BoLASEPaKO.COM - A Blog on Singapore Football

When ground sharing among Singapore Premier League (SPL) clubs started in 2019, there were mixed reactions from the fraternity. To some fans, the uprooting of their favourite clubs from their allocated home ground was like “losing the sense of identity.” Jurong East - one of the "shared stadiums" (file) After all, when professional football was introduced in 1996, one of the key emphases was community outreach. Clubs were strategically located around the island so that they could embed themselves into the neighbourhoods they represented. LOSS OF COMMUNITY ROOTS AND FAN IDENTITY Take the case of Hougang United. They have been playing their home games at Jalan Besar Stadium (JBS) in recent years after moving out of Hougang Stadium when they were still known as Sengkang Punggol. To this day, the HOOLs, the supporters’ group of the Cheetahs, still identify “Gate 3” as their meeting point. This was the spot near Gate 3 of Hougang Stadium where they congregated directly behind the...

For a large part of the first half, Singapore was literally swimming against the tide with the Indians dominating much of the possession. More spaces needed to be created to move the ball forward, and we have to be reminded that this is not a rugby match! Song's double against India saved the campaign (file snap) Song Ui-young's (file pictured) equaliser before the interval put the much-needed confidence back into the Lions. The Lions midfield was struggling to hold up the home team, who were storming through the middle of the park. It was a question of whether Singapore could hang on to the lead after Song doubled his tally in the 58th minute. Simply because too much space was given to India, which allowed them the flexibility to plan their movements to cocoon the visitors at their own half. It wasn't easy when the Lions literally threw their bodies towards the end of the game to salvage this important 2-1 win over India, keeping the AFC Asian Cup qualifying campaign alive...

Facing the "lobang" at Kallang I still have that distraught feeling after the blunder that allowed India to level the game at the closing stages of it. We did not utilise the numerical advantage since the early period of the second half. The back pass that led to the Indian equaliser was secondary when Lions were guilty of not being more aggressive in the final third. It was either we intended to hold the ball long enough to frustrate the Indian or we just couldn't find our way to break them down at their back. Did the substitution in the second half played a part when some questioned the effectiveness of it? I don't know? I am just a photographer. ℹ️ For those unbeknownst, the abovementioned thoughts were from the AFC Asian Cup qualifying match between Singapore and India played on 9th October 2025 that ended in one-all draw. - 𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎'𝒔 𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒎 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒍 -

Just realised snapping at games is not merely pressing the shutter only (as credited) During one of my recent shooting assignments, I stumbled upon a few harmless questions asked by my friend who was next to me. Those questions circled around the tournament regulations, schedules, etc., which, frankly speaking, I usually don't pay much attention to unless they are deemed necessary, and I would glance through them before coming to the ground. But what happened on that occasion actually had me thinking if I had not been that responsible when I carried out my assignments (even though it has always been for my platform all these while)? In a sense, shouldn't I be kept abreast of those essential details of the event I am covering? Apparently, this friend of mine was mistaken in thinking the match we were shooting was a "knockout" match that would proceed to extra time when it ended in a tie, yet it wasn't the case when it was a "group stage" match, and we wou...

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 Before 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 began 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 this stadium was located in the Tanjong Pagar district. EXHIBITION VENUE TURNED INTO STADIUM Acc...

  #ACLTwoFinal - Lion City Sailors 1-2 Sharjah FC 180525 LCS players and staff showing their appreciation to fans after the match Lion City Sailors' Maxime Lestienne's late equaliser in the 91st minute cancelled out the lead taken by Sharjah's Firas Ben Al Arbi in the 74th minute, saw Bishan erupt. But the sucker punch was dealt in the 97th minute by Marcus Meloni to seal the win as the Emiratis claimed the ACLTwo title. CLICK HERE TO SEE PICTURES ➤ Lion City Sailors 1-2 Sharjah FC SGPL - Balestier Khalsa 3-2 Albirex Niigata (Singapore) 2505025 Outgoing Tigers' coach Peter de Roo given a shower after the match A late winner by Reycredo Bukit saw Balestier Khalsa beat Albirex Niigata (Singapore) 3-2 to cement fourth positioning for the Tigers and a fitting farewell gift for Coach Peter de Roo at Bishan. CLICK HERE TO SEE PICTURES ➤ Balestier Khalsa 3-2 Albirex Niigata (Singapore) SFOF25 - Arsenal 1-0 AC Milan 230725 The Gunners won the  Tridentity Cup of SFOF25 Bukayo Sa...

