[EVENT] SOCCEREX Asian Forum 28-29th July [edited]

(Picture above) My accreditation pass, press kit

Was at the Soccerex Asian Forum held at the Raffles City Convention Center.

It was networking gathering whosoever in the beautiful game graced by the presence of AFC president Mohamed Bin Hammam.

Beside a section of the venue catered for the exhibitors in the football industry, there were also number of workshops and seminars for keen participants to mingle and socialized around.

Mr Bin Hammam (pictured above) was an one-on-one interview session hosted by renowned journalist Matt Lorenzo, prior to the start of the day. as they touched on various issues pertaining the game in the continent.

The much-travelled 61-year old Qatari said football is the "key" to unite the people of Asia "as it bring us all together".

On the possibility of having another World Cup stage in Asia, Mr Bin Hammam (pictured above with back facing the camera, facing Lorenzo) added the 2002 tournament jointly-hosted by Japan and South Korea was a success and it fueled the desire for Asia to see it back in this part of the world.

On the trend of Asian fans seems to be inclined towards support European teams than those of their backyard, the AFC president said, "On the contrary, the (English) Premier League helps to popularize the game in Asia, therefore, it's naturally for the fans to support these (EPL) teams."

RESPECT THE MARKET – HOW TO GROW YOUR BUSINESS IN ASIA
Interesting discussion which I thought might be a dry topic session.

One of the panelist - Mr Ian Ayre, the commercial director of Liverpool Football club believes self-evolution within the local clubs and organizations to see the value growth for Asian market.

"It took years to develop that kind of relationship we have enjoyed with the Asian football fans." said Ayre.

"And how you managed and maintain the ties with our fans in Asia, and giving them the respect and what they want." said the self-proclaimed Kop supporter since 1960s.

While Seamus O'Brien, the chairman of World Sports Group (pictured above right) added the football market in Asia will only grow bigger and that "sense of self-inferior" that attached to Asian football is a thing of a past.

He concluded his session by added it's essential to be "be local and go local".

THE EVOLUTION OF SPORTS BROADCASTING
In another one-on-one interview session that featured former Director of International Broadcasting and Media Operations for the Premier League, Phil Lines, who drawn his vast experience in dealing with negotiating broadcasting rights for the English Premier League.

“You got start with a good partnership with a good broadcaster, as the money (earned from the broadcasting rights) will go back to the league.” said Lines.

“If SKY (the present rights holder) decided to drop their bid by 20%, you would see many clubs gone into liquidation and having top players leaving the league.” explained Lines when asked why the Rupert Murdoch-fronted media giant kept increasing and outbid other competitors in the bidding for the lucrative rights to the English Premiership.

SOCCEREX LEGENDS DISCUSS

(Pictured above, L-R) The last event of the day was the gathering of the four footballing legends - Phil Thompson, Steve McMahon, Ossie Ardiles and Bryan Robson with host Matt Lorenzo in the middle.

Various topics were discussed during the session moderated by Matt Lorenzo, who jibed Ardiles while introduced the Argentine legend for signing for "Tottingham" instead of his beloved West Ham United way in 1978.

Some of the topics that brought up during the discussions were the feasibility of implement the "Goal-Line" technology with McMahon and Thompson agreed the importance of having it implement to weed out those controversial moments we seen during the last World Cup.

The distinguished panelists also analyzed the England's flopped campaign in South Africa, with the "Captain Marvel"- Robson described the Three Lions' performance against Algeria as the "worst display" he seen.

Being the only World Cup winner on the panel, Ardiles said he wasn't surprise to see the stepping down of Diego Maradona as the coach of Argentina, on the separate note the former Spurs midfielder disagreed with former Liverpool skipper Thompson that referee Howard Webb did a good job to officiate the World Cup Final between Holland and Spain.

While Robson suggested it was the players who made things difficult for Webb in that match.

(Many thanks to the organizers and especially to Mr Shane Neubronner of Fulford PR, for letting me know this eye-opening event and the surfacing of this entry)

FOR MORE PICTURES OF THIS FORUM, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

2010 RHB Singapore Cup Quarter Finals to kick off on 12 Sept

(Picture above)FAS President Mr Zainudin Nordin (left)and RHB Bank Singapore Country Head Mr Jason Wong hoisted the Cup at the prelim draw back in May.

