BoLASEPaKO.COM - A Blog on Singapore Football

(This entry is formulated based on the media release issued by Rookbook Sports   with all images depicted in this entry being credited accordingly as shown) In an arrangement made possible by their agency Rookbook Sports, Ong Yu En and Fathullah Rahmat will be heading to South Korea for a training stint. Having impressed the local fraternity with their show of promising potential with their clubs in this season's Singapore Premier League, Tampines Rovers' Yu En and Tanjong Pagar United's Fathullah will have the opportunity to train with South Korean clubs on this one-of-a-kind trip. (L-R) Ong Yu En and Fathullah Rahmat During the trip, the duo will train with the senior squad of K-League 2 club Cheonan City, as well as the youth set-ups of K-League 1 sides Incheon United FC and Suwon Samsung Bluewings. “Having been working in the Singapore footballing landscape, we believe that we’ve identified an area that will be very helpful to players here, especially the younger ones w...

Good day to all, It is the time of the year again when I will share my annual review. For this time round, I will just focus on the following topics, as listed following in the BOLD text:- Privatisation , Young Lions, and Balestier Khalsa . PRIVATISATION  One of the things I realised is with the move to privatise the Singapore Premier League in the progress, I certainly hope the decision-makers do not rush to complete the process. The public must be informed of the "privatisation" progress After all, we have seen the example of how the S.League was established in which the pioneering eight clubs were not given ample time to lay a strong foundation on and off the field, and some eventually paid the price for it. The Singapore Premier League is best to be seen as a cosmetic move to rebrand the so-called professional football league whose shortcomings are still obvious. This is why the process of privatisation should be placed on a gradual and consistent basis to make sure ...

 SGPL - Lion City Sailors 2-4 Albirex Niigata (S) 081022 Albirex's supporters in jubilant mood after securing SPL title Albirex Niigata (Singapore) overpowered Lion City Sailors 4-2 to reclaim the Singapore Premier League title - their fifth league triumph since joining the Singapore football scene. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REST OF THE MATCH PICTURES Singapore Cup - Geylang International 2-3 Tampines Rovers 281022 What a crowded six-yard box  Good exciting game for the neutrals to see how Geylang International fought back from a two-goal deficit but saw a flash across from Stags' Kyoga Nakamura wrapped up all three points in the dying moments over their co-tenants. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REST OF THE MATCH PICTURES Singapore Cup Final - Hougang United 3-2 Tampines Rovers 191122 Cheetahs claimed their first major trophy in the professional era Hougang United clinched their first major trophy since joining the top flight when they beat Tampines Rovers 3-2 to win the S...

Part of the attached image from a media release issued by Starhub I am not sure about the rest, I just don't feel the hype of the World Cup which is going to take place this month. To the extent, I don't know the exact date when the greatest show on earth is going to kick off, I don't exactly know which are teams to be featured, also are there 24 or 32 teams playing in the odd scheduling of this once-in-a-four-year event? Also with the skyrocketing cable subscriptions, I opted not to see the games live on my television unless they are showing on terrestrial channels. Cristiano Ronaldo in action for Juventus in ICCSG 2019 Simply because I couldn't afford the rates, and I can unashamedly tell the rest that I have not seen Leo Messi in action although I was fortunate to snap his buddy Neymar and his contemporary Cristiano Ronaldo in action in recent years when the latter two were in Singapore. So if the poll I conducted on IG Story (top image) days ago is a reflection of...

One of the headlines on the stampede ( NLB archive ) The build-up to the match was intense. After all, it was between the two biggest sides of the tournament that saw them being the first finalists of the competition first known as the HMS Malaya Cup back in 1921. To make the showdown even more mouth-watering was the fact that Selangor, widely known as the Malaysian "second national team" back then with the likes of Mohktar Dahari, Soh Chin Ann, Santokh Singh, etc., had already beaten Singapore twice on a roll in the final to win the coveted Malaysia Cup in previous two years (1975 and 1976). The blogger speaking to Dato' Soh Chin Ann in 2010 (Gale Gan) Instead of making the arch-rivals face each other for the third consecutive time in the ultimate fixture in 1977, the script was changed to see both Singapore and Selangor in the semi-final instead. The young republic, coached by the legendary "Uncle" Choo Seng Quee, topped the South Zone undefeated with eight wi...

With the privatisation of the Singapore Premier League (SPL) on the card: - 1) NO PROMOTION/RELEGATION? Would it mean the plan to see promotion/relegation between SPL and the Singapore Football League (SFL) will never take place, as many hope for ?   SPL be more competitive with the privatisation? Since the SPL, as understood by Straits Times, will be under the purview of Unleash The Roar! (UTR) project instead. Unless there are some arrangements to work out with UTR, SFL will remain exclusively a competition under the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) who will no longer be running the SPL. 2) ASSESSMENT OF CLUBS FOR PRIVATISATION? Like any new management taking over, will there be an inventory check or audit process to assess the health of each SPL club to see if they are going to meet the criteria set by the new management body if any? The late N Ganesan made many brave decisions to improve things in the 1970s Sometimes, plugs need to be pulled off the lifeline to avoid...

