BoLASEPaKO.COM - A Blog on Singapore Football

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 ...

Snapped this before I was ushered back to the main stand No one, except for Sembawang Rangers fans, knows why it was called the "Ibrahim Corner" at this part of Yishun Stadium, where I took my place here prior to the start of the S.League match between Harimua Muda and Albirex Niigata (Singapore) back in March 2012. But one thing is for sure, for many Stallions faithful in the past, this stand facing the main stand of the stadium holds many memories for them. This was the place where local football used to have some of its most passionate supporters congregated during the Stallions' home games in yesteryears until the club decided to pull out in 2003 because of financial difficulties. One of the things I remembered of these Sembawang supporters was in 2005 when they turned up in numbers at Ibrahim Corner to show their support to former Sembawang Rangers coach Vorawan Chitavanich, who was in charge of Tampines Rovers, at a league game against the Young Lions at this sta...

In a poll conducted on this platform's IG Story months ago, I asked if anyone is aware there was once an organization representing the players. The outcome of the result revealed a majority are not aware of this when there was once an organization meant for this purpose. Rahim Omar (pictured, as credited) It was during one of those random searches online for materials, it came to my attention of a meeting that gathered a group of disgruntled footballers in the early 1960s that piqued my interest to learn more about this short-lived organization. On 15th August 1962, a pro-tem committee was formed with renowned footballer Rahim Omar named as chairman of this committee. According to The Straits Times report that was published on the following day, the main objective of the group was to "seek better treatment for the players, who had in the past been duped by false promises". Among those who attended the inaugural meeting were Quah Kim Beng, Umar Rahmat, Ivan Vass, etc. wi...

To sum up, what went wrong in Saudi Arabia for the Singapore National Team is pretty straightforward when the writings were already on the wall prior to the resumption of the campaign. Before the halt of the FIFA World Cup/AFC Asian Cup joint qualifiers almost two years ago due to the COVID-19 pandemic, everything was rosy for the perennial underachieving Lions. Coach Tatsuma Yoshida's (filed) honeymoon period is over  Under Japanese coach Tatsuma Yoshida, the four-time Asean champions found a new lease of life by chalked up two wins, one draw, and two defeats in Group D of the joint qualifiers - a performance that was lauded by many in a group that included regional heavyweights like Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan. Unfortunately, unforeseen circumstances saw the Lions and the rest of the region endured a lengthy international break since the postponement of the qualifying matches last August was announced by both FIFA and AFC, that positive momentum enjoyed by the Singaporeans had t...

Following up on the update by this platform weeks ago that reported Balestier Khalsa will play their 2021 Singapore Premier League (SGPL) home fixtures at the Toa Payoh Stadium after the field at Bishan Stadium, where the Tigers ground share with Lion City Sailors (previously known as Home United) since 2019, is closed for returfing. Toa Payoh Stadium (file picture) Works, apparently, are underway to see the field at the Toa Payoh Stadium getting ready for the upcoming SGPL season which is speculated to kick off at the end of February. In a social media post seen by this platform, officials from the Football Association of Singapore, Sport SG, etc. came together to ensure the natural grass surface of the Toa Payoh Stadium meets the requirements of the only professional sporting competition of the republic. NOT A PERPETUAL MOVE BACK HOME FOR TIGERS However, it is understood that Balestier's shifting back to the aged arena at Toa Payoh Lorong Six is not a perpetual one, even though ...

Bishan Stadium is under the re-turfing process This is the current condition of the field of Bishan Stadium, the designated "home" ground of two Singapore Premier League (SGPL) clubs - Lion City Sailors and Balestier Khalsa, as seen from the nearby Bishan Sports Hall days ago. It was learned that such re-turfing of the natural grass surface would take approximately five to six months to complete and the process began late last year. NEW SEASON K.O. IN LATE FEB One recent Straits Times article suggested the Community Shield, the annual pre-season opener for the SGPL, will be staged on 20th February. If it is what the mentioned broadsheet suggested, the 2021 SGPL season is likely to kick off on the following weekend based on past scheduling of fixtures. However, given the present condition of the Bishan surface, it is understood Balestier Khalsa will play their home fixtures at Toa Payoh Stadium while LCS will be ground sharing the newly-refurbished Jalan Besar Stadium (JBS) w...