Media Information from the Football Association of Singapore

SINGAPORE, 27 July 2010: The 2010 RHB Singapore Cup Quarter Final stage is set to kick off on 12 September, Sunday, with the Young Lions taking on Albirex Niigata in the opening match at the Jalan Besar Stadium. League Leaders Tampines Rovers will host Balestier Khalsa on 27 September, while League Cup winners Etoile FC will face Kitchee SC at the Queenstown stadium on 28 September.

In perhaps the most anticipated encounter, Singapore Cup debutants South Melbourne will take on last year’s finalist Bangkok Glass on 5 October followed by the return leg on 8 October, with both legs scheduled to be played at the Jalan Besar stadium.

RHB Singapore Cup Quarter Final Fixtures:

Young Lions vs Albirex Niigata S. (1st Leg)
Date: Sunday 12 September
Time: 7.45pm
Venue: Jalan Besar Stadium

Albirex Niigata S. vs Young Lions (2nd Leg)
Date: Thursday 23 September
Time: 7.45pm
Venue: Jurong East Stadium

Tampines Rovers vs Balestier Khalsa (1st Leg)
Match No: 11
Date: Monday 27 September
Time: 7.45pm
Venue: Tampines Stadium

Etoile vs Kitchee (1st Leg)
Match No:12
Date: Tuesday 28 September
Time: 7.45pm
Venue: Queenstown Stadium

Balestier Khalsa vs Tampines Rovers (2nd Leg)
Date: Thursday 30 September
Time: 7.45pm
Venue: Toa Payoh Stadium

Kitchee vs Etoile (2nd Leg) - 'LIVE' Match
Date: Friday 1 October
Time: 7.30pm
Venue: Jalan Besar Stadium

South Melbourne vs Bangkok Glass (1st Leg)
Date: Tuesday 5 October
Time: 7.45pm
Venue: Jalan Besar Stadium

Bangkok Glass vs South Melbourne (2nd Leg) - 'LIVE' Match
Date: Friday 8 October
Time: 7.30pm
Venue: Jalan Besar Stadium

Please also note that the following Great Eastern-YEO's S.League matches have been rescheduled due to the RHB Singapore Cup Quarter-Finals:

Match 184: Home United vs Balestier Khalsa (Clementi Stadium) will now be played on Monday 4 October 2010.
Match 178: Geylang United vs Sengkang Punggol (Jalan Besar Stadium) will now be played on Wednesday 29 September 2010.

Match 183: Woodlands Wellington vs Gombak United (Jalan Besar Stadium) will now be played on Wednesday 6 October 2010.

FIS Asian Challenge Cup - Singapore Selection 0-1 Burnley FC

SHORT SCRIBE OF THE MATCH
One thing I know for sure, many of the 5,000 odd crowds at the Jalan Besar Stadium were first-timer (judging from the way they asked for the direction, the ignorance of banning water-bottles and drink cans on the match day).

And one more particular sight of the night was the sizable "Man Utd" supporters turned out to support the local team, which I thought was a pleasant sight (although, I came to realize it was because the Red Devils were once defeated by the Clarets which they would love to see the Singapore side avenge for their beloved team).

Nonetheless, it was a brave performance from the Singapore Selection that was lauded by all who were there.

PICTURES FROM THE MATCH

(Pictured above) Referee Abdul Malik raised his armed to signal the disallowing of the goal scored by Fairoz Hasan (right of the picture).

Claret's custodian Brian Jensen folded another attempt by the hosts, as he gathered ball safely in mid-air, while Khairul Amri (on the right) was still "floating in the air"!!

"Boy Wonder" Hariss Harun up against his opposite number Andre Bikey in one of the numerous attempts into the tourists' half.

Home United's Shahril Ishak (number 17) shown his flash of creativity from the middle of the park, wonder if the search of elusive playmaker had ended with emerging of form from the Protectors' star?

Hapless Shahril Jantan could do nothing to stop this well-taken effort by Chris Eagles from going in the 50th minute.