(The content and images depicted in this entry were made available by the media release issued by the organizers) Fandi Ahmad with Minister Edwin Tong in action The 7th SGX Cares Bull Charge Charity Futsal tournament made its return after it last took place in 2019 and raised S$111,000 which will be channelled via Community Chest to the beneficiaries namely AWWA Ltd., Autism Association (Singapore), Fei Yue Community Services, HCSA Community Services and Shared Services for Charities. Held this morning at the Kovan Sports Centre, the charity event was organised under the SGX Cares - the CSR program by the Singapore Exchange ( SGX Group ). SGX Cares , the collective name of SGX Group’s CSR pillars of Bull Charge, Outreach and Financial Literacy, aims to create positive impact by activating the power of community. Bull Charge, the flagship fundraising initiative, has raised over S$44 million since 2004 for more than 50 charities and a variety of causes, through the support of corporate s...

Mr Lim Teng Sai in his younger days (as credited) The story was shared by former Singapore national defender Mr Lim Teng Sai during the launch of the book "ROAR: Football Legends of Singapore" at the Jalan Besar Stadium (JBS) days ago. The former center-half approached a group of us during the friendly match between Singapore ex-internationals, which featured some of his former teammates, and their Malaysian counterparts, as he would like to peruse the book that documented the football history of Singapore. The friendly match, which was won 2-0 by the hosts, was part of the launch of the book authored and edited by long-time Singapore football supporter Mr A Thiyaga Raju and sports writer Mr Gary Koh respectively. The blogger with Mr Lim at the JBS Elated to see his name being featured in the list of the players in the book, he went on to oblige a fan's request to sign on a few pictures of his taken during his playing days in the 1970s. Pointing towards the direction wh...

 SGPL - Hougang United 3-3 Albirex Niigata (Singapore) 050822 " STOP! LET ME HANDLE THIS!"  A see-saw battle at Hougang Stadium saw Hougang United Football Club (HGFC) and Albirex Niigata FC Singapore sharing the spoils with a three-all scoreline. The White Swans dropped two points to deny them from hitting the summit. (Scorers: Pedro Bortoluzo 62', 73', Shawal Anuar 85' - HGFC | Masahiro Sugita 12', Tadanari Lee 76', Masaya Idetsu 89' - ANS) PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REST OF THE MATCH PICTURES SGPL - Albirex Niigata (Singapore) 7-1 Young Lions 100822 YL's Joel Chew (center) making a breakthrough  Barely days ago after registered their second win of the campaign, it is back to the earth for Young Lions who were crushed by Albirex Niigata FC Singapore 7-1 at the Jurong East Stadium. (Scorers: Kodai Tanaka 21', 31', 65', Masahiro Sugita 23', Ilhan Fandi 35', Harhys Stewart O.G 59' - ANS | Reo Kunimoto O.G 90'+1- YL) PL...

SGX's Mr Chua I-Min conducts the workshop with LCS players As many said the career lifespan of a professional football player is a short one, therefore it is very important to have sound financial planning just in case any uncertainty could derail anything that is smooth sailing. With that thought in mind, the first-team players from the Lion City Sailors (LCS) attended a financial planning workshop jointly organized by the club and SGX Group. THE WORKSHOP PART OF SGX CARES INITIATIVE The aim of "SGX Cares Financial Literacy Workshop" is to equip professional footballers with fundamental knowledge in managing their personal finances and investments during their football careers and beyond. Mr Chan Kum Kong, Head of Research, SGX Group "Our players are our most important assets – and we want to create the best possible environment for them to fully focus on their work on the pitch while also equipping them for life beyond football," said LCS Sporting Director Mr ...

 Standard Chartered Singapore Trophy Events 260422 Former Liverpool midfielder Jason McAteer (right) with a fan Nineteenth-time English league champions Liverpool will take on fellow Premier League side Crystal Palace in the Standard Chartered Singapore Trophy 2022. A press conference was held at Gardens by the Bay to announce the match will be played on 15th July at the National Stadium. The confirmation of this fixture will see the Reds and the Eagles being the first European top-flight clubs to play in Singapore since 2019. Besides attending the press conference in the morning, both Jason McAteer (ex Liverpool) and Andre Moritz (former Crystal Palace and now Hougang United) made their presence in the afternoon at Serangoon Stadium for the football clinic. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REST OF THE PICTURES SGPL - Tanjong Pagar United 4-2 Tampines Rovers 280522 Reo Nishiguchi of TPUFC celebrates after scoring After a six-goal thriller in the first half that saw them take a two-goa...

(This entry is formulated based on the media release issued by Lion City Sailors Football Club, all media materials used in this post belong to LCS) The highly anticipated Lion City Sailors (LCS) Training Centre was officially declared opened last evening (28/7) by Mr Edwin Tong, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth and Second Minister for Law, and LCS chairman Mr Forrest Li. SAILORS ' COMMITMENT TO SINGAPORE FOOTBALL Located at 8 Mattar Road, this 28,000-square metres integrated football training facility is first-of-its-kind in Singapore. Some of the facilities in the centre included physiotherapy rooms, a gym, an analysis room as well as study facilities for academy trainees alongside five top-of-the-line football fields. LCS' $10 million facility at Mattar Road The training centre will the new home of the Sailors' first team, Under-21 side, academy trainees as well as its women’s team. "The training centre is the most tangible manifestation of the Sailors’ com...