Called it an obsession or mere British influence when it is not uncommon in this part of the world to name a football club as whatsoever "United". Just look around the region, you already have Buriram United, Bangkok United, and Muangthong United in Thailand where national custodian Hassan Sunny used to play for the dissolved Army United . Down south in Malaysia, there is a team rebranded as Kuala Lumpur United which is formerly known as Kuala Lumpur FA - the team that once boasted the likes of the Singapore triumvirate of Fandi Ahmad, Malek Awab, and K Kanan in their 1980s heydays. BRITISH INFLUENCE RESULTED IN "UNITED" EVERYWHERE? On the other end of the Causeway in Singapore, names like Farrer Park United and Toa Payoh United were some of those listed in the then-newly formed National Football League (NFL) in the mid-1970s. Moving into the mid-1990s, these were the names to mark the start of the professional era like Geylang United (which later changed to G...

Was not thinking of penning this annual review since it was a shortened season due to the ongoing pandemic. Nonetheless, I decided to come up with a short piece, to sum up my thoughts on the extraordinary year that not only affected local football but also our daily life as well. First of all, congratulations to Albirex Niigata (Singapore) for regaining the Singapore Premier League (SGPL) title which they last won in 2018 as part of their clean sweep of local major honours. A PACKED 2021 CALENDAR - A HEADACHE FOR FAS AND CLUBS The ongoing Covid19 pandemic resulted in a number of competitions, both regional and domestic, being postponed or canceled thus it is likely to see a packed footballing calendar next year. Not only will we see Tampines Rovers, Lion City Sailors, and Geylang International taking part in continental tournaments like the AFC Champions League and the AFC Cup, but the AFF Suzuki Cup is also scheduled to return next year  (though in December 2021 at the latest...

SGPL - Geylang Int'l 2-3 Balestier Khalsa 241020 Shuhei Hoshino (9) raised at the near post in this aerial attempt. Balestier Khalsa Football Club maintained their winning form while Geylang International FC continued their losing streak since the resumption of AIA Singapore Premier League after Tigers walked away with a 3-2 win at Our Tampines Hub earlier of the day. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REST OF THE MATCH PICTURES SGPL - Tanjong Pagar Utd 0-0 Hougang United 011120 HGFC's Lionel Tan found himself being sandwiched  Both Tanjong Pagar United and Hougang United concluded their AIA Singapore Premier League fixture on a scoreless ending on 1st November at the Jurong East Stadium. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REST OF THE MATCH PICTURES SGPL - Lion City Sailors 6-1 Tanjong Pagar United 131120 LCS' Shahdan Sulaiman made sure he won this header Lion City Sailors maintained their fiery form by scoring another big margin win when they anchored Tanjong Pagar United 6-1 a...

Recently, saw a few postings on social media reminiscing SAFFC's last Singapore Cup win in year 2012. While this may not be the last major honour clinched by the most successful club in Singapore professional football history (the club, renamed as Warriors FC in 2013 , captured their last S.League title in season 2014), it signified the end of a successful era led by the then head coach Richard Bok . I shall not list down what Coach Bok had achieved when he took over the head coaching role of the Warriors in 2006, as this is not the theme of this post. The fall guy from the top - Warriors FC  The theme of this post is to ask the same old question to any of those "sit out" clubs after they made known their intention to return to the fold - "ARE YOU SURE OR NOT?" This came after the Warriors started off by stated their intention to make their way back to the Singapore Premier League (SGPL) in 2021 after being asked to sit out this season to sort out their financi...

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...

(This entry is formulated based on the media release issued by Lion City Sailors Football Club, all media materials used in this post belong to LCSFC, unless stated) Lion City Sailors Football Club (LCSFC) has announced the latest step in its commitment to enhancing Singapore’s football ecosystem, with the launch of a S$1 million scholarship programme - Elite Development Programme (EDP) , designed to nurture the careers of the country’s most talented young footballers in a media statement issued by the only privately-owned club of the Singapore Premier League (SGPL). Grooming the next generation of footballers is one of the aims of EDP KEY FEATURES OF EDP ● The S$1 million four-year EDP is the centrepiece of the LCS Football Academy, the club’s new hub for youth football development, and aims to give Singapore’s top young talent a pathway to fulfil their potential. ● LCS Football Academy will be helmed by Academy Technical Director Luka Lalic, who joins from renow...