BoLASEPaKO.com - A Blog on Singapore Football

The new Merlion Cup trophy was unveiled by the members of the FAS Council It was a mere formality earlier this afternoon at the Jalan Besar Stadium (JBS) to confirm the revival of the Merlion Cup tournament this coming June following news of its coming back being revealed by Fox Sports Asia weeks ago. Back in late April, the online portal first reported the Philippines U22 side will be taking part in the mentioned tournament and posted another update days ago that revealed the dates and venue of the quadrangular which will be taking place on 7th and 9th June at the JBS. Former Lions skipper Terry Pathmanathan (second from left) shares his Merlion Cup experiences In a draw that was conducted during the press conference at JBS VIP Lounge, the fate of the four participating teams namely - the U22 sides of Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines were made known. THE FORMAT The first day (7th June) of the tournament will see Thailand vs Indonesia in the first match

Playing on an artificial surface  ... provides for more optimal deployment of resources” and “also frees up the other stadiums to be adapted for greater community use These words replied by the stadium landlord Sport Singapore (except for Our Tampines Hub which is owned by People’s Association) to the queries from The Straits Times, as quoted in an article by The Monitor , on the day the news broke out should be enough to explain the reasons behind the ground sharing decision which caused a ruckus in the scene of late. NOT SORRY AT ALL ... The fact is when those "evacuated" clubs, while at their allocated grounds, aren't doing enough to pack the stands at their home games (let's face it), there is no case for them to argue when the authority wants their stadiums to be more prioritised for community use. After all, the idea of ground sharing is not new when it was already mooted years ago  before the materialising of it next season. However, the issue we s

Michel Sablon will leave FAS on 31st December 2018 Honestly, whether Michel Sablon's blueprint devised for the local football will work? Only time will tell and it is too quick to pass any judgment when the seeds were just sown after the land had just cleared for recultivation. While many fans seems to judge the Belgian's performance based on the less glamorous results achieved by various national teams in recent years, let us not forget the job scope of that of the technical director and the coach are two entirely different scopes. One is to formulate and layout the technical aspects of the game development, the other is to coach and achieve results on the field. Sablon gave a presentation on his blueprint Said local football observer Gary Koh: "We can only see in a few years whether Michel Sablon is a slight improvement (as compared to his predecessor Slobodan Pavkovic ) or otherwise. "But definitely never at the level of what he was p

AFC Cup - Home United 2-0 Ceres–Negros FC 080818 Shahrin Saberin (18) skipped across a Ceres player in this move Home United Football Club beat Ceres-Negros FC 2-0 in the second-leg of the AFC Cup Asean Zonal Final and qualified for the next stage of the tournament on a 3-1 aggregate. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REST OF THE MATCH PICTURES AFC Cup - Home United 0-2 "4.25" SC 210818 HUFC's Song Ui-young (8) tussling with Pak Jin-myong of 4.25 It was a different ball game when Home United Football Club progressed to the inter-zonal stages of the AFC Cup tournament. The Protectors lost 2-0 in the first-leg of the series against 4.25 SC from DPRK. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REST OF THE MATCH PICTURES

SGPL - Home Utd 1-0 Hougang Utd 010718 I think panic button should be pressed by now With this Great Eastern-Hyundai Singapore Premier League fixture between Home United Football Club and Hougang United Football Club (HGFC) together with the one I saw a day earlier, I would say if we are to depend entirely on this league as our main source for the team playing in the AFF Suzuki Cup, the panic button should be pressed by now. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REST OF THE MATCH PICTURES Friendly - Ex Internationals vs SCRC 180718 Former Lions skipper Razali Saad (left) in action This friendly match between Ex International Legends and SCRC from SMRT was played at the Jalan Besar Stadium. The former is preparing for the upcoming The Sultan of Selangor's Cup in late August while the latter is gearing up for the GSFL season. Additional photos from Mr Yusof Ibrahim. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REST OF THE MATCH PICTURES ICCSG2018 - Atlético Madrid 1-1 Arsenal (AM

