BoLASEPaKO.com - A Blog on Singapore Football

To be honest, I am not sure what is the approach of most Singaporean players playing in tournaments like the AFC (Asian Football Confederation) Cup - an opportunity to gauge their worth against regional opponents at a higher competitive setting OR an extra burden to their domestic commitments that might affect their game? And to be honest again, at this stage I still have doubts that the Singapore Premier League (SGPL) is an ideal platform to allow Singaporean players to showcase their worth to the regional market given the lack of intensity and competitiveness in recent years, as compared to some Football Association of Singapore (FAS) top officials envisage for (if I'm not wrong). Home United's (red) 2018 AFC Cup run was a rare success in ongoing doldrums That is why it is important for SGPL clubs to do well in the AFC Cup or at the higher tier AFC Champions League (ACL), if given the chance to do so, when recent years' results have been poor except for Home Unit

#BrasilGlobalTour2019- Brazil 1-1 Nigeria 131019 Brazil's "Bobby" Firmino (20) prepares for a shoot against Nigeria The star-studded Brazilian national team wrapped up their whirlwind tour with another draw against another African opponents - Nigeria at the National Stadium. Joe Aribo scored for the Super Eagles in the 35th minute before Real Madrid midfielder Casemiro levelled the scoreline in the 48th minute. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REST OF THE MATCH PICTURES WCQ 2022 - Singapore 1-3 Uzbekistan 151019 Both Shawal Anuar (20) and Irfan Fandi (17) raided the Uzbeks' fortress Singapore succumbed to their second consecutive defeat following a 3-1 lost to Uzbekistan at the National Stadium. The visitors took the lead in the 15th minute through Odil Ahmedov before Ikhsan Fandi equalized at the stroke of half time to send the home fans to wild jubilation. Eldor Shomurodov's double in the second half wrapped up all three points in the bag fo

SGPL - Geylang Int'l 2-1 Tampines Rovers 140819 Tampines Rovers' Singapore Premier League title hopes suffered a setback when a late Yuki Ichikawa's header sealed the fate that saw Geylang International beat Stags 2-1 at JBS. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REST OF THE MATCH PICTURES Lions Training Session - 070919 Coach Yoshida (left) injected flair to Lions' game since took over Following the 2-2 draw against Yemen days earlier, national coach Tatsuma Yoshida put the Lions through the drills in their preparation against the Palestine on the 10/9 at the JBS. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REST OF THE PICTURES Friendly - SGP Selection 2-0 Fiji U22 060919 The Fijians' wall saw the ball glided past them This friendly match against their Fijian counterparts at Bishan Stadium saw the Singapore U22 included a number of overaged players like Raihan Rahman, Fabian Kwok and Sahil Suhaimi in their squad as part of the preparation for the upcoming S

Much attention have been generated since the announcement of the "Brazil Global Tour 2019" which will be taking place in Singapore next month. This event will feature the Brazilian national team in two friendly matches to be played at the National Stadium where the "Seleção" will play Senegal on the 10th of October before facing Nigeria three days later. It marks the second visit of the five-time World Cup champions to the republic where they last visited back in 2014 when they beat Japan 4-0 in the 55,000-capacity arena of Singapore Sports Hub (SSH). STAR-STUDDED SQUAD TO COME TO SINGAPORE The Brazilians will have the likes of PSG's Neymar Jr and Roberto Firmino who is likely to face his Liverpool team mate Sadio Mané (if he is being selected) of Senegal in the first match. The stellar cast with these stars to parade their skills on our shores had fans like Frankie Goh looking forward to the upcoming bonanza. The "Seleção" squad named

Lions Training Session 060619 Coach Yoshida briefs his players at Geylang Field Spotted two staff coaches, presumably, from Albirex Niigata (Singapore) observing the training session conducted by new national team coach Tatsuma Yoshida by taking notes of what they saw and noticed. The Lions will be playing two friendly matches at the National Stadium against Solomon Islands and Myanmar. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REST OF THE PICTURES SGPL - Geylang Int'l 5-0 Balestier Khalsa 160619 Geylang's Barry Maguire brace for an aerial ball  Geylang International crushed Balestier Khalsa 5-0 at Our Tampines Hub following the resuming of the AIA Singapore Premier League after the international week. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REST OF THE MATCH PICTURES SGPL - Geylang Int'l 2-2 Hougang Utd 050719 "Guys, I am just focusing on my shot" Thought the match was an evenly-contested one at Our Tampines Hub that ended two-two for both Geylang Intern

Probably by now the newly-appointed Singapore national team coach Tatsuma Yoshida should more or less have a rough idea where our level of football is after the two recent matches that served as an orientation for the Japanese tactician. Coach Tatsuma Yoshida is the first Japanese coach of the Lions When his name was mentioned on various media reports prior to the official unveiling by the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) early this month, many skepticisms clouded over his appointment which mainly targeted his less-than-impressive curriculum vitae. Still, the former Jurong FC player pressed ahead and went straight down to business by taking charge of the Lions in the recent friendly matches against the Solomon Islands and Myanmar at Kallang. THE USUAL BRICKBATS Barely surprising after an unconvincing 4-3 win over Solomon Islands and a 2-1 defeat to Myanmar , critics were quick to jump onto the bandwagon to make their voices heard although there are those who felt it&

