BoLASEPaKO.COM - A Blog on Singapore Football

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...

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...

Singapore coach Tsutomu Ogura   It is not uncommon to hear the chorus of disapproval from the masses after any less-than-convincing performance from the Singapore national football team . The same thing happened after the Lions concluded their friendly fixtures of late against Myanmar and Chinese Taipei at the National Stadium . Using these two fixtures as a final tuning up before the biennial showpiece, the Asean Championship , aka AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup (AFF ME Cup), Coach Tsutomu Ogura prioritised experimenting with some new tactics and formations, which resulted in a scrappy 3-2 win over the "Chinthe" before succumbing to their third defeat to the Blue Wings on the same scoreline since 2017. A SCRAPPY WIN OVER MYANMAR Understandably, the performances from these two fixtures aren't convincing enough to suggest the four-time Asean champions are ready for the bigger test. Apart from the first half against the Myanmarese, when the Lions took an early lead from F...

Lions Head Coach Tsutomu Ogura The Singapore national team wrapped up their training camp in Japan with one win and two defeats to the J1 clubs they sparred with. Apart from the 2-1 victory over Tokyo Verdy, the club where Lions coach Tsutomo Ogura worked as assistant manager prior to his appointment to the current role in early February, the four-time Asean champions succumbed to heavy losses to FC Tokyo (4-0) and Yokohama F. Marinos (7-1). PREPARING FOR THE AFF MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC CUP The motive of the camp is to gear the team up for the upcoming AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup , which is scheduled to commence on 8 December. The outcome of these friendlies should not be surprising, given the wide gulf in footballing standards between the Republic and Asia's number one. REALITY CHECK FOR THE LIONS This notion was fittingly expressed by Coach Ogura in his assessment with The Straits Times when he told the broadsheet: "Before this, they (Singapore) had a feeling of how big the g...

 WCQ - Singapore 0-7 South Korea 060624 Action in the box during the SIN-KOR WCQ match It was a bitter pill to swallow for Coach Tsutomu Ogura after witnessing the Singapore national team suffer one of their heaviest defeats in recent years after they were crushed seven-nil at Kallang in front of a crowd of 49,000. CLICK HERE TO SEE PICTURES ➤ SINGAPORE VS KOREA REPUBLIC SGPL - Lion City Sailors 7-1 Albirex Niigata (Singapore) 230624 Albirex's Amy Recha stretched to the max  Lion City Sailors remained unbeaten since the start of the campaign with this thrashing of the defending champions at their Bishan home base. On the other hand, it was an unrecognisable White Swans side that were a dominant force in local football in recent years. CLICK HERE TO SEE PICTURES ➤ LION CITY SAILORS VS ALBIREX NIIGATA (S) Lions' Sept FIFA Window Training 020924 Lions Coach Ogura (left) talking to his assistant Gavin Lee The Singapore National Team commenced their centralised training session und...

The new Singapore National Football Team Home Jersey (as credited) You must have seen the new Singapore national team jersey everywhere by now, especially since the Football Association Singapore (FAS) first unveiled it on their social media in late August . The new home jersey garnered even more attention when popular streamer iShowSpeed wore a seemingly identical version during a recent stroll around town , showcasing it to his massive subscriber base of 32 million. COLLABORATION WITH "SPEED" BEFORE LAUNCH: FAS  In response to queries from this platform, a FAS spokesperson confirmed that it was indeed the same jersey, stating, "We worked with iShowSpeed's team and our partners, Weston, to do just that - to leverage his reach to draw attention to the new kit and generate buzz ahead of Friday’s event (29/9 - the day of the official unveiling)," when asked whether there was any collaboration involving the 19-year-old internet personality wearing the jersey befo...

Following the decision to forgo friendlies against other national teams during the current FIFA window (2-10 September) , the Singapore national team has commenced their centralised training at the Kallang Football Hub (KFH) as part of their preparations for the upcoming AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup (AFF ME Cup) later this year. Cardiff City's Perry Ng speaking to the media Perry Ng get down to work immediately The training session began with the media appearance of Cardiff City defender Perry Ng and BG Tampines Rovers midfielder Kyoga Nakamura at KFH. According to the Football Association of Singapore (FAS), their inclusion in the training is part of a "familiarisation stint." STRONG DESIRE TO PLAY FOR THE LIONS For those unbeknownst, Liverpool-born Ng has long been in the spotlight due to his eligibility to play for the Lions through his late Singapore-born paternal grandfather . Meanwhile, 28-year-old Nakamura received his permanent residency approval in March . The ...

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 ...

Singapore football fans are diverse, each bringing a unique perspective to the game. Based on social media insights and unofficial and unaffiliated polls conducted on this platform's Instagram Story, we identified four key personas: David, Clara, Adam, and Ethan. Let's take a look at what sets them apart and how they contribute to the Singapore football scene. DAVID, THE TRADITIONALIST "David" enjoys the historical side of Singapore football David is a 38-year-old football fan who cherishes the history and expert commentary of the game. He prefers traditional media sources like CNA and The Straits Times. For David, these outlets provide the in-depth stories and reliable information he values. David's love for football is rooted in tradition and detailed narratives, making him a key preserver of Singapore football history. Key Insights: Prefers traditional media for reliable and detailed information Engages deeply with historical context and expert commentary Pain...

Coach Ogura must prepare to take a bold step now Little time should be wasted now since the writings are already on the wall following the announcement of the draw for the groupings of the AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup (hereafter referred to as the AFF Championship ) on 21st May. THE CHALLENGE AHEAD FOR COACH OGURA With both Lion City Sailors and BG Tampines Rovers participating in the AFC Champions League 2 (ACL 2) — the former in the group stage and the latter in the play-off round ** (see footnote) as the second-best local team — it is an opportune time for national coach Tsutoma Ogura to broaden his scouting scope. This is particularly pertinent given the scheduling overlap between the biennial regional showpiece and ACL 2 , the new second-tier continental club tournament where many key Lions players are likely to be involved. OPPORTUNITIES FOR NEW TALENTS Since the AFF Championship is a non-FIFA sanctioned tournament, clubs are under no obligation to release their players for ...

Friendly - Balestier Khalsa 4-1 Tanjong Pagar United 010224 Ignatius “Iggy” Ang of Balestier (front) tried to get past his marker I am not sure how these ongoing friendlies are going to help the new national coach Tsutomu Ogura to have a better understanding of the players available at his disposal in his preparation for the upcoming WCQ match against China when clubs are trying out some raw youngsters during these matches as well? PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REST OF THE MATCH PICTURES Lions' 1st Training Session under Coach Ogura - 110324 Coach Ogura (right) having a chat with his assistant Nazri Nasir I made a big mistake by being stubborn in my settings and took it for granted that I could fix some of the problems through editing those shots took at night at Kallang Football Hub :( PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REST OF THE PICTURES WCQ - Singapore 2-2 China 210324 A packed goal mouth in the Singapore-China match The Lions kickstarted Coach Tsutomu Ogura's reign with an emp...