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...

The 10,000-seater stadium in TPID (credit: Playmaker SG ) The groundbreaking of the Toa Payoh Integrated Development (TPID) earlier today (5/1) at the former site of the Toa Payoh Sports Centre should bring some smiles to football fans in this country. One of the key features of the new development, which is scheduled to be completed in 2030, is a 10,000-seater stadium that should answer the prayers of those who long to see another football-centric arena besides those at Jalan Besar Stadium (JBS) and Jurong East Stadium (JE). AT LEAST THREE ATTEMPTS IN LAST 30 YEARS Based on what I gathered, there were, at least, three attempts to have such arena for that sole purpose in the last thirty-odd years. Tampines Rovers SC's blueprint in 1992 (NLB Archive) The first plan I came across was mooted by Tampines Rovers Sports Club (not to be confused with the Singapore Premier League club of the same name) in a TNP (The New Paper) article back in January 1992 . Another plan for "one...