BoLASEPaKO.COM - A Blog on Singapore Football

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...

 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...

 #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...

Lions Coach Tsutomu Ogura listening attentively to a question  National coach Tsutomu Ogura announced his squad of twenty-eight players during a media briefing held this afternoon (28/8) at the Jalan Besar Stadium. Notable selections by the former Japanese national assistant coach include the return of Lion City Sailors' goalkeeper Izwan Mahbud and Balestier Khalsa defender Darren Teh back to the fold with Geylang International's Zikos Chua and Ajay Robson of Hougang United earned their first call-ups to the senior squad. FIFA DATES AGAINST J1 TEAMS, JDT, AND STAGS Another noteworthy announcement made during the briefing was the scheduling of closed-door friendly matches against Singapore Premier League side BG Tampines Rovers and Malaysian giants Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT) during the September FIFA match window (2-10 September) at the Kallang Football Hub . A training tour to Japan is planned for October, during which the Lions are set to face three different J1 clubs in ...

 ACL2023 - Lion City Sailors 2-0 Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 081123 Lion City Sailors upset Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors Lion City Sailors caused an upset at home when they defeated two-time AFC Champions League winners Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors FC 2-0 at JBS. Curaçao international Richairo Zivkovic was the hero of the night for his brace (23‎'‎, 55‎') in the game. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REST OF THE MATCH PICTURES Singapore Cup Final - Lion City Sailors 3-1 Hougang United 091223 Lionel Tan (left) and Zharfan Rohaizad savour the joy Lion City Sailors secured their first Singapore Cup title by defeating last year's winners Hougang United 3-1 at the Jalan Besar Stadium. Both Lionel Tan (left) and Zharfan Rohaizad savour the moment of joy after the match. This is Lionel's back-to-back winners' medal, he won the Cup last year, ironically, with Hougang United. Scorers: Richairo Živković pen. 27’, Maxime Lestienne 42’, Shawal Anuar 81’ | Kazuma Takayama 90’+1 PLEASE CLICK HERE T...

International Friendly - Singapore 3-1 Chinese Taipei 120923 Lionel Tan (9) scored again for Singapore  Singapore ended their winless streak by beating Chinese Taipei 3-1 at the Bishan Stadium. The victory was even sweeter for the Lions, as this was their first victory over the Blue Wings after losing back-to-back in their previous meetings. Scorers: Ange Samuel Kouame 29' | Song Uiyoung 42' (P), Lionel Tan 65', Shawal Anuar 82' PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REST OF THE PICTURES SGPL - Albirex Niigata (Singapore) 5-0 Hougang United 160923 Albirex Niigata (Singapore) - SPL champions 2023  It wasn't an ideal result for Hougang United Football Club who must quickly regroup themselves from this crushing defeat by Albirex Niigata FC Singapore before they begin their AFC Cup campaign in days to come. The reigning champions were presented the Singapore Premier League trophy shortly after a show of appreciation to both Tadanari Lee and Hyrulnizam Juma'at whom both will...

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...

AFC U23 Qualifiers - Philippines 0-1 Singapore 281021 "Hey, ref! Look!" A wondering strike from outside the box by Glenn Kweh was enough to keep Singapore U22's hopes alive in the ongoing AFC U-23 Asian Cup qualifier, as the Cubs beat the Philippines 1-0 last evening(28/10).  The 21-year-old took his chance well before unleashing a piledriver with his left foot in the 51st minute to spark celebrations among the crowds at the Jalan Besar Stadium. It was Kweh's second goal of the campaign after he scored the first goal in the Cubs' opener against Timor Leste. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REST OF THE MATCH PICTURES AFC U23 Qualifiers - South Korea 5-1 Singapore 311021 Nur Adam scored the consolation against the Koreans The match against their South Korean counterparts was almost like a dead rubber for the Singapore U22 squad, after the preceding tie saw Timor-Leste beat the Philippines in the AFC U23 Asian Cup Qualifiers last evening (31/10) at the JBS. It all got...

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...

 Lions Training 010921  Coach Yoshida led by example in the Lions' training  National Coach Tatsuma Yoshida called up 22 locally-based players for a series of training sessions during the FIFA international window. The training sessions saw the newcomers in the likes of Song Ui-young of Lion City Sailors and Hougang United's Afiq Noor. The sessions also saw the return of skipper Hariss Harun alongside Faritz Hameed, Jacob Mahler and Geylang International's Amy Recha whose last call-up was back in July 2016. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REST OF THE PICTURES SGPL - Tampines Rovers 2-1 Young Lions 180921 Balancing act by Baihakki Khaizan Tampines Rovers had to work their socks off till the end to ensure they finally snapped their six-game winless streak by beating a resilient Young Lions 2-1 last evening (18/9) at Our Tampines Hub. Zehrudin Mehmedović gave the Stags the lead before half-time that was cancelled out by the spot-kick from Young Lions' skipper Jacob Mahler in...

It used to cost $5 for more than a decade Years ago, before an S.League game between SAFFC and Etoile FC at Jalan Besar Stadium, I met someone I know just outside the ground, along King George Avenue, and had this brief conversation (as below). Acquaintance: "Do you have a free ticket?" as he was aware of my involvement in the scene. Me: "Nope, I don't have it" Acquaintance: "Cannot be, last time my who worked as a photographer, always have free tickets to matches" Me: "Time changes as different people are calling the shots now." A scene like this is not uncommon, but it is already becoming an annoying problem which I attributed to the liberal policy of giving complimentary entry that led to this kind of problem. A League Cup match played at Jalan Besar Stadium Perhaps, in the first place, such goodwill was to gather more awareness by offering free admission to fans to certain games. But the dangerous part of this giveaway has developed into ...