BoLASEPaKO.COM - A Blog on Singapore Football

Singapore National Team ’s 1-0 defeat to Nepal at the National Stadium on 21 March 2025 left many fans stunned. With a higher FIFA ranking, the 160th-ranked Lions were expected to overpower the Nepalese who are ranked at the 175th place, but instead, they found themselves struggling to put together a cohesive performance. "Nasi Lemak" - a favourite local dish After the match, a friend of mine used "Nasi Lemak" (above image, as credited), a beloved local dish, to describe the situation. NO WATER, NO NITRATES – NO QUALITY INGREDIENTS "If the padi field doesn't have the water or nitrates, you can't have decent nasi lemak or Teochew muay." said this friend of mine who started off his theory with these words. He reasoned that if a padi field lacks water and nitrates, you can’t grow quality rice, nor can you cultivate fresh cucumbers. It also affects chicken feed production, meaning the fried chicken wing - the heart of a good "Nasi Lemak" -...

 #ACLTwo - Lion City Sailors 2-3 Persib Bandung 071124 Persib Bandung staged a stunning comeback Lion City Sailors paid dearly for not keeping up the intensity after taking a two-nil lead at interval and found themselves sunk into the ocean by a resilient PERSIB Bandung side at JBS. CLICK HERE TO SEE PICTURES ➤ LION CITY SAILORS VS PERSIB BANDUNG International Friendly - Singapore 2-3 Chinese Taipei 181123 Singapore (blue) suffered a defeat in the hands of Chinese Taipei The Singapore national team paid the price for their lack of bite till the very late and succumbed to their third defeat to Chinese Taipei since 2017. CLICK HERE TO SEE PICTURES ➤ SINGAPORE VS CHINESE TAIPEI #ACLTwo - Lion City Sailors 5-2 Port FC 051224 Hat-trick hero Song Ui-Young celebrates with Maxime Lestienne A 5-2 win which included a hat-trick from Song Ui-young helped Lion City Sailors to beat Port FC 5-2 at JBS to finish top of Group F of the AFC Champions League Two. Both teams qualified for the next pha...

The recent no-show by Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi in Beijing and Hong Kong respectively had yet again got people asking if staging friendly games in this part of the world featuring high-profile marquees like the mentioned duo is a worthwhile investment. Leo Messi gave Singapore a miss in 2017 There's no doubt that to boost ticket sales, you need a few crowd pullers, and very often, these tickets aren't cheap, but many fans are still willing to pay a hefty price for them. However, recent games of such nature especially those held after the pandemic suggested fans are not going to splurge like they used to do and are taking a more cautious approach when times are bad. The recent pre-season games featuring a few top-tier European club sides in Singapore neither saw a packed stadium nor were the tickets being snapped up at a frantic pace. Notice the empty spaces in the background of the Liverpool-Leicester game in July 2023? Furthermore, those marquee are susceptible to...

Friendly - Geylang International 2-3 Hougang United 090621 Geylang's Moresche (left) and Hougang's Lionel Tan The Cheetahs walked away with a 3-2 over the Eagles in this friendly fixture at Our Tampines Hub. Geylang took the two-nil lead through Brazilian striker Moresche and Asshukrie Wahid before Gilberto Fortunato reduced the deficit from a spot-kick before interval to make it 2-1. Shahril Ishak and AIA Singapore Premier League leading scorer Tomoyuki Doi added one each after the break to make it 3-2 to seal the game for Hougang. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REST OF THE MATCH PICTURES Friendly - LCS 3-0 Geylang International 160721 Eye for the corner in this LCS-Geylang friendly at JBS Diego Lopes' second half hat-trick was deemed enough to help Lion City Sailors to beat Geylang International 3-0 at the Jalan Besar Stadium. This friendly fixture was the final match for both sides before the resuming of their AIA Singapore Premier League. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE THE RE...

Did you see the rainbow? Good day to all, Plenty of things happened over the last few days. ➡️ The resuming of the AIA Singapore Premier League. ➡️ The two-and-half-year partnership between Lion City Sailors and Borussia Dortmund. ➡️ Another Tampines Rovers player tested positive for the Covid19 after returning from the AFC Champions League campaign in Uzbekistan. ✅ ✅ The first two are, no doubt, some positives injected to the scene while, and hopefully, the infected Tampines players will get well soon 🙏. 🤒 From what I read, not only Tampines players are infected, six persons from Gamba Osaka and Frontale Kawasaki are infected as well. 🤒 Gamba reported having two players and two accompanied staff down with the virus, while Frontale non-playing staff were infected, according to Sohu, a China news portal. 🤦🏻‍♂️Although, it is regrettable to come across some nonsensical comments targeted at those infected Tampines players which clearly shown the lack of empathy towards anyone who is...

