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Not to be confused with ÉFC Fréjus Saint-Raphaël.

Étoile Football Club was a professional football club based in Commonwealth, Singapore which was formed to play in Singapore's S.League in 2010 and is currently a local football academy focused on grassroots football development for the underprivileged. They then made history by becoming the first foreign team to win S.league, sealing the title on a dramatic final day with a 4-2 victory over Albirex Niigata. Ètoile have won 1 league title, 1 Singapore League Cup and 1 Community Shield.

Étoile was the first team of players all born in Europe to play football in Singapore's professional league, and the first in Asia. The team was mostly made up of players of French origin. After pulling out of the S.League in 2012, Étoile was converted to Ètoile football academy based in Commonwealth, aiming to provide quality football coaching and development for individuals from all walks of life. [1]

History

Étoile Football Cub became the eighth team defined by foreign team composition to compete in the S.League after Sinchi (2003), Albirex Niigata (2004), Sporting Afrique (2006), Liaoning Guangyuan and Super Reds (both 2007), Dalian Shide Siwu (2008) and DPMM (2009). Étoile's debut season was one for the team to remember as they were not only crowned champions of the Singapore League Cup, but also the Champions of S.League and 3rd place in the Singapore Cup.

Étoile became the first foreign team to win the S.League title following a 4–2 win over Albirex Niigata (S) at the Jurong East Stadium. On that fateful night, Kazuki Kobayashi had scored twice to give the Japanese satellite team a 2–1 lead at half time. However, goals by Frédéric Mendy (2 goals) and Matthias Verschave sealed the title win for Étoile. Frédéric Mendy went on to become the 2010 S.League top scorer with 21 goals.

Étoile was the 'brainchild' of ex-Gombak United midfielder Johan Gouttefangeas. He was the chairman of Étoile since its formation in 2010. In June 2011, Johan relinquished his position as chairman and Hicham Moudden took over.[2] In 2012, Ludovic Casset stepped up as chairman.

Grassroots football

Étoile pulled out of the S.League for the 2012 season to focus on grassroots football and youth development with the creation of Étoile Academy.[3]

Étoile Academy bases itself on three core principles: Grassroots football is football for all, play is the best means of learning – above all, youngsters should have fun and children are not just miniature adults.[4]

They were sponsored by Lufthansa Technik in 2017.[5]

Honours

League

Cup

Seasons

Season Pos. Pl. W D L GS GA P Singapore Cup League Cup Top goalscorer Managers
2010 1st 33 21 7 5 54 23 70 Third Place Winners France Frédéric Mendy 21 France Patrick Vallée
2011 5th 33 21 4 8 65 36 62 Third Place Quarter-finals France Jonathan Toto 10 Italy Guglielmo Arena

Records and statistics

Top 10 all-time appearances

Rank Player Years Club appearances
1 Singapore Bah Mamadou 2001–2002

2008–2010

160
2 Singapore Ruhaizad Ismail 2006–2011 158
3 Singapore Jaslee Hatta 2006–2011 153
4 Nigeria Obadin Aikhena 2006–2007

2010–2012

125
5 Nigeria O. J. Obatola 2006–2009 117
6 Singapore Jeremy Chiang 2008–2012 102
7 Singapore Agu Casmir 2007

2008–2010

83
8 Singapore Zaiful Nizam 2006–2012 81
9 Singapore Ridhwan Jamaludin 2008–2012 89
10 Singapore Hamqaamal Shah 2009–2012 78

Top 10 all-time scorers

Rank Player Club appearances Total goals
1 Nigeria O. J. Obatola 117 62
2 Singapore Agu Casmir 83 34
3 Singapore Fazrul Nawaz 46 25
4 South Korea Jang Jo-yoon 60 16
5 Singapore Ruhaizad Ismail 158 13
6 Nigeria Alfred Emuejeraye 18 11
7 Nigeria Obadin Aikhena 125 10
South Korea Jung Hee-bong 47
9 Nigeria Kingsley Njoku 27 8
10 France Julien Durand 29 7
  • Biggest Wins: 6–1 vs Tanjong Pagar United (On 26 September 2011)
  • Heaviest Defeats: 2–7 vs Albirex Niigata (S) (On 7 September 2011)
  • Youngest Goal scorers: Théo Raymond ~ 19 years 6 months 16 days old (On 14 April 2011 vs Home United)
  • Oldest Goal scorers: Aly Doumbouya ~ 33 years 4 months 7 days old (On 25 November 2011 vs Albirex Niigata Singapore)
  • Youngest ever debutant: Stan Fougeroud ~ 19 years 2 months 29 days old (On 17 February 2011 vs Geylang United)

References

  1. ^ "EFC Academy – Are you ready to offer your kid an exciting sport experience?". Retrieved 23 May 2022.
  2. ^ "FAS President acknowledges Gouttefangeas' contribution to S.League". Official S-League Website.
  3. ^ "S.League announces participating teams for 2012". Official S-League Website. 16 January 2012. Retrieved 30 January 2012.
  4. ^ "Grassroots Football – EFC Academy". Retrieved 23 May 2022.
  5. ^ "Etoile Football Club Academy - New era, new partnership: Etoile F.C. Academy is proud to announce the new sponsorship with LUFTHANSA TECHNIK Official Asia Lufthansa Technik management at the U14 League match Etoile FCA - ESPZEN Black (4-1) | Facebook". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
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