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Showing posts from August, 2019

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