(P.S: If you access this site via "come.to/matchpix", please click the "Facebook" icon after you click "HERE" when you want to view the album as that will redirect you to the album, thank you) ABL - Slingers vs Alab Pilipinas 070118 Alab's Renaldo Balkman (34) met with some Slingers' resistance The first basketball compilation of the year saw Singapore Slingers lost 80-89 (after OT) to Alab Pilipinas at the OCBC Arena in this exciting ASEAN Basketball League fixture. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REST OF THE MATCH PICTURES ABL - Slingers vs Mono Vampire 190118 Mono's Samuel Deguara (orange top) tried to force his way past Slingers' Chris Charles Singapore Slingers' mini renaissance of late in their ongoing ASEAN Basketball League campaign came to an abruptly end with a 88-91 defeat to Mono Vampire Basketball Club at the OCBC Arena of Singapore Sports Hub. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REST OF THE MATCH PICTURES

Apparently, the panel, which was led by Football Association of Singapore (FAS) president Lim Kia Tong, painstakingly tried to convince the media the rationale of implementation of the controversial "age quota" in the upcoming season of the local professional league that had generated much buzz of late in the fraternity. (L-R) VP Teo Hock Seng, AGS Yazeen Buhari, P Lim Kia Tong, Dy P Bernand Tan, VP S Thavaneson In an announcement made at the press conference held at the Jalan Besar Stadium earlier, the rules pertaining the aforementioned quota requires "All local clubs will have to register a minimum squad of 19 players and a maximum of 25. Of this, in a squad of between 19-22 players, six of their players have to be Under-23, and eight have to be Under-30. Clubs are open to register any players to fill the remaining slots, which may include a maximum of two foreign players." LONG TERM PLANNING IS THE KEY ... In a press release issued shortly after the eve

(P.S: If you access this site via "come.to/matchpix", please click the "Facebook" icon after you click "HERE" when you want to view the album as that will redirect you to the album, thank you) S.League - Albirex Niigata (S) 5-1 Warriors FC 031117 Entangled in the air Albirex Niigata FC Singapore retained the Great Eastern-Hyundai S.League title with a convincing performance thrashing one-time giants of local football - Warriors Football Club 5-1 at the JBS. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REST OF THE MATCH PICTURES Friendly - Singapore 0-1 Lebanon 091117 Eye wide open for Danny I was with Arthur, one of the ball boys, and a minder at my usual spot at the ground to see another defeat succumbed by our national team. It is not a good thing to happen when we seems to forget how to win a game let alone to have a feel of it. With just a game away, the team need to find the right formula to buckle the trend to avoid the embarrassment. PLEA

Best view in the house at Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium Being an avid baseball fan too, I headed to Taiwan, a popular tourist destination for many Singaporeans, to catch my favourite baseball team - Chinatrust Brothers (CT Bros, 中信兄弟) in action for the past six years. It was something I never expected in my recent trip when I was offered an opportunity to join my Taiwanese friends in a hospitality event hosted by CT Bros at one of their home games in Taichung weeks ago. EXCLUSIVELY FOR THE FANS... From what I gathered, the hospitality event is exclusively for fans (and their guests) who are members of the team's official fan club. Besides quality buffets being served to those who were present at the event, the organizers also arranged interactive sessions for the fans with one player from the roster and two members from the team's official cheerleading group before the game. CT Bros' infielder Hsu Chi-hung (with mic) addressed the fans Two mem