The inaugural Soccer 7s Series came to an end after three days of intense competition. With some players from the 2016 Premier League-winning side in their squad, Leicester City Masters clinched the Masters category by beating COMOS Masters 1-0 with a solitary goal from Martyn Waghorn. SKY BLUES TRIUMPHED IN OPEN CATEGORY In the Open category, Coventry City emerged as the winners after defeating Corinthians of Brazil 2-0. Former Singapore international Gabriel Quak's early brace in the game against Ratchaburi FC helped Singapore Football Club to secure the Plate in this category. Gabriel Quak in action for Singapore FC Hashtag United from England were declared the Shield winners after a 1-0 victory over Shanghai Shenhua. However, the Shanghainese did not walk away empty-handed when their female counterparts beat QPR Hoops to be crowned the women's champions . Throughout the three-day tournament, football fans not only witnessed some fast-paced action played on a smaller pitc...

Barring those years disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic, heading to Taiwan has been an annual ritual for me, which I consider my pilgrimage to baseball – another sport which I deeply devoted to. Nothing beats the experience of catching the CTBC Brothers  (中信兄弟) in the Taipei Dome  (臺北大巨蛋) – the latest iconic landmark of the capital city of Taiwan, which took more than three decades to come to fruition. CTBC Brothers' Crayon Shin-chan themed home game at Taipei Dome As a fervent supporter of the "Yellow Troopers" (the nickname of CTBC Brothers), it was yet another thrilling experience, as always, to see them locking horns in their home series against Fubon Guardians. The showdown between them is popularly known as the "Financial Holdings Derby" (since both teams are owned by major Taiwanese financial conglomerates – CTBC Brothers is owned by the CTBC Holding, while Fubon Guardians  (富邦悍將) belong to Fubon Financial Holding Co.). Fans had their pictures taken in fro...

To mark Singapore’s 60th birthday, and as part of the organisers’ ambition to grow the tournament across international markets, the " Soccer7sSeries " will be held at Jalan Besar Stadium (JBS) this July to fuel that vision. " Soccer7sSeries " will be held at JBS In the press release issued by the organisers, Mr Dom Lane, Chief Executive Officer for the Soccer7sSeries shared the reason for staging the competition. SINGAPORE - A GLOBAL SPORTING DESTINATION “Singapore has truly become a global sporting destination, so we’re delighted to bring the Soccer7sSeries to the country,” said Mr Lane. The tournament will feature high-profile clubs from around the world, with representation from the likes of Vasco Da Gama from Brazil to German giants Borussia Dortmund, English club Coventry City to Chinese club Shanghai Shenhua. Singapore will be represented by Singapore Premier League (SPL) club Geylang International in both Men’s and Women’s Open competitions, with former Sing...

The 2024/2025 Singapore Premier League (SPL) finally came to an end with the retention of the Singapore Cup by newly-minted SPL champions Lion City Sailors (LCS) on the last day of May. Dutchman Bart Ramselaar netted the only goal in the final of the local premier knockout competition to see the Republic's sole privatised club cap off their memorable campaign in emphatic fashion over their closest rivals, Tampines Rovers, at the Jalan Besar Stadium. LCS first XI in ACLTwo Final at Bishan Stadium The following day saw LCS walking away with a few accolades at the SPL Awards Night with Aleksandar Ranković named "Coach of the Year". A DOMINANT SEASON CAPPED OFF IN STYLE It was an impressive roll of honour for the club that took over the operations of Home United and revamped to its present form in 2020, and has since set a few benchmarks, including the $10 million training facilities at Mattar Road that other SPL clubs can only dream of. So here comes the question – are t...

