BoLASEPaKO.COM - A Blog on Singapore Football

I can still vividly remember the day I read the shattering headline printed in the 3rd January 1993 edition of The Sunday Times (the Sunday edition of The Straits Times (ST)). I literally choked on my drink when I read this headline (as credited) Despite noting the ace winger did not have a good season in the previous year that saw Singapore relegated to the second tier of the Malaysian League, the broadsheet assessed : "If 26-year-old Hasnim (Haron) does move across the Causeway, it would be a severe blow to Singapore's hopes of a successful campaign when Division Two of the Semi-Pro League (Liga Semi-Pro Divisyen 2) kicks off in July." NOT A "PIN DROP" AT ALL The development caught the whole local football fraternity by surprise, as there had been literally no sign—not even a pin drop—to hint to anyone that the midfielder was on his way to Stadium Larkin (the home ground of Johor FA ). This was especially shocking, given that things were looking up for a reju...

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...

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...

Without much fanfare, at least in Singapore, Central Coast Mariners became the first Australian club to win the AFC Cup after defeating Al-Ahed of Lebanon. The crowning of the Gosford-based A-League side as the winners of the continent's second-tier club competition marked the end of the tournament since its inception twenty years ago in 2004. As far as the Lion City is concerned, this competition enabled teams from the island republic to compete against teams from the region. It was quite common during the tournament to see teams like SAFFC , Home United , Tampines Rovers , etc., traveling to places like the Maldives in the Indian Ocean, Hong Kong, Indonesia, etc., to face their regional opponents. Duric (left) has seen the highs and lows of Singapore's AFC Cup journey Unfortunately, many, in my humble opinion, seem to fail to appreciate what the AFC Cup has done for local clubs given the lack of fan interest and the scant coverage from the local media. Besides gaining much-n...

I am not sure how the whole phenomenon started, following the announcement of the FAS-FAM MOU in Kuala Lumpur . Seen as a mere exercise to foster better footballing ties between both countries with each side sending a team to take part in each other's domestic league as a "cornerstone" arrangement in this symbolic partnership. HUGE "PR MACHINERY" TO WHIP UP THE "GOOD OL' DAYS" The next thing we saw was a huge "PR machinery" that went ahead on the mainstream media to stir the nostalgic emotions long locked in some of the fans' hearts with a daily dosage of old pictures from "good ol' days" coupled with those "feel good" sentiments from those who endorsed the move to the so-called "rejoining the Malaysia Cup" as "positive move to save our football". One of the "pro-Malaysia Cup" views shared On the other hand, only in the cyberspace where harshest opinions can be seen from the mon...

Many motorists would be forgiven if that unassuming small stadium located next to the huge SAFRA clubhouse failed to grab their attention when they drove past it after entering Toa Payoh from the westbound Pan Island Expressway (PIE). OFTEN FORGOTTEN OBSCURITY After all, the awkward positioning of that above-mentioned brutalist arena along the busy Lorong 6 stretch does no favour to help any random visitor to have a clear visible sight of it when there is a car park in front of it. The brutalist facade of Toa Payoh Stadium Nonetheless, the 3,800-capacity Toa Payoh Stadium has a special place in local sporting folklore for being part of the then newly erected Toa Payoh Sports Complex which served as a venue for competition and training of the 1973 SEAP Games - the first major sporting event hosted by the then newly-independent Republic of Singapore. PELE VISITED TOA PAYOH STADIUM IN 1974 It was also this stadium that etched its presence in Singapore football when the legendary Pele c...

Long before Lion City Sailors established themselves as the country's first privately-owned football club, there was at one point more than thirty years ago that one football club haboured a similar ambition to transform themselves into one as well. When the news of Lion City Sailors planning to have their own stadium surfaced in November 2021, I remember reading something similar in the papers back in the 1990s when I managed to retrieve that old news report from the archives recently. BLUEPRINT OF TAMPINES ROVERS "SPORTS CLUB" It was part of the ambitious blueprint of a National Football League ( NFL, now known as Singapore Football League ) Division One club - Tampines Rovers Sports Club ( hereafter to refer as "SC" in this article that is not to be confused with the Singapore Premier League club Tampines Rovers Football Club which later in this post will explain why ), when the news was first broke out by The New Paper back in January 1992 . TNP broke the ...

The outcome of the poll  In a recent poll conducted on the platform's IG story, 89% indicated their wish to see a Singapore Premier League "All-Star" game. There were a few such games that took place during the S.League era in the form of "local" vs "foreign" setting, for example, 1998's "The New Paper Cup" and the "Tiger Beer S-League All-Star Challenge" in 1999. WHITBREAD SCORED THE WINNER IN 1998 "The New Paper Cup", which included the initiative of "Save Jurong Campaign", saw the "Rest of the World" (foreign) beat "S-League Locals" 3-2 after extra time with the winning goal scored by the then outgoing national coach Barry Whitbread, who doubled up as "Rest of the World" player-coach, at the demolished Jurong Stadium in front of more than 5,000 paying fans back in 28th November 1998. FAHMIE VOWED TO SNIP HIS PONYTAIL The following year saw the staging of the "Tiger Beer S...