Hassan Sunny looked helpless as he saw the ball rolled in the goal It should be a game Singapore could have wrapped it up convincingly, if only they had been consistent till the final whistle that eventually had them shared the spoils with Turkmenistan in AFC Asian Cup Group E qualification match played last evening at the Jalan Besar Stadium. Buoyed by the new lease of life following the recent draw against Hong Kong on the same surface that saw a much adventurous Singapore side departed themselves from the usual pragmatic defensive game, the fans were hopeful to see a repeat of the same display that could place the Lions' fast fading continental dream back to the pedestal. The crowd of 3,127 were not disappointed when the home team took onto the field by initiated a few attacking moves to unsettle their guests from Central Asia at the early part of the game. Khairul Amri (19) lasted only 36 minutes of action But such an adventurous performance failed to yield any di

(P.S: If you access this site via "come.to/matchpix", please click the "Facebook" icon after you click "HERE" when you want to view the album as that will redirect you to the album, thank you) AFC Cup Asean Zonal Final (1st-Leg) - HUFC 2-1 CNFC 020817 Home United surpassed expectations Home United Football Club enjoying a slim advantage after defeated Ceres-Negros FC 2-1 in the first leg of the AFC Cup Asean Zonal Final at the JBS. The second-leg was played on the National Day at Bacolod but the Protectors failed to make the cut. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REST OF THE MATCH PICTURES S.League - Balestier Khalsa 2-2 Warriors FC 170817 Rain-soaked surface marred the game The match was delayed due to the activation of the LWS and saw the game kick-off at 8.45pm amid continuing drizzle. It was a fair result for both Balestier Khalsa Football Club and Warriors Football Club on a wet, muddy surface. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REST OF T

(P.S: If you access this site via "come.to/matchpix", please click the "Facebook" icon after you click "HERE" when you want to view the album as that will redirect you to the album, thank you) "LA ALBICELESTE" Visit To Singapore ... June 2017 Argentina took on Lions at the National Stadium The Argentina National Team stopover in the Lion City to take on Singapore National Team to commemorate the 125th anniversary of the Football Association of Singapore. The two-time world champions did some training at the Bishan Stadium before take on the Lions and beat six-nil at the National Stadium. The occasion was, however, marred by the absence of superstar Leo Messi, etc. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REST OF THE MATCH PICTURES S.League - Albirex Niigata (S) 0-2 Home Utd 230617 Home United's Faris Ramli (left) making inroads to Albirex's heartlands Home United Football Club ended the unbeaten run of Albirex Niigata FC Sing

(P.S: If you access this site via "come.to/matchpix", please click the "Facebook" icon after you click "HERE" when you want to view the album as that will redirect you to the album, thank you) AFC Cup - Tampines Rovers 2-4 Ceres Negros FC 030517 Tampines' Yasir Hanapi (left) being shielded away from the ball One of the poorest displays I seen from a side representing Singapore on the international front. Tampines Rovers Football Club were seems clueless when they took on to the field against the Filipinos with the lack of courage and decisive instinct to make their way to the heartland of their opponents. Another woeful exit from the continent that one wouldn't feel sorry about it. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REST OF THE MATCH PICTURES  2017 Sultan of Selangor Cup - 060517 Snapped this accidental moment ... The Singapore Selection retained the Sultan of Selangor Cup by beating Selangor Selection 3-2 at the National Stad

Amri headed home the second goal in the 61st minute Hougang United did not leverage on their earlier momentum they started off from Monday when they succumbed to a two-one defeat in the hands of Tampines Rovers at the Jalan Besar Stadium last evening. The Stags, on the other hand, appeared to be the weaker side on paper following the suspension meted out to key players like skipper Madhu Mohana, Yasir Hanapi and Ismadi Mukhtar for their red card offences in the season opening Community Shield match against reigning champions Albirex Niigata (Singapore) which doubled up as a league match. Atsushi Shirota's (5) header forced a "Gordon Banks" from Izwan Mahbud  Nonetheless, it seems that Tampines were able to handle the crisis with ease that serves as a testament for the ample depth in the squad they enjoying - something Coach Jurgen Raab is happy about. Speaking to the media after the game, the former East German international said:"Having a big squad l