Opening The original stadium was opened on
Boxing Day 1929 by president of the
Municipal Commission of Singapore,
R. J. Farrer, with the nearby
Farrer Park named after him. It is considered to be the birthplace of
Singapore football.
Japanese occupation During the
Japanese Occupation, the stadium was one of the
Sook Ching mass screening sites orchestrated by Japanese officials. During the war, the stadium remained opened and was also used as a language centre to teach the Japanese language to locals. On 30 May 1964, a mass rally led by Singaporean statesman
Lee Kuan Yew was held at the stadium to mourn and honour the death of Indian statesman
Jawaharlal Nehru, whom Lee considered "a staunch friend" during the
decolonisation era after
World War II. Nehru had previously spoke at the stadium when he visited the country in June 1950, calling for "peace and conciliation" in the region while decolonisation was underway. The stadium was also host to many major events in Singapore's history, such as being the venue for the first
Singapore Youth Festival in 1955, the first Singapore Armed Forces Day in 1969, and the 1984
National Day Parade.
SAFFC (Now
Warriors) played their
2009 and
2010 AFC Champions League group stage matches at the stadium which saw them face
Suwon Samsung Bluewings from South Korea,
Kashima Antlers from Japan and
Shanghai Shenhua from China for the 2009 tournament. The following year in the 2010 tournament, SAFFC was drawn in a group with Suwon Samsung Bluewings,
Gamba Osaka from Japan and
Henan Jianye from China. On 13 April 2010, they became the first Singapore club to achieve a win in the competition, against Henan Jianye in a 2–1 win which surprisingly SAFFC finished in third place above Henan Jianye with 4 points. On 24 July 2010,
Burnley played against a
Singapore Selection XI side in the FIS Asian Challenge Cup held at the stadium. The Singapore side narrowly lost the game 0–1. That same year during the
2010 Summer Youth Olympics held in Singapore, the stadium was the designated venue for both the boys' and girls' football tournament. On 22 May 2013, Spanish football club
Atlético Madrid played against a Singapore Selection side in the
Peter Lim Charity Cup held at the stadium. The game ended 0–2 to the away team. On 4 October 2013,
Fulham U21 travelled to Singapore to play a friendly against Singaporean club,
Woodlands Wellington in a thrashing 7–0 defeat for the Rams. In 2015, after dismantling the King George's Stand, the capacity of the stadium was reduced back to 6,500. ==Facilities and structures==