BoLASEPaKO•COM - A Blog on Singapore Football

Moore - A fatherly figure to the 1994 Lions (as credited) When he assumed the role of Technical Director of the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) in January 1994, little did Douglas Moore know things would take a different turn in weeks to come. Arrived in the island republic on the recommendation of the late Peter Velappan, the then secretary of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) , the former New Zealand FA's Director of Coaching was told he would assist Ken Worden , the then newly-appointed Singapore national team coach, when necessary, on top of his scope which included overseeing various national age-group squads, conducting coaching clinics, etc. However, merely days before Singapore were set to start their Malaysian Premier League (Liga Perdana) campaign against Kelantan, Worden dropped a bombshell by tendering his resignation, citing 'personal reasons' . Shortly after, the Preston-born Australian was named head coach of the 'auld enemy,' Selangor...

Singapore football fans are diverse, each bringing a unique perspective to the game. Based on social media insights and unofficial and unaffiliated polls conducted on this platform's Instagram Story, we identified four key personas: David, Clara, Adam, and Ethan. Let's take a look at what sets them apart and how they contribute to the Singapore football scene. DAVID, THE TRADITIONALIST "David" enjoys the historical side of Singapore football David is a 38-year-old football fan who cherishes the history and expert commentary of the game. He prefers traditional media sources like CNA and The Straits Times. For David, these outlets provide the in-depth stories and reliable information he values. David's love for football is rooted in tradition and detailed narratives, making him a key preserver of Singapore football history. Key Insights: Prefers traditional media for reliable and detailed information Engages deeply with historical context and expert commentary Pain...

(The content of this post is based on the media release announcing the official launch of the Singapore Youth League (SYL), and all the images featured in this blog post are credited to the Football Association of Singapore (FAS).) Co-organised by the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) and Sport Singapore (SportSG) , the highly anticipated Singapore Youth League (SYL) is set to kick off on the 24th of February following its official launch Tuesday evening (6/2) at the National Stadium. STRUCTURE OF THE SYL The SYL, an initiative under the Unleash the Roar! (UTR!) national football project is the country’s first-ever nationwide elite youth football competition and is set to feature over 200 registered teams from 52 clubs and academies across various age groups. Singapore Youth League (SYL) was officially launched on the 6th of February Cater to six age groups (Under-8, Under-10, Under-12, Under-13, Under-15, and Under-17) and open to both boys and girls, the matches will be play...

Based on those " recommendations ", it is not hard to tell a thing or two where and why our SEA Games footballers failed to perform up to expectations. Coach Raddy was the last coach to guide Singapore to success • SPL NOT UP TO MARK When one of the findings mentioned 'tournament (SEA Games) was played at an intensity “beyond that of the” SPL.' , it has proven that SPL (Singapore Premier League) does not provide the necessary environment and pace to gear our players to play at a higher level usually demanded at the international levels, be it the SEA Games or any international tournaments. • RADDY ALREADY SAID SO Which the reason why former national coach Raddy Avramovic once said the importance of our clubs to do well in regional tournaments such as the AFC Cup, as players would gain the necessary exposure at club levels by playing in those tournaments and would adapt the pace easily when they came to play for the national team, if selected. • POOR FUNDAMENTALS   On...

1965 Malaya Cup Final match programme It was a blessing to get my hands on the souvenir match programme of the 1965 Malaya Cup Final, a piece of football history that is so meaningful to Singapore's football history. The significance of it is that this was the last time Singapore won the esteemed tournament as a member of the Federation of Malaysia before the Separation on 9th August 1965, and it was barely less than two weeks before the expulsion took place when the match was played on 31st July at Merdeka Stadium in Kuala Lumpur. In his foreword, Tengku Azman Shah, the then regent of Selangor, wrote that this booklet should not just serve as a guide for the match itself, but also allow future generations to appreciate and understand the history and development of the game in Malaysia (which included Singapore at the time of publication). Foreword by Tengku Azman Shah (from programme) Besides the Selangor prince, other dignitaries who penned their forewords in this souvenir progr...