It was a hard fought victory as the Clarets claimed the victory of the night and walked away with the challenge trophy.

"I happy with the crowd as it was a good turnout." said Burnley FC coach Brian Laws said after the match.

"Coach Raddy was spot on when he said this could be the toughest in our tour, as there are several players with good potential." he added.

Singapore selection coach Raddy Avramovic is pleased with the effort shown.

"They had done more than what I expected from them and they gave a good game to those who came to see the match."

Although, the Serbian coach felt the free-kick that led to the only goal"shouldn't existed in the first place."

SOME COMMENTS FROM THE BLOG's FACEBOOK GROUP

Real pity we didn't convert the few chances that we had. But we kept possession at the back pretty well, and matched Burnley all the way!

Agreed with Sazali about those young boys that impressed. Not so sure about Fairoz though. Gotta say th...at Shahdan did pretty ok in the centre of the park as well! The future is bright! - Aaron Ong

Gutsy was the word PoHui. That summed up the match for the boys today. I held my head in disbelief for all the misses, but that's part and parcel of football. The only thing I wanted to see today from the boys, were their fighting spirit. Everyone of them showcased that (fighting spirit) in front of all of us to perfection :) - Daniel Lau

Well what matters isnt the result really but how bright the future is for Singapore! For years, i waited and finally i felt that patriotism of local fans in a stadium! I love the atmosphere and i am really excited by the performances of Singapore today. If the national team keeps showing such good football, JBS will be too small to hold all of us. Bring back the Kallang roar! (PS: i am sure the players felt the fans' support tonight!) - Ayyub Kay

FOR MORE PICTURES OF THE MATCH, PLEASE CLICK HERE, THANKS

My Letter to the "World"...

Dear World,

While you were away to the World Cup festival (pictured above - a common sight everywhere in Singapore), some interesting events actually took place during your absence.

Several procrastinating issues were pushed onto the table top after the media probed on matters pertaining the security and the crowd attendance.

SCREEN-GRAB of the issues probed by the media of late

Matters as such were never openly discussed, and now as they pricked wide open, one can't simply avoid them now.

While they had caught the league authority "off-guard", I do certainly hope they are readily going to address these nagging issues instead of paying "lip-service" to the masses.

On the bright side, though, it was confirmed that the Cubs (National U-23 team) are heading to Guangzhou for the Asian Games in November, following the successful appeal to the SNOC, the decision-making body.

But it was just the beginning of the start, since now all eyes will be the Young Lions, whom being the base of the Cubs to justify their call to represent the nation.

Following a whirlwind trip to Burma, the Young Lions saw themselves succumbed to a 1-0 lost to Beijing Guoan Talents at the Yishun Stadium, under the watchful eyes of national coach Raddy (pictured above left with team manager Eugene Loo on his right).

Citing fatigue as one of the reasons, Young Lions' coach V Sundramoorthy also felt the absence of skipper Hariss Harun (pictured below) was another key factor too.

Hariss Harun's trip to Shanghai failed to clinch him a contract but "Player of the Month" instead

While the young prodigal son of local football set the buzz alight with a long-awaited trial overseas to top CSL side, Shanghai Shenhua, which, however, failed to materialize after the Chinese team's Croatian coach, Miroslav Blazevic "did not get the chance to assess the 19-year-old thoroughly during his stay there".

Sengkang's new signing Kenji Arai (pictured right) came as a surprise to many

The transfer window seen some interesting signing with the returning of ex-SAFFC defender Kenji Arai to local football by joining cellar-dwellers Sengkang Punggol.

And still on the Dolphins, are they glad that Ryan Fante (pictured below) is off-loaded after a misery stint at Hougang.

For the time being, Singapore will never be a wonderful destination to Fante (pictured above right)

Whilst, I tried not to be influenced by what I heard and read about the short-comings of the Canadian striker, unfortunately, having seen the hapless Fante in action against the NFA U17 squad had more or less confirmed he did not met the minimum requirement.

