BoLASEPaKO.com - A Blog on Singapore Football

The arrival of Singaporean footballers in Hong Kong (credit: Hong Kong Football History Society) Recently after some inquiries, I received these old newspaper clippings from the administrator of Hong Kong Football History Society , a Facebook Page which specialized in the history of Hong Kong football. It came after a few years ago when I posted some details on this blog's Facebook page that briefly described back in the 1950s, seven Singaporean footballers** were being invited by Kitchee Sports Club to play for them on a two-month stint, a  information cited from this Facebook posting in Mandarin , in Hong Kong First Division - a feat that caused quite a sensation back in those days. Based on what was mentioned in those clippings, I managed to single out names like custodian Chu Chee Seng, Foo Hee Jong, Ho Hin Weng, and the legendary striker Awang Bakar who was referred to as "Tong Wong" (唐旺) in Cantonese pronunciation. The report detailed the players

SGPL - Albirex Niigata (S) 1-0 Hougang Utd 060518 The result saw Albirex Niigata FC Singapore pulled away from the pack in the Great Eastern-Hyundai Singapore Premier League league standing with the rest of them still scratching their heads. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REST OF THE MATCH PICTURES SGPL - Balestier Khalsa 1-2 Geylang International 020618 Not much to snap when most of the actions were "out of bound" due to my equipments limitations but nonetheless Great Eastern-Hyundai Singapore Premier League the match saw Geylang International beat Balestier Khalsa 2-1 at the "dark" Toa Payoh Stadium. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REST OF THE MATCH PICTURES SGPL - Hougang Utd 0-2 Tampines Rovers 090618 Khairul Amri (partially hidden by ball) scored in this match For Tampines Rovers, their main is try to narrow their gap in between them and Great Eastern-Hyundai Singapore Premier League leaders Albirex Niigata FC Singapore and Hougang Unite

Barely into the second round of the Great Eastern-Hyundai Singapore Premier League (SGPL) had Balestier Khalsa coach Marko Kraljevic ate his words. Speaking to The New Paper (TNP) after his side's five-nil defeat to defending champions Albirex Niigata (Singapore) on the 27th of May, the Croatian coach declared: "Albirex are looking like champions. There's no way to chase them, they're too good this year." Albirex is simply the best so far in SGPL. This marked a stark contrast to his earlier remarks in April when he claimed the Yuhua-based side "are definitely not as strong as last year", a sentiment seemingly echoed by his Home United counterpart Aidil Sharin, as suggested in a separate article that appeared on The Straits Times. Ironically, the Protectors were crushed 6-1 by the White Swans at their Bishan backyard on the very same day when the said broadsheet carried those thoughts with Adam Swandi scoring the final goal in the dying minut

"Thanks for coming." said one of the staffers whom I met at the end of a press conference I attended some times ago. While it is always a pleasantry to receive such a greeting but for that particular time, I found it awkward or rather uneasy to receive such acknowledgment. Usually, the press conference of that nature would see a decent turnout from the media to cover the event, whereas it was not the case when I was there and I could easily count the number of those reporters who were there. To make things more intriguing was the absence of representation from several notable players of the field to cover the announcement which they usually would. If this is going to be the typical scene in the subsequent weeks to come, it should be something of a concern to local football officials for such a lukewarm response from the media, especially of those from the big players. MEDIA RESTRUCTURING The recent restructuring of both MediaCorp (source: 1 , 2 ) and Si

Fandi Ahmad will take charge of the Suzuki Cup campaign It was a mere formality when the earlier press conference was called to announce Young Lions coach Fandi Ahmad as the man in charge of the Singapore National Team for the upcoming AFF Suzuki Cup campaign in November. This hastily-arranged media gathering more or less confirmed a Straits Times'  report that appeared days ago which suggested the former Singapore skipper “will hold the fort for the national team while the search continues for the coach who will lead the Lions on a permanent basis”. So when the panel that comprised Messrs Lim Kia Tong (FAS president), Edwin Tong (FAS vice-president), Yazeen Buhari (FAS Acting General Secretary), and Fandi, himself, took their seats before the start of the event, the awaiting media at the venue already knew what was on the agenda. Fandi spoke to the media after the presser “I am really excited about the new Suzuki Cup format,” said the one-time FC Groningen striker o