I hope people understand where I am coming from when I say the late N Ganesan , who single-handedly triggered the football fever in the 1970s, was a lawyer when he took over the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) chairmanship from RBI Pates in 1976 after serving as the latter's deputy. N Ganesan (in a white suit) holding the Malaysia Cup ** The only thing that was highlighted was Ganesan played for Singapore Indians in a 1982 Straits Times article which paid a tribute to the brave man to resuscitate the local game during his term in office as FAS chairman (as what it was called then). The reason I stressed this is that it was recently suggested that the top persons in the FA should be people who have played the game at high levels. As the Ganesan example shows, it is not necessarily the case while not discounting the fact there are former players who excelled as able administrators like legendary "Pop" Lim Yong Liang did. Although former players usually have a c...

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...

An IG poll was conducted to see how many noticed this poster There is some marketing buzz going on for the upcoming AFF Suzuki Cup though I am not sure how many noticed this banner while strolling along this busy walkway of Bishan MRT station? Not that far away from this station is Bishan Stadium - the venue for most of the Group B matches. One thing to take note of is the stadium is installed with a new natural grass surface (picture below) which I had a look at recently from the nearby Bishan Sports Hall. Being a surface that was only laid not that long ago, not sure if it is able to withstand the robustness of the team like the Vietnamese who are known for their pace. (maybe someone with some horticultural knowledge can answer that)? Will Vietnam thrive on this new surface? In the meantime, the delay in the announcement of the ticketing and broadcasting details caused some anxieties among the local fans during the run-up to the biennial showpiece. Yet when the ticketing details we...

The name is fixed? (created using meme generator ) After months of anticipation, we are given some updates on the Unleash The Roar! (UTR!) project days ago. When I first read about it, my main concern would be the sustainability of those ten School Football Academies (SFAs) schools (ie: resources like financial, manpower, etc.) which are the cornerstones of the update. Are we getting full support from the Ministry of Education (MOE) on the setting up of these SFA schools? Let's hope so, especially it seems to me past blueprints like "Goal 2010" did not have the backing of the educators. Besides MOE who must wholeheartedly support the "SFA" concept, I think to convince the parents of this UTR! is a viable project is equally important too. Parentage support is important to UTR! While it seems that the UTR! received a booster with Borussia Dortmund (BvB) and LaLiga coming on board as strategic partners , there are concerns of the roles to be played by them wh...

People of my generation might have heard of him but were too young to realize who he was when he was playing. Let alone those millennials or Generation Z who might think "Mat Noh" is just a random name of someone around them. It is something we cannot pinpoint at anyone if many young people these days have not heard the names of Mat Noh and his contemporaries who wowed this island republic in the 1970s. The 1977 Singapore National Team is still revered by many to this day ** Simply because many former players have stayed out of the media limelight after they hung up their boots that it is no surprise, some might not realize who are they if they happened to stand in front or next to a former national player. SAD THAT ONLY REALIZED WHO THEY WERE WHEN THEY GONE It is a sad thing that whenever former star players like Mat Noh pass on, we only get to read articles in the newspapers and discussions on social media reminiscing the achievements they had in their heydays, other than...

39th FAS Annual Congress (picture credit: FAS) The following are some of the key points mentioned in the 39th Football Association of Singapore (FAS) Annual Congress . A) From the 2022 Singapore Premier League (SPL) season onwards, the fielding of one Under-23 (U23) player instead of three in the starting lineup. B) No limit on the number of U23 players registered in each SPL squad. C) Young elite leagues to resume in the 2022 season (subject to prevailing circumstances). D) FAS will "put in a strong and determined bid to host" AFF Suzuki Cup . I thought the biggest takeaways would be points (A) and (C) , especially for the former that head coaches would not find themselves in a constrained situation and give more flexibility to field their ideal XI. The move to revive the youth elite leagues is a good one and hopefully, we can see a conduit in place to allow proper progression than having a fast-tracking mode that saw more teenage players in a top-tier league in this s...

The Google Search from 15/8 to 21/8/21 Good day to all, A random search on Google Trends to test the three names that generate some buzz in the otherwise tepid scene over the last week. As we noticed "K Kannan" was the first to peak after the much-publicized bid to have his ban lift by FAS . Zaiful Nizam was axed by the Tigers Follow that was the shock termination of Zaiful Nizam's contract by Balestier Khalsa after the internal disciplinary inquiry which resulted in a spike in his name is searched online. To round things up on a positive note was the naturalization of South Korean-born Song Ui-young as a Singapore citizen . Till then, stay safe and healthy and don't gather in numbers ❌ Thank you for your support. - 𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎'𝒔 𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒎 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒍 -