Balestier Khalsa

Founding and early years (1898–1997)

Tracing their origins all the way back to 1898, the club was formed as Fathul Kharib Football Club on 10 October 1898 and based in Farrer Park. Fathul Kharib was founded by Syed Gulab Shah.

The club provided nine players to the Singapore national team which competed in the 1958 Asian Games in Japan, losing 2–1 to both continental heavyweights South Korea and Israel.

The side was renamed Balestier United Recreation Club in 1975, the outcome of the league system in Singapore being restructured by the Football Association of Singapore. Balestier United Recreation Club joined the inaugural National Football League in 1975, in Division 2.

The club played in the Singapore Premier League (the forerunner to the S.League) from 1988 to 1995. It became the first club in Singapore to bring in foreign players when they signed two Yugoslavian players, Joško Španjić and Boris Lucic, for the 1989 season. Balestier United are currently still active in local football, competing in the National Football League Division 1. Former Balestier Khalsa players such as Ruhaizad Ismail, Daniel Ong and Syafiq Zainal all played for the team as well.

The club won the Singapore FA Cup twice, in 1958 and 1992.

S.League era as Balestier Central (1996–2002)

With the introduction of the S.League in 1996 and entities reintroduced as a professional football teams, Balestier United Recreational Club became a founder member of the S.League and competed under a new flagship name as Balestier Central.

Merger with Clementi Khalsa and renaming as Balestier Khalsa

In 2002, Balestier Central took another turn as they merged with Clementi Khalsa at the end of the 2002 S.League season. Clementi Khalsa was formed as a club to represent Singapore's Sikh community and joined the S.League in 1999. Before the merger with Balestier Central, the club was based in the Clementi area of Singapore and played its home games at the Clementi Stadium.

On 10 August 2012, Balestier Khalsa won the first Singapore League Cup Plate Final as the team defeated Young Lions at Jalan Besar Stadium.

Achieving more silverware and AFC Cup debut (2013–2017)

In 2013, head coach Darren Stewart signed Nigerian Obadin Aikhena, South Korean Jung Hee-bong and several players from his former team, Gombak United, and formed a strong foundation of the team, including foreign players Kim Min-ho and Park Kang-jin, together with Singapore national team player Qiu Li, and proved to be a success. On 14 September 2013, the Tigers scored a huge 4–0 win over DPMM in the 2013 Singapore League Cup Final and clinched their first ever silverware. Captain Paul Cunningham and the team won the trophy and took 3rd place in the 2013 Singapore Cup.

Balestier Khalsa signed former U-21 Croatian international Goran Ljubojević on 11 February 2014 as their first ever marquee signing, as well as Emir Lotinac of Serbia from Novi Pazar. The Tigers won their first Singapore Cup on 7 November 2014, beating Home United 3–1, with Goran, Kim and Park scoring the goals. With this win they qualified for the 2015 AFC Cup.

AFC Cup debut

The Tigers made their 2015 AFC Cup group stage debut on 24 February 2015, losing 0–3 to Hong Kong Premier League champions Kitchee at the Mong Kok Stadium. On 10 March 2015, they almost held eventual Malaysia Super League champions Johor Darul Ta'zim to a goalless draw, but the visitors scored in stoppage time at 90+3 minutes. Balestier Khalsa finally got their historic first win in the following week, with Jonathan Xu scoring his and Tiger's maiden AFC Cup goal, and Miroslav Krištić adding another, to beat East Bengal from India 2–1. Balestier Khalsa finished at the bottom of the table with three points.

Balestier Khalsa finished as runner-up in the 2015 Singapore Charity Shield to Warriors. On 10 July 2015, Balestier Khalsa lost narrowly, 2–1, against Albirex Niigata (S) to finish runner-up in the 2015 Singapore League Cup.

For the 2016 season, Balestier Khalsa qualified for 2016 AFC Cup as Singapore's second best local team and got their first away goals/points in the AFC Cup, as they held Maldives Dhivehi Premier League champions, New Radiant 2–2 at Malé. They continue to improve their run in the competition, winning against Kitchee & New Radiant 1–0 and 3–0 at home. However, that was not enough for them to secure to the knockout stage, as they finished in 3rd place with 7 points, 3 points away from 2nd place, Kaya. Balestier Khalsa finished 4th in the Singapore Cup after losing to Ceres-La Salle in the third place playoff.

Tight budget

In 2017, due to the club's tight budget, Balestier Khalsa signed three Myanmar national team players, Aung Kyaw Naing, Kyaw Zayar Win, Nanda Lin Kyaw Chit, from Nay Pyi Taw, Ayeyawady United and Yadanabon respectively. Balestier Khalsa finished in seventh position in the 2017 season.

Singapore Premier League era (2018–present)

In 2018, Balestier Khalsa signed four foreigners, with Vedran Mesec, Keegan Linderboom and Dušan Marinković joining the Tigers for the upcoming newly revamped league.

On 22 October 2021, Akbar Nawas was announced as the head coach of Balestier Khalsa, succeeding Marko Kraljević, who left a week prior. Before this, Nawas led the 2nd division I-League club, Chennai City to become champions of the league in the 2018–19 I-League with current player Iqbal Hussain. According to a club statement, Nawas signed a two-year contract worth more than S$170,000. However, less than a year into the contract, he tendered his resignation to join Thai League 2 side, Udon Thani, less than a week after a record 6–1 win against Hougang United.

On 27 August 2022, the Tigers recruited former Football Association of Malaysia Technical Director Peter de Roo as an interim coach until the end of the 2022 season. On 30 November 2022, he was appointed to a permanent role as head coach of Balestier Khalsa.

De Roo started off the 2023 season making slight changes to his squad, signing Alen Kozar from NŠ Mura and Masahiro Sugita from Albirex Niigata Singapore. Under his reign, Balestier Khalsa won three consecutive matches against Tanjong Pagar United, Tampines Rovers and Brunei DPMM, before losing to Albirex Niigata (S) 6–2. The Tigers had another fine run of form, winning four consecutive matches until Hougang United ended the streak on 21 July 2023.

In the 2024–25 Singapore Premier League season, the Tigers signed Japanese players Kodai Tanaka and Riku Fukashiro, while Tunisian Ismaïl Sassi joined the club from AS Marsa. The club participated in the 2024 Selangor Asia Challenge pre-season tournament on 26 and 28 April 2024 respectively.