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"It's Not Everyday 'Seleçāo" come to Singapore!"

Much attention have been generated since the announcement of the "Brazil Global Tour 2019" which will be taking place in Singapore next month. This event will feature the Brazilian national team in two friendly matches to be played at the National Stadium where the "Seleção" will play Senegal on the 10th of October before facing Nigeria three days later. It marks the second visit of the five-time World Cup champions to the republic where they last visited back in 2014 when they beat Japan 4-0 in the 55,000-capacity arena of Singapore Sports Hub (SSH). STAR-STUDDED SQUAD TO COME TO SINGAPORE The Brazilians will have the likes of PSG's Neymar Jr and Roberto Firmino who is likely to face his Liverpool team mate Sadio Mané (if he is being selected) of Senegal in the first match. The stellar cast with these stars to parade their skills on our shores had fans like Frankie Goh looking forward to the upcoming bonanza. The "Seleção" squad named

Corporate Revival In Local Football?

The possibility of the revival of the once-popular Singapore Business Houses Football League (SBHFL) or starting something similar was raised during last year's Football Association of Singapore (FAS) Congress when president Lim Kia Tong was quoted in The Straits Times (ST) report that covered the event. Said Mr Lim: "The plan is to see participation from both businesses and professional associations. We would like to have the corporate sector involved in football again." The Commercial Cup ( NLB archive ) Suggestions from the fraternity to revive SBHFL were nothing new and it was one of the topics brought up in the discussion during the campaigning of the 2017 FAS elections. "It was a good league (SBHFL) where you could get the companies to support football." said Lian Kim Fatt, the honorary secretary of the Singapore Government Services Football League (SGSFL). "If you don't give the companies mileage, how can you expect them

Please Don't Repeat As Another Superficial Gimmick

The bold announcement of Singapore eyeing a spot in the 2034 World Cup by Edwin Tong , the vice-president of the Football Association of Singapore (FAS), sent a shockwave around the local football fraternity in recent days. It came at a time when local football is still trying to pull itself out of the bad patches it is experiencing now and barely a surprise such a lofty target is met with skepticism from all corners  once again it brought back sad memories of the "Goal 2010" project which was launched in 1998. I shall not dwell on why and how the "Goal 2010" was mooted but here to share what I witnessed at the fanfare at Suntec City - the venue where the whole project kicked start on 5th December 1998. GOAL 2010 WAS LAUNCHED AT SUNTEC CITY  It was a huge turnout with everyone eager and excited to play a part in this historical day that was supposed to see Singapore adhere to a blueprint to see her qualify for the World Cup in 2010 (although FAS clarified it wa

The Long Forgotten Anson Road Stadium

I first came to know the existence of the demolished Anson Road Stadium after I read a line from the veteran journalist Godfrey Robert's book "The Malaysia Cup" published back in 1990. USED TO THINK JBS WAS THE OLDEST Prior to that, it was always in my opinion that Jalan Besar Stadium was the oldest football stadium in Singapore (even though the old arena used to function as a rugby and hockey venue as well) due to its aged facade which I noticed when I first visited the ground back in the early 1990s before the redevelopment program begun in December 1999. Big turnouts like this were common at Anson Road Stadium (credit: NLB archive ) Field diagram for listeners tuned in for radio commentary in the old days (credit: NLB archive ).   Recently, when I chanced upon an online article that provides a scribe on the arena, it piqued my interest to find out where exactly was this stadium located in the Tanjong Pagar area. EXHIBITION VENUE TURNED INTO STADIUM Accordin

"Matchpix" - June/July 2019

Lions Training Session 060619 Coach Yoshida briefs his players at Geylang Field Spotted two staff coaches, presumably, from Albirex Niigata (Singapore) observing the training session conducted by new national team coach Tatsuma Yoshida by taking notes of what they saw and noticed. The Lions will be playing two friendly matches at the National Stadium against Solomon Islands and Myanmar. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REST OF THE PICTURES SGPL - Geylang Int'l 5-0 Balestier Khalsa 160619 Geylang's Barry Maguire brace for an aerial ball  Geylang International crushed Balestier Khalsa 5-0 at Our Tampines Hub following the resuming of the AIA Singapore Premier League after the international week. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REST OF THE MATCH PICTURES SGPL - Geylang Int'l 2-2 Hougang Utd 050719 "Guys, I am just focusing on my shot" Thought the match was an evenly-contested one at Our Tampines Hub that ended two-two for both Geylang Intern