We may not see the return of the International Champions Cup Singapore (ICCSG) tournament due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic but it is worthwhile to look back on some happenings that took place in the past when foreign teams came to our shores to play a few friendly matches. The arrival of those marquee names in the world football to this dot of the globe in recent years has always been a crowd-puller that not only drawn local fans from their couches from Jurong to Tampines and Woodlands to Bedok by making their way down to Kallang, the ICCSG, as it is commonly known as, has also been a lure for the regional supporters of those European clubs as well like how the Indonesian fans of Inter made their presence felt in their match against Chelsea in the 2017 edition. Advertisement for Anchor Soccer Festival' 74 ( NLB archive ) The trend of such visits by these foreign sides did not start during the 1970s when there were tournaments like the Anchor Soccer Festival in 1974 (so...

Singapore Cup Final - Tampines Rovers 4-3 Warriors FC 021119 Tampines' players in jubilant mood Tampines Rovers claimed their fourth in history and first Singapore Cup win since 2006 after defeated Warriors Football Club 4-3 in nail-biting final at the Jalan Besar Stadium. The two last met in the final of the same competition in 2012 and saw Warriors (then known as SAFFC) walked away with the Cup on a 2-1 scoreline. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE REST OF THE MATCH PICTURES AFC Cup - Tampines Rovers 2-1 PSM Makassar 120220 Stags celebrate after another Boris Kopitovic's strike Tampines Rovers Football Club kept Singapore football's flag flying proudly after beating PSM Makassar 2-1 in their AFC Cup Group H opener at JBS last night (12/2). Goals from Jordan Webb and Boris Kopitovic were enough to seal the win for the Stags in front of 1266 fans. Ferdinand Alfred Sinaga reduced the deficit for the guests in the 67th minute after Kopitovic's low driver t...

Friendly - Balestier Khalsa 5-1 Admiralty CSC 120119 Pre-season friendlies are usually staged on afternoon Balestier Khalsa beat Admiralty CSC 5-1 at the Toa Payoh Stadium, this match was the first of the three scheduled by the Tigers, as published on their social media platforms. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REST OF THE MATCH PICTURES AIA Community Shield - ANS 0-0 HUFC (HU win on PK) 230219 HU's Abdil Qaiyyim clears the danger in the box Home United claimed the first major honour of local football by winning the AIA Community Shield on penalties and broke the domination of Albirex Niigata (Singapore) for the last three years. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REST OF THE MATCH PICTURES SGPL - Hougang Utd 1-5 Tampines Rovers 030319 Something tussling at the edge of the box Honestly, not a result that most were looking forward to especially how Hougang United was hyped up before the start of the season with some notable signings to change their fortune in ...

Lions Training Session 040918 Khairul Amri putting in the pace The Singapore National Team get together at Geylang Field to gear themselves for the upcoming friendly games against Mauritius and Fiji on 7th and 11th September respectively. PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR REST OF THE PICTURES Friendly: Singapore 2-0 Fiji 110918 Shahril Ishak (17) met with some Fijian resistance Singapore National Team won their first match under national interim coach Fandi Ahmad with a 2-0 win over Fiji at the Bishan Stadium. Prior to this match, the Lions drew one-all with Mauritius on the same ground. PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR THE REST OF THE MATCH PICTURES

Those who bought the tickets for the international friendly match between Singapore and Argentina on the 13th of June for one reason will have my empathy. After all, how often do Singaporeans have a chance to see players like Lionel Messi , etc. in live action, when many wanted to see the multi-time FIFA Ballon d'Or recipient showcase his wizardry on the lush Kallang pitch? The message is clear ... Therefore, there were signs of anxiety among some ticket-holders when media reports revealed the Barcelona superstar might not be featured in the game to mark the 125th anniversary of the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) due to his wedding preparation . That fear was confirmed when the organizers sent out a late statement  last Saturday evening to black and white about the absence of Juventus star Gonzalo Higuain, Manchester City defender Nicolas Otamendi and Messi following days of speculation on the social media platforms. Unsurprisingly, many fans felt shortchange...

