BoLASEPaKO•COM - A Blog on Singapore Football

Utility man Jake Butler is out to prove himself During last November's centralised foreign player trial conducted by the FAS, they helped to rope in the likes of Kiwi Jeremy Christie , who eventually went to play for New Zealand in the World Cup in June. In bid to position itself as the source to provide quality import players to the S.League, Trebol Sports International left no stones unturned as they introduced another New Zealander, Jake Butler to the local football scene. Butler, who presently plays for Waitakere United, came to Singapore with a big reputation back home in the Kiwis' football fraternity for skippering his team to the domestic league championship – the New Zealand Football Championship (NZFC), last season. Initially, the thought of playing abroad never came to the 26 year-old's mind until Christie, his former team-mate at the club, encouraged him to do so. “It never crossed my mind to play overseas, until Jeremy (Christie) told me I should give a shot at...

(Media Information from the Football Association of Singapore )   SINGAPORE, 25 October 2010: Young Lions’ Fairoz Hasan, Gabriel Quak, Khairul Nizam, Madhu Mohana and Beijing Guoan Talent’s Meng Yang, Su Boyang, Zhang Ye have had their appeals allowed by the FAS Appeals Committee (AC) regarding their suspension from ‘all football related activities’.  The players will now be allowed to continue training with their respective clubs during the period of suspension. The fines and the period of suspension imposed on each of the players remain and the players will not be permitted to participate in any competitive football matches as well as football competitions in all its forms at the national, club and grassroots level.  The seven players were charged with bringing the Great Eastern – YEO’S S.League match between Young Lions and Beijing Guoan Talent into disrepute for their conduct and participation in the mass brawl on 7 September 2010.  The players had pleaded guilty...

(The content of this entry is obtained via the transcript provided by Integrated Marketing Solutions Group [IMSG] - the PR agency for Nike Singapore ) (P.S: The copyrights of the images depicted in this blog entry belong to Nike, unless stated on the images itself.) The culture of football reigns supreme both on and off the regulation pitch. From the cages in England to the streets of Rio, the game has evolved from adaptations of small sided football that have taken shape all over the world. Renowned for lightening speed, fluid dribbling, precise control, one touch passing and shots from all over the pitch, the small sided game (as pictured above in the Nike Cup Singapore 2010 ) has matured and demands footwear designed for its specific styles. Players are bound to find a boot to fit their game, with a collection of boots led by the Nike5 Elastico Finale (caneta) and Nike5 LunarGato (sala). With a range of surfaces and game styles, the Nike5 footwear is designed to the exact specifi...

(Media Information from the Football Association of Singapore ) SINGAPORE, 21 October 2010: Tampines Rovers will take on the Young Lions in an all-Singaporean semi-final of the RHB Singapore Cup while last year’s beaten finalist, Bangkok Glass will face off S.League leaders Etoile FC in the other semi-final match. The Stags will host Young Lions in the first leg at the Tampines Stadium next Wednesday 27 October at 7.30pm, while the second leg will be held at the Jalan Besar stadium on Saturday 30 October. In the other semi-final match, Thailand’s Bangkok Glass will meet Etoile FC on Friday 29 October at the Jalan Besar Stadium. The match will be televised ‘LIVE’ on MediaCorp Channel 5 and on StarHub Channels 201 and 222, at 7.30pm. The return leg will take place one week later at the Queenstown Stadium on Friday 5 November. 2010 RHB Singapore Cup Semi Final Round Fixtures: Wednesday 27 October 2010 Tampines Rovers vs. Young Lions (1st Leg) Tampines Stadium 7.45pm Friday 29 October 201...

(Pictured above)The veterans shown their mark of respect to the late Mr Dollah Kassim SHORT SCRIBE OF THE MATCHES It's all square a piece at the Sultan of Selangor Cup 2010, as the Selangor veterans avenged for their last year's lost to their Singapore counterparts with a 1-0 win at the Shah Alam Stadium, thanks to a Sharin Majid's strike in the last third minute of the match, which was played 20 minutes each half. (Pictured above)Balestier Khalsa's coach Nasaruddin Jalil (right) in action against Selangor Veterans While the marquee match saw the Singapore Selection destroyed the Selangor Selection 6-0 in front of the approximately 60,000 of their adoring Klang Valley supporters. To be honest, the home side just returned to their home base after they lost to Kelantan a night before that saw them knocked out of the prestigious Malaysia Cup competition. (Pictured above) Selangor in tatters Aleksandar Duric jolted the confidence of the Klang Valley giant with a f...

