007 season in third place finishing two points behind league champions and runners-up, SAFFC and Home United. Vorawan also recruited more Thai players like Attapong Kittichamratsak, Sutee Suksomkit, Sanrawat Dechmitr in their foreign quota for the 2008 season.

Three-peat champions (2011–2013)

In 2011, Tampines Rovers appointed Steven Tan as head coach, replacing Vorawan who was promoted to technical director. On the pitch, club stalwarts like Mustafić Fahrudin and Aliff Shafaein, who were part of the 2004 and 2005 winning sides, were joined by the likes of Aleksandar Đurić, Benoît Croissant, and Jamil Ali. The Stags then went on to win three consecutive S.League titles in 2011, 2012 and 2013, and 4 consecutive Singapore Community Shield in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014. Tampines Rovers also went on to win the Plate in the 2014 Singapore League Cup.

On 19 January 2016, Former Arsenal and Liverpool winger, Jermaine Pennant signed a one-year contract which he took a 70% pay cut from his salary earned at Wigan Athletic. It was reported that he would earn a salary of SGD$40,000 (£19,500) per month, which made him the highest-paid player in the history of the domestic professional football league.