LCS did their lap of honour after their ACLTwo Final defeat at Bishan You have to give credit to Lion City Sailors (LCS) for what they have achieved so far. Some may say they have the resources that other Singapore Premier League (SPL) clubs can only dream of, but let us not forget how difficult it has been for LCS to juggle so many matches in the current season (having to feature in four different tournaments in the ongoing season). Singapore football badly needs a catalyst to lift itself out of the doldrums, and let's hope what LCS have done so far is something the game here can build on. AGONY ON THE CONTINENTAL STAGE While the result ended in agony for the republic's sole privatised football club in the recently concluded AFC Champions League Two (ACLTwo) final , in which they lost to UAE's Sharjah FC at the  "new-look"  Bishan Stadium . The 2025 ACLTwo Final saw the biggest crowd at Bishan Stadium since its opening The sheer determination and the hurdles t...

(This entry is formulated by the media release issued by Full Circle PR, the PR agency for the event with image depicted in this entry belonging to "Singapore Festival of Football") After a one-year hiatus, the Singapore Festival of Football (SFOF) is set to return this July, featuring English powerhouses Arsenal and Newcastle United , alongside with 19-time Serie A champions AC Milan . FIRST VISIT TO SINGAPORE BY "I ROSSONERI" While both the Gunners and Magpies are no strangers to the republic for having paid their visits in the past, the coming trip to the Lion City will be the first-ever for "I Rossoneri". In the press conference held earlier today (11/4) at the Pan Pacific Singapore, the tournament's joint organisers - TEG Sport and the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) announced a five-year partnership has been confirmed to see regular top-flight European football fixtures played in Singapore in alternate years (2025, 2027 and 2029).   (L-R): Ms  M...

This post is a reproduction of a reply to one question posted on an online forum on how to improve local football It's a question everyone has been asking, and TBH, there is no viable solution to the problems we are facing. As for now, I would encourage that those who have been to local matches, be it the national team's, SPL ( Singapore Premier League ) or even school games, post and share their thoughts on their socials with their family and friends. Spread the awareness using your phone While we may not see those who have never been to local matches to be convinced or be converted instantly, the whole idea is to spread the awareness of the local game, which has been besieged by negative publicity (i.e., the usual Goal 2XXX or 3XXX joke). Let your family and friends know about the other side of local football through' your social media postings and make them curious about "How come my who-and-who is following the exploits of Lion City Sailors when almost everyone i...

 Shopee Cup - Lion City Sailors 0-0 Buriram United 230125 Buriram United's penalty claim was brushed aside The goal-less draw between the powerhouses of both Singapore and Thailand saw the former represented by Lion City Sailors being eliminated from the Asean Club Championship aka Shopee Cup (for sponsorship reason) CLICK HERE TO SEE PICTURES ➤ LION CITY SAILORS VS BURIRAM UNITED Singapore Cup - Balestier Khalsa 1-2 BG Pathum United 020325 Balestier Khalsa's Kodai Tanaka (extreme right) being hold back Ace striker Kodai Tanaka's botched attempt from the spot near towards the end had Balestier Khalsa licking their wounds in this Singapore Cup defeat against 10-man BG Pathum United at Bishan instead. CLICK HERE TO SEE PICTURES ➤ BALESTIER KHALSA VS BG PATHUM UNITED #ACLTwo - Lion City Sailors 1-1 Sanfrecce Hiroshima (agg:4-1) 130325 Lion City Sailors celebrate after their opener against Sanfrecce Hiroshima at JBS Lion City Sailors became the third Singaporean club to feature...

I would think it will be the biggest accomplishment on the CVs of any marketing or PR (public relations) person if he/she is up to the task to ensure Lionel Messi 's trip to Singapore is free of any hiccups. MESSI’S HISTORY OF SKIPPING THE REGION For the record, the Argentinian skipper has famously snubbed this region on several occasions. A recent poll conducted by this platform indicated that a majority fear he may not turn up with the three-time world champions, who will be in town in early 2026 (click below to see the poll outcome). Prior to his brief stopover in the republic back in 2017 , a thigh injury ruled the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner out of a friendly match held at the Shah Alam Stadium in 2013 . Since then, the Inter Miami star has also missed matches in both Hong Kong and Indonesia , despite being heavily promoted as the star attraction of these fixtures. A RISKY PROMOTION FOR SINGAPORE? Messi’s non-appearances have not only disappointed thousands who longed to ...