It's always a privilege to be part of the Singapore contingent to travel up to Shah Alam, the state capital of Selangor for the annual "Sultan of Selangor Cup" event. Initiated in the year 2001 by the present ruler of Selangor, the aim of the event is to foster the footballing ties between the two sides, whose illustrious rivalry dated back since the 1920 when the Malaya Cup first started. Both Selangor and Singapore take turn to host the event, with Jalan Besar Stadium played hosts last year , this year's edition is shifted back to the 80,000-capacity Shah Alam Stadium (pictured above). SOME PICTURES FROM THE TRAINING SESSION.. The Singapore Selection had their training session at the gigantic arena with coach Terry Pathmanathan briefing his charges in the middle of the field. Home United's custodian Lionel Lewis was the first choice when the Singapore Selection played on the same ground two years ago . While the main squad were having their trainin...

Tampines Rovers 6-1 Balestier Khalsa (aggregate score) It was a farewell match for Lions striker Khairul Amri (pictured above on the extreme right in the Stags' customary post-match debriefing after defeating Balestier 3-1 at the Toa Payoh Stadium.) Fortunate thing for the nippy forward was that while he scored his final goal for the Stags at the stroke of half time, he did not earn himself a booking like both Noh Alam Shah and Shahril Ishak did when scored their farewell goal - took off their jersey in celebration. So he need not have to worry about the number of card he accumulated beforehand, should he make a return to local football in the near future. Best of Luck in Balikpapan as a big welcome awaits him. Etoile FC 6-4 Kitchee SC (aggregate score) At least it was proven to us that are ways to outsmart league leaders Etoile FC - doing the Kitchee way. True to what coach Josep Gombau said before the game that artificial surface of JBS suits his team's style of...

Mr Dollah (in foreground) in his final match for the country against Selangor's veteran in last year's SOS Cup at Jalan Besar Stadium . With deep sadness, please be informed the passing away of "Raja Gelek"- Mr Dollah Kassim, one of the greatest footballers the country had produced, this morning. Mr Dollah collapsed during the veterans' game in last year's Sultan of Selangor Cup at Jalan Besar Stadium and been bed-ridden since. For all what he had done for Singapore football, we shall not forget and thank him for his contributions and may his spirit be with us. Rest In Peace, Mr Dollah... Click HERE TO LISTEN , as Mr Dollah shared with me his best moment playing against Selangor and what made it so unique about this footballing rivalry that enchanted generations.

(Media Information from the Football Association of Singapore ) SINGAPORE, 12 October 2010: Singapore has announced a handful of fresh faces as they rekindle their friendship against old foes Selangor in the Sultan of Selangor’s (SOS) Cup on Saturday, October 16. Balestier Khalsa‘s K. Vikraman and S.League topscorer Frederic Mendy are poised to make their first ever SOS appearance having been called up to the squad for the first time. Young Lions Assistant Coach, Terry Pathmanathan, who scored the winner for the Singapore Veterans’ in 2008, will be leading Singapore’s defence as the annual competition moves back to the Shah Alam Stadium this year. With the current head-to-head record standing at 3-4 to the advantage of the Selangor side, a win this year will finally put Singapore on level terms with the Red Giants, adding to their comfortable 3-0 victory at the Jalan Besar Stadium last year. Coach Terry however, is well aware of the tough task ahead after the current Selangor side ca...

di "Status-quo" and that's for sure In his own words, did Mr Zainudin Nordin, the president of the Football Association of Singapore acknowledge the "lack of critical mass in key areas such as talent pool and resources" and "there is still a pressing need for us to continue having foreign teams participating in our league"? My only reaction is - How ironic can it be as it was only just yesterday when I blogged about "THE CHANCE" talent global search and saw for myself some of the raw talents being unearthed from the weekend and amateur scenes with whom some S.League clubs, I was told, are keen to "follow up" with them. Yet, the decision based on what is quoted in this source (via Goal.com)  is not doubted a regrettable one, as many fans out there perceived it as a way to accommodate the foreigner-based teams in our league. While Mr Zainudin mentioned in his letter to the AFC president Mohamed Bin Hammam that " ha...

There's only one winner who got THE CHANCE and he is none other than 22 year-old Ahmad Fahmie Bin Jamil, who emerged from the group of 400 players to be the chosen one to be Singapore's representative in this global talent search organized by Nike. Since the launch of the program at the end of August , the coaching panel led by former Lions skippers Fandi Ahmad, Nazri Nasir and Aide Iskandar had been combing around the island to search for these talented weekend warriors who can only quench their thirst for the game at various hot-spots where these players were unearthed. "Since the month of September, we had been to places like 'The Cage', 'SAFRA Tampines', 'FICO Sports Hub' to source for these players, as we felt that these are the so-called 'hot-spots' where we can find the raw talents we are looking for." said Mr Zainudeen Hassan who is the consultant to the coach panel (pictured below on the extreme right with the main coaching pan...