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

Shroud in secrecy that at the eleventh hour, many are still unsure if the Singapore national team is ready for their first tournament of the year with no clear indication from the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) on their participation in the AIRMARINE Cup 2019. "The FAS will be making an announcement on this shortly." was the reply received by this platform after inquiries were put forward to ask several matters pertaining to the quadrangular organized by the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) who announced the tournament will feature Oman, Afghanistan (as a  replacement for the Solomon Islands ) beside Singapore and host nation Malaysia in a press release issued on 25th of February. FIGHTING FOR FIFA POINTS With the statement like this that read "The AIRMARINE Cup 2019 aims to be a tournament that delivers a competitive platform for national squads during the international break to gain the necessary exposure and ranking points to advance in the Inter

Am I glad the season is over! It must be one of the most dreadful seasons since my involvement when I breathed a sigh of relief after Albirex Niigata (Singapore) was finally awarded the trophy  that accoladed them as the inaugural champions of the revamped professional league aka Great Eastern-Hyundai Singapore Premier League (SGPL), despite the confirmation months earlier after their draw against Balestier Khalsa at Toa Payoh to close the 2018 season. Albirex Niigata (Singapore) established a dynasty in local football In an attempt to distance itself from the S.League which was associated with much of the flaws of the old regime, the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) announced the rebranding of the Republic's only professional sporting league as SGPL in a glittering setting at the Singapore Sports Hub (SSH) amid much skepticism from the ground . SUPERFICIAL CHANGES? Perhaps the only difference between the SGPL and the S.League is the change in the name and the

71st SCC Rugby 7s @ Padang - 031118 A ball boy tossing the ball before the start of a game The SCC 7s is affectionally dubbed as the ‘Friendly Sevens’ and over the decades, legends like the late Jonah Lomu, New Zealand Rugby World Cup Sevens winning captain Eric Rush, All Blacks’ Hall of Famer Tana Umaga and South Africa’s former World Player of the Year Cecil Afrika graced the Padang on their ascendency to rugby stardom. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REST OF THE MATCH PICTURES 71st SCC Rugby 7s @ Padang - 041118 "There is a card for you" The SCC 7s is affectionally dubbed as the ‘Friendly Sevens’ and over the decades, legends like the late Jonah Lomu, New Zealand Rugby World Cup Sevens winning captain Eric Rush, All Blacks’ Hall of Famer Tana Umaga and South Africa’s former World Player of the Year Cecil Afrika graced the Padang on their ascendency to rugby stardom. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REST OF THE MATCH PICTURES AFF Suzuki Cup - Singapore 6-1

Singapore Cup - Balestier Khalsa 2-2 DPMM 031018 Most of the shots like this was snapped where the lights were the brightest  Although Balestier Khalsa Football Club drew 2-2 with DPMM FC, the Tigers were knocked out of the RHB Singapore Cup after losing 4-2 on aggregate to the Bruneians. Poor lightnings at the stadium made the shooting experience an arduous task. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REST OF THE MATCH PICTURES #ThankYouFara - 071018 Fahrudin Mustafic marked the end of his glittering career at OTH Our Tampines Hub witnessed the end of a great footballing career as Tampines Rovers Football Club skipper Fahrudin Mustafic retires from professional football with a testimonial match featuring some of the luminaries in local football in his honour. Thank you very much, Fara. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REST OF THE MATCH PICTURES Friendly - S'pore Selection 0-1 Australia U19 151018 The Young Socceroos played their last warm-up at Bishan before leavi

Lions Training Session 040918 Khairul Amri putting in the pace The Singapore National Team get together at Geylang Field to gear themselves for the upcoming friendly games against Mauritius and Fiji on 7th and 11th September respectively. PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR REST OF THE PICTURES Friendly: Singapore 2-0 Fiji 110918 Shahril Ishak (17) met with some Fijian resistance Singapore National Team won their first match under national interim coach Fandi Ahmad with a 2-0 win over Fiji at the Bishan Stadium. Prior to this match, the Lions drew one-all with Mauritius on the same ground. PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR THE REST OF THE MATCH PICTURES

Nowadays, there is nothing wrong when we think of any player who doesn't perform in the modern game by labelled him being “unprofessional”. However, it was a different thing back in the old days, when the word "professional" was TABOO. Simply because players in those days were strictly amateur (as featured in the movie " Kallang Roar ") and any form of engagement with monetary reward was strictly prohibited. I was told by a former national player from that era how he was implicated when a boot manufacturer used his name without his knowledge in an advertisement that almost jeopardized his place in the national team. AFC's Teoh claimed Quah Kim Song "is a professional" in 1977 (NLB archives) Another player from that era almost saw his place in the national team gone when he was alleged to break the code of conduct as an amateur by an official of the game's continental governing body months before the South East Asia (SEA) Games.

I am wondering if was it because we played both Mauritius (FIFA ranked 155th) and Fiji (165th) in our recent friendlies that the ridiculing of our football continues by some skeptics? DIFFERENT EXPOSURE Granted the fact that both the aforementioned countries are not known for their football powress with someone even thought it was a rugby match when we took on the Fijians last evening , the two virtually unknown sides did, however, give Singapore national team some much-needed workouts in preparing for the upcoming AFF Suzuki Cup. Baihakki Khaizan (5) restraining Fijian captain Roy Krishna Instead of the "usual who" kind of opponents, I thought it was a refreshing change to see games against teams which allowed the Lions to expose to some robust kind of football aided by the opponents' much superior physical frames. It was probably this kind of exposure that made a good introduction to a different level of football between the domestic and internati