Back on the title race, while SAFFC had walloped Woodlands Wellington 4-0 last week, their “auld enemy”- Home United strung up an impressive six straight clean sheet and propelled them up to second place, four points behind leaders Etoile, following their 2-0 win over Gombak United.

Has Home Utd's coach Paul Lee (pictured above right) found the right formula after a shaky start to the campaign?

Before that long, weren't we wondering if Tampines Rovers would be the ONE instead, till their draw with their neighbour Geylang United in the recent derby that ended 0-0.

But the biggest shock of all must be the defeat to Albirex Niigata by Etoile that prompted the official tweet to declare

“S.League title race blown wide open as Etoile lose 1st game after going 12 unbeaten when they went down 1-0 to Albirex.”

Anyway, the World Cup had concluded days ago, it's interesting to see what's in store next for the local season...

Hope to see you back at grounds...

With Regards
Pohui :)

PICTORIAL - Uniform Derby

(Managed to take a breather while my house's upgrading work still in progress, how could I possibly miss the "Uniform Derby" between SAFFC and Home Utd?)

Anyway, it was the first time in months since I last saw the Protectors in action.

Since then things have been improved for the MHA-linked club by offloaded some mis-fitted players in the transfer window, while making some shrew recruitments that totally transformed Home United into a force to be reckon with.

While on the other hand, the long dominant SAFFC are experiencing one of its inconsistent seasons in its recent years, the gallant performance in the ACL seems to be a distant past with coach Richard Bok facing his toughest task to lift the spirit of the Warriors back to its glory.

PICTURES FROM THE MATCH

Both coaches - Paul Lee of Home United (left) and Richard Bok having a chatter before the start (wondering what was Lee smiling about...hmmm).

It was a revitalized Home United, as compared to the same squad I saw that was crushed by Beijing Guoan Talents months back on the same ground.

Given its dominance play since the kick-off, it was not surprise to see the Protectors took the lead as early as ninth minute through skipper Shahril Ishak (pictured above no 17).

In a match that was supposed to have both sides on the same footing, the defending champions SAFFC found it tough to break through the Home's fortress (as pictured above with John Wikinson being well taken of by the impressive Shahdan Sulaiman).

The Warriors were given the lifeline in the 28th minute when they were awarded a penalty, but as you can see from the picture above, former Home star Indra Sahdan Daud placed the ball wide by a grounded Lionel Lewis (who had a minor sore of his right shoulder which is OK afterward).

Things took a worse turn for the Warriors immediately after the game was resumed in the second half when Korean import Jun Woo Kuen stabbed home off a ball from skipper Shahril to make it 3-0 in the 46th minute (In my memory, I can't recall when was the last time Warriors were lagging so far behind against their arch-rivals in this derby fixture).

It came at a time when Warriors' custodian Shahril Jantan (pictured above as he gets down to smother the ball against Shahril Ishak) when he earned a recall back to the national setup a day before (tough luck, man...).

By the time when Shahril Ishak scored his hat-trick (pictured above - think it was his first ever hat-trick in senior level) the first thing that came to my mind was - Could he be a contender for the "Player of the Year" award?

Under the tutelage of coach Lee, the national midfielder's performance to this stage bears the testament that he should be one of those shortlisted.

It was all over for the Warriors as they were dealt with another killer blow for the sloppy defending duly punished by the Home United's number 17, who turned the ball in for the surging Shahdan Sulaiman (pictured above left) to drill home the designated away team's fifth goal of the night.

A sweet victory, indeed, for these police cadets who travelled for their Pasir Laba base to spur their team to a truly-deserving victory (pictured above).

"Richard Bok, you should resign!!" shouted an irate fan after the game from the gallery, as the Warriors coach was getting ready to be TV interviewed (pictured above, wonder if he was aware of that suggestion made, which one fan tweeted "that's just preposterous. For all the glory he has brought them..." agreed, we can't censure him based on this season's performance).

Nonetheless, in the post-match presser coach Bok braved the media by saying the team's aim now is to "finish among the top three in a constantly reviewing process that is on-going throughout the season".

Personally, I felt happy for coach Paul Lee as (above with team manager S Mahalingam on his right) I felt he is vindicated man after a shaky start to the season.