(This entry is formulated by the media release issued by Full Circle PR , the PR agency for the "Battle Of Europe 2016") (L-R) Karl-Heinz Riedle and Darren Anderton Leading up to the highly-anticipated showdown of one of the greatest footballing rivalries will see England Masters take on their German counterparts – a match that is set to bring fans back down to the memory lane with arrays of stars from yesteryears ready to thrill them this coming November at Kallang. As part of the building up to the match - Battle Of Europe , which is to be played on the 12th of November at the National Stadium, former German international Karl-Heinz Riedle alongside ex-England and Tottenham Hotspur star Darren Anderton made their appearance at the media conference held this afternoon at Singapore Marriott Tang Plaza Hotel, the event official hotel. (L-R) Steve Black having a chat with Riedle In his opening speech, Steven Black, the CEO of Masters Football Asia (the ...

Despite going down in the two matches they play against their much illustrious opponents, many people which included the likes of Stoke City's manager Mark Hughes and his Arsenal counterpart Arsene Wenger , lauded the performance of the Singapore Selection in the just concluded Barclays Asia Trophy. Two players in the picture above - Zaiful Nizam (second from left) and Shahdan Sulaiman (middle) are the two of those worth mentioning for the efforts shown by the hosting side during the tournament that drawn a record crowds of 81,974 to this event since its inception back in 2003. Just last November on the same ground saw a horrific injury sustained by Shahdan during the Suzuki Cup that saw him out of action until his return, merely weeks ago with Lions XII in the ongoing MSL campaign. Also during that period, Zaiful with his wife were spotted among the crowds watching the Lions in action then against the eventual winners, Thailand. Zaiful - "A Dream came True at ...

BAT2015 pre-match presser Everything is ready to get set for the seventh edition of the Barclays Asia Trophy - the gala event that will see three Barclays Premier League teams - Arsenal, Everton and Stoke City to feature alongside a Singapore Selection that comprises of mainly the Singapore national players with a few S.League imports over the next few days. In a pre-match press conference that was filled with media from all over, each team was represented by their team manager (coach) and their captain for get-together at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Scotts Road. Everton's manger Martinez and skipper Jagielka The humid climate is singled out as one of the main concerns shared by Everton manager Roberto Martinez while taking questions from the floor that surrounded the recent transfer market, expectations of the Toffees for their upcoming domestic season which skipper and England international Phil Jagielka hopes to finish at "any position that will qualify them for E...

(L-R) Ian Wright, Mamady Sidibe and Graham Stuart Into its seventh edition, the Barclays Asia Trophy will be heading its way to Singapore this coming July. This pre-season friendly tournament takes place every two years and is the only Premier League-affiliated competition to be held outside England, the past editions saw the tournament in cities like Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Beijing and Hong Kong (who hosted the event thrice in 2007,2011 and 2013). Past tournaments saw the likes of newly-crowned Premier League champions Chelsea, Newcastle United, Liverpool, Manchester City took on local sides like Kitchee (in 2011) and South China (2013) in Hong Kong, while facing Malaysia national team in 2003 and Thailand U23 national squad in 2005 at Bangkok. (L-R): John Dykes, Richard Masters and Zainudin Nordin Everton will be making their second appearance in this tournament after they were last featured in the 2005 edition in Bangkok. Joining them in this 2015 edition will be Arse...

Shaky Moments in Guam's six-yard box With last evening's result, I could not help but recall this article written years ago that suggested Singapore should group themselves with Oceania nations in any bid to lift themselves from the doldrums we are facing. However, with the outcome against a side, who were once thrashed 21-0 by North Korea in 2005, the suggestion made in that article is now seen as a tall order for Singapore football to get back on their feet anytime soon. Despite facing a barrage of criticism after strings of poor results, national coach Bernd Stange is still able to put something out of his book of excuses to brace the music after salvaging a 2-2 draw against Guam at the Jalan Besar Stadium. Shane Malcolm's (23) deeds led to the  first goal   Whether those words were convincing, the German coach pressed ahead with them during the assessment after the match. Said the 67-year-old: "After the two-nil loss to Thailand , we find it hard t...