BoLASEPaKO.COM - A Blog on Singapore Football

(Picture) Clay figurines of several top NRL players on display During my recent Down Under trip, I got an opportunity to see how thriving the industry of club merchandise is.  "This is colourful!" I said to the store owner behind the counter, having been overwhelmed by the colours and designs of those clubs' jerseys, balls, etc. displayed inside this shop named "Fan Central - Football Jersey" specialized in such merchandise.  "It's not too good or not too bad." said the boss who is from Sydney when asked how well is this industry doing at this moment.   (Picture) A family of St. George Illawarra Dragons supporters travelled to Gold Coast to catch their team in action against the local side Titans in an NRL clash. He went on to reveal that it's the strong support towards their local sports teams that it's a common sight to see folks around Australia wearing the shirts, apparel of their local sports teams, particularly those of the AFL (A...

Before the KICK-OFF Spoke to some of the crowds at the stadium before the kick-off. "I first came to know this game from a China-based website and after verifying it with local sources, I gathered some of my classmates here to watch the game," said 19-year-old Hu Qiang, a NUS student who was at the match with some of his classmates (above). "It was from the advertisement and internet I came to know this match," said Liu, a private school student who has been in Singapore since last year (above). "I think it would be approximately 10, 15,000 for tonight's match, as it's a weekday with fans might have difficulties coming down" commented local soccer fan Haslan, who attended the match with his friend (above). Some pictures before the kick-off Wonder if any of these folks got the ultimate prize? This guy (above) was instrumental in drumming up the fans' support for China before and during the match (Perhaps some local clubs would like to engage him...

(Picture) Coach Raddy (with cap) put his players through the pace. Good thing was I managed to make it to the national team training session at Geylang Field after work, when initially I thought some stupid accidents along the PIE would derail my plan to catch the session. (Picture) Fahrudin Mustafic doing some stretching on the sideline. (Picture) The Lions taking a breather. The team were going through some passing practices in the pitch, with both Gombak United's Agu Casmir and Sevki Sha'ban doing some light jogging on the sideline (as the duo were featured on last match's Gombak-Super Reds clash) when I reached the ground with team manager Eugene Loo and ST's reporter Wang Meng Meng watching from far. (Picture) Baihaikki Khaizan and Isa Halim in passing practice. Evergreen striker Aleksandar Duric cordially said "Hi" to me as the team were having their break between the drills. (Picture) Noh Alam Shah (foreground) just recovered from fever but not so luck...

Sad for the fact that a negative story as such will hit the front pages and common folks would then take notice of the local game for the wrong reasons. Days after black Sunday, Leonard Thomas, the sports editor of TODAY urged the Football of Association of Singapore (FAS) to make a bold initiative by implementing the use of video at the matches to address this nagging issue (pictured above). However, one must bear in mind that using such technology may not necessarily solve the issue overnight. Furthermore, several factors need to be taken care of should the league authority decide to push ahead. LOGISTIC ISSUES Soon expensive equipment have to be installed and more manpower will have to be deployed on match days if the league authority decides to give the go-ahead. Are we ready for this in the unfavourable financial climate when prudence is the key? ADDITIONAL TIME TO BE INCURRED The game has to be halted should the referee decide to consult the video referee. Time must be added on t...

THE SHORT TAKE OF THE GAME Barely 30 minutes into the game, the defending champions SAFFC shown that being the more experienced side given them the much-needed composure in the attacking front. Two goals in a space of seven minutes by Korean winger Park Tae Won done well to jolt the momentum of Tampines Rovers who struggled to break into the Warriors heartlands in the first half. So what happened in the second half could well perceived as another segment added on to the ongoing Stags-Warriors feud that captivated the league followers this season. (Picture) Tampines fans felt their team were let down again by the poor handling of the game. Due respect given to young referee Muhd Taqi who tried his best to stamp his authority, but it wasn't good enough as some of the decisions did not go down too well with the fans. One of which was the controversial sending off of ace striker Noh Alam Shah (again!) in the second half. Instead of protesting against the decision like he did the last t...

INTRODUCTION Mr Ammar Sachak served his six-month internship with TODAY, the local free daily, under the pen name - "AS Dwight". During his time with the paper, the 19 year-old from Melbourne covered mainly S.League football and did some stories on the local sporting scene as well. In this Q & A session, Ammar shared with us his insights and opinions on local sports scene during his time in Singapore. (Picture) Ammar (left) with the blogger. Ammar's Q & A 1)Please do tell us a bit of yourself like your background. "I’m 19 years-old. I finished school in 2007 and in 2008 I completed the first year of my three-year Bachelor of Communication (Journalism) degree at RMIT University. I have always wanted to be involved with the media and thought my personality would be suited to journalism but now I am starting to think about going into PR! " 2)How and why did you end up in Singapore to do your internship as we always thought Australian sporting scene are mor...