For someone who came to the scene with near zero knowledge of the S.League and the team he was then given charge, his sheer hard work had paid off with the style of football we seen on Friday and the impressive record so far had speak for itself.

Keep it up and all the best, Coach Paul

FOR MORE PICTURES FROM THIS MATCH, PLEASE CLICK ON THIS LINK HERE... THANKS

[ANNOUNCEMENT] SLIGHT delay for the time being...

Some of you might aware that there's lack of updating on BoLASEPaKO late, it is due to the fact that there are some upgrading works being carried out at my place (pictured above) recently that my net access is restricted at this moment.

Therefore, for the time being some of those not-so-time-sensitive postings will be delayed until the upgrading works are completed.

However, with the help of the modern technology, I still managed to keep the show going through the means of using social media tools, such as "Twitter" and "Facebook".

The SCREENGRAB of my "Twitter" page

The SCREENGRAB of BoLASEPaKO's FB page

So for the time being, while there are some delay in loading up the postings to the blog, visitors are encouraged to log on to either the "Twitter" or the "Facebook" page to peep into some of the on-going happenings, discussions taking place in the local football scene.

The URLs of both pages as follows..

• Twitter - "http://twitter.com/pohui" (using "#sleague" for more precise tweets)
  
• Facebook Group - "http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=304227695329"

Thank you for your kind attention and support ... Save and Support Our own GAME!!

[ANNOUNCEMENT] It's just for the time being...

Since the establishment of this blog, I always strive to maintain a "non-interference" policy in regard to feedback, comments post on this blog (unless comments containing discrimination of race, derogatory terms and seditious remarks ).

However, since this morning this blog had seen some "anonymous" postings with similar message (as pictured above) appeared on various past entries, as such, certain measures must be in place to ensure the blog from flooded with irrelevant comments/feedback.

So for the time being, all comments posted will be moderated before reflect on the entry to weed out any irrelevant content.

But please assure that this is just a temporary measure and will be constantly review.

Thank you for your kind attention and support...

[EVENT] "NIKE CUP SINGAPORE 2010" Grand Finals

How appropriate to have the Grand Final of this event held at the Grand Ol' Lady (National Stadium - pictured above) before its scheduled demolish in days to come.

A total of 200 teams from both Senior and Junior categories emerged after two weeks of intensive competitions around the island to pit for the ultimate prize.

The completed set of the graffiti mural first started at *SCAPE

"It was only plastic ball on the basketball courts in my days" said former Lions skipper Fandi Ahmad (holding the microphone)

A recap of the catch for the senior category is the all-expenses paid training trip to Brazil to experience the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to train at Granja Comary, where the Brazilian national teams train.

While the winning team of the Junior category get a chance to train with the Singapore National Team.

The legendary striker showcases his skill in friendly match against one of the participating teams in between the "junior"and "senior"finals

The "junior"final saw "NHS Dudes" in red jersey pit against "Young Stars"

The deciding PK that eventually handed the top prize to "NHS Dudes"

... and walked away with $8000 worth of Nike products and a training session with the Lions

After four hours energy sapping afternoon, "NHS Dudes" and "El Nino Delfiro" emerged as the winners of the "Junior" and "Senior" category respectively.

"We started playing at Teck Whye area over the weekend and gradually got to know one and other since our secondary school days." said 19-year old Md Afiq Yahya, one of "El Nino Delfiro" players, as he shared with the media the origin of the team.

SOME PICTURES FROM THE "SENIOR" FINAL

The winning team (in A Seleçãos' tracksuits) received the trophy from Fandi

"Despite now studying in different schools, we still make it a point to play once every three weeks at either Teck Whye or at FICO (at Jurong West) ." added Afiq.

On his upcoming trip to Brazil, the ITE East College student hopes to fulfil some of his wishes,"I really hope to met and learn from players like Robinho and Kaka, and possible give them a hug!"

FOR MORE PICTURES OF THIS EVENT, PLEASE CLICK HERE!!!

(P.S: Many thanks to Ms Cheryl Ng and Mr Gene Khor of IMSG - the PR Agency for Nike Singapore, for making this entry possible)