BoLASEPaKO.COM - A Blog on Singapore Football

How can a few tiny markings on the reverse of a silver medallion reveal whether it is an authentic piece of Singapore's football history? In this collage (below) is the front and reverse of a rare medallion from the Singapore Football Association (SFA)—one of the former names of the Football Association of Singapore (FAS). The 1913 SFA medallion (as credited) This medallion was manufactured by Vaughton & Sons of Birmingham, England, and is believed to have been assayed in 1913, based on the distinctive Birmingham date letter hallmark. The term "assay" refers to the testing carried out on precious metals to verify their purity, content, and authenticity. DECODING THE BIRMINGHAM HALLMARKS: FROM SFA TO SAFA According to available sources, the 1913 hallmark features an anchor, a lion passant, and the date letter "O" (a hallmark cycle also used in 1938). Since the SFA was renamed the Singapore Amateur Football Association (SAFA) on 14 May 1929, it confirms tha...

The name card of Mr Lim Kia Tong Just only days ago before his demise in 2022 , I received this from him at a book launch at JBS. And he said these words to me:"I heard you been writing a lot on Singapore football." before he handed me his name card, as shown. That was only the second time I had met Mr Lim Kia Tong face-to-face, despite snapping him from a distance ever since his rise to prominence in local football. He took over the presidency of the Football Association of Singapore in 2017 when his team won the election after FAS held its first election in decades. I will not touch on what he did for the game of football in Singapore, as plenty of articles out there have already documented that . Mr Lim addressing the media in 2017 However, before I conclude this short post, I thought it would be a good idea to share how and when I first met Mr Lim. It was in a boardroom at the old National Stadium during the early 2000s, if I remember correctly — where we both sat on a ...

Perry Ng is still waiting for the green light  You can sense the optimism when Cardiff City defender Perry Ng (above, file picture: September 2024) revealed to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) that he is travelling to Singapore this month. "I think we're getting closer," said Ng to the British public broadcaster in the article titled "Ng a step closer to securing Singapore citizenship" . For those unbeknownst, the 30-year-old has been one of many foreign-born footballers singled out by various sources on the possibility of playing for the Singapore national team due to heritage lineage. However, what distinguished the Liverpool-born defender from the rest is his consistency in showing his desire to play for the Lions throughout the years since his declaration years ago. That desire was affirmed when he accepted the invitation from the FAS (Football Association of Singapore), alongside Kyoga Nakamura, in the familiarisation stint in September 2024 . Sin...

The AFF Championship badly need a recalibration The AFF Championship has definitely lost its gloss as the region's premier marquee tournament. Unlike in the early days, the build-up to this supposedly flagship competition has failed to reach a fever pitch. Is it due to fan fatigue after 39 days of intense World Cup action, or the awkward timing to stage a regional tournament during a "pre-season" period? Seeing players recalled by their clubs midway during the last tournament was comical. Yet, these clubs were within their rights to do so, given that the competition fell outside the official FIFA calendar. With the new FIFA ASEAN Cup coming into the picture soon, the role of the AFF Championship urgently needs a recalibration if it wishes to stay relevant. The organisers must look in the mirror and reflect as these structural shortcomings become increasingly obvious. It would be a great shame to see a tournament with such rich history gradually fade into obscurity. (ℹ️: ...