Some Worthless Relic From The Past

I must apologize for the recent lack of updating because there are some tidy chores in my house for the upcoming repair works that are gonna take place in days to come. As such, I might see myself being tied up for some packing and clearing up some stuff along the process. The last time around I unearthed the two precious TNP centerspread of the Malaysia Cup era and now here are some relics I discovered during my clearing out...

OLD MATCH TICKETS

I think match tickets are just like a stamp that reflects well on something that happened in the past. On and off, I would always get an email from a Belgian ticket collector asking for the used tickets for those Lions' matches. Unfortunately, the tickets used below are not to be given away at any price for their significance.

The ticket to the S.League Opening Ceremony at the National Stadium in 1996

(Pictured above) This ticket was the admission slip to the S.League Opening ceremony on 14 April 1996 at the National Stadium where the Thai national team was in town to pit against an S.League All-Star Selection. In the end, it was the guest that won the match and the ceremony was graced by the then Prime Minister, Mr. Goh Chok Tong. Noticing the SAFFC logo imprinted on the slip, this ticket was purchased at Jurong Stadium (the former home ground of the Warriors, with aid from an ITE classmate).

The ticket to the match that saw the first S.League goal scored

(Pictured above) On 20 April 1996, the inaugural S.League season kicked off at various venues with Balestier Central taking on Police FC at the Toa Payoh Stadium. I was lucky enough to see the first-ever S.League goal scored by Bosnia striker Esad Seijic (who incidentally scored the league's first-ever hat-trick) against a Brazilian-fronted Police side, who eventually won the match 2-1.

The ticket of the match between Woodlands Wellington and Geylang United at National Stadium 

If I'm not wrong, this match dated 14th June 1996 (ticket pictured above) WAS NOT the match that recorded the highest-ever attendance in league history, it was the returning fixture for the Rams-Eagles match at the National Stadium.

The match ticket to the 1996 friendly between the S.League All-Stars and Newcastle United

(Pictured above) Think about it, it was only $12 then to catch an EPL side to play at Kallang (as compared to $88 to see Liverpool last year)!! Fans got to see David Ginola (and we are STILL waiting for Etoile to fulfil their promise), and Peter Beardsley of the Magpies, while a certain Alan Shearer was here as well (but the then manager Kevin Keegan wanted Shearer to be featured in his first game as a Newcastle player at Newcastle and let many Singapore fans disappointed).

The match ticket to the 1996 S.League Championship match

 

(Pictured above) 9th November 1996 was a date to be remembered in the history of Singapore football, as Fandi Ahmad climbed up to the podium to receive the brand new S.League trophy and declared Geylang United as the first-ever S.League champions after beating SAFFC in the Championship match at Kallang.

FIXTURE CARDS

Here are some rather handy-size fixture cards for reference in the past. I'm not sure if it's worth any effort to print them nowadays, since the fixtures frequently alter and I do really lose track at times. Nonetheless, these cards made good souvenirs and collectable items.

The old fixture cards from the early days of the S.League

(Pictured above from Top to Bottom) 1994's Singapore's fixtures in the Malaysian League, followed by the "Tiger Beer" Series and the "Pioneer" Series of the inaugural season, and the 1997 season saw the league starting off with 9 (instead of the supposedly 10) with the inclusion of Jurong FC.

The debut season modelled the J-League format for having a two-series format and a decider match to determine the Champions, unfortunately, after the highly successful "Tiger Beer" series, the follow-up "Pioneer" Series was all but a disaster (as far as I was concerned) with dwindling interest, probably because local fans were not accustomed of having such weird league format.

Therefore, the following season became a "single-series" format with the inclusion of Jurong FC and Landmark Marine Castle, however, days before the season started the latter pulled a shocker by abruptly withdrawing from the league.

Citing "no ready" as the primary reason, although weeks before that they allegedly tried to lure Egmar Goncalves from Police FC failed after the Dragons lodged a complaint against such dealing "behind the doors". (The facts detailed above are based on my recollection and truth knowledge, please feel free to correct any factual mistake, thanks)