BoLASEPaKO.COM - A Blog on Singapore Football

(The content of this post is based on the media release announcing the official launch of the Singapore Youth League (SYL), and all the images featured in this blog post are credited to the Football Association of Singapore (FAS).) Co-organised by the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) and Sport Singapore (SportSG) , the highly anticipated Singapore Youth League (SYL) is set to kick off on the 24th of February following its official launch Tuesday evening (6/2) at the National Stadium. STRUCTURE OF THE SYL The SYL, an initiative under the Unleash the Roar! (UTR!) national football project is the country’s first-ever nationwide elite youth football competition and is set to feature over 200 registered teams from 52 clubs and academies across various age groups. Singapore Youth League (SYL) was officially launched on the 6th of February Cater to six age groups (Under-8, Under-10, Under-12, Under-13, Under-15, and Under-17) and open to both boys and girls, the matches will be play...

Singapore is a vibrant city that pulsates with life, a city where heritage and modernity intertwine seamlessly. Amidst its bustling streets and skyscrapers, the importance of open spaces for children's games, particularly in the realm of football, plays a pivotal role in shaping not only individual development but also fostering community cohesion and harmony. The eight (8) points in the following paragraphs will illustrate why playing in open spaces like void decks is important to a child's development. Kids playing football in an open space (AI-generated image) 1. SINGAPORE FOOTBALL: PRESERVING HERITAGE THROUGH PLAY Football in Singapore isn't merely a sport; it's a part of the nation's soul. From the nostalgic kampung days to modern pitches, football holds a special place in our hearts. It is a sport that unites generations, preserving our cultural heritage through the passion and spirit it ignites. 2. CHILDREN'S GAMES: CULTIVATING SKILLS BEYOND PLAY The beau...

Why are we repeating? I have to be brutally honest on this - I really see no point in coming up with this year's "Annual Review" when most of the stuff that I going to talk about are mere repetitions all along. YOUNG LIONS Seems like much of what happened in the past twelve months stayed largely status quo with the Young Lions remaining bottom at the Singapore Premier League (SPL) table for another year. To make things worse when the bulk of the Young Lions that formed the SEA (South East Asian) Games squad got hammered 7-0 by arch-rivals Malaysia  (highlights below from Mediacorp Youtube channel ), it triggered a massive public outrage on how things went bad to worse. The above-mentioned coupled with that disastrous AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup outing months earlier did little help but more damage to the beleaguered sport which used to be a focal point of the nation in the long-gone past. CONVENIENCE SOURCE FOR MEME Instead, local football relegated itself to be a sour...

It definitely falls short of what I expected in the first place when I turned up at the much-anticipated townhall session organised by Unleash The Roar! (UTR!). As the name already suggested, I would expect a "townhall" setting at Suntec City where a Q&A session between a group of selected panelists and the floor would take place after being updated on the progress of the various UTR! initiatives. Some of the UTR! Townhall participants  After all, it was labelled as "football conversation" which I thought many questions were ready to throw up in this "townhall" session following the recent SEA Games debacle that had everyone talking all day long on social media. ATTENDEES IN SMALL GROUP DISCUSSIONS However, this was not the case when each attendee was allocated to a table where he/she was encouraged to share his/her opinions with the other attendees at the same table which resembled a small group discussion. A note taker from the organisers was ass...

Invitation to UTR! Townhall at Suntec (credit: UTR! FB ) To begin with, we have to admit that "Singapore football is in a state of stagnation" as a way to acknowledge and have a consensus on the problem that will allow us to start from a common ground. I believe one of the keys lies in making those in attendance for t he upcoming Unleash The Roar! Townhall session to feel at ease at the venue, enabling them to contribute constructively to the cause, as some individuals may feel nervous and hesitant to speak up openly, unlike when they are typing on a keyboard. MODERATING - A KEY FACTOR IN TOWNHALL This is why I think both the moderator in the townhall, if any, and the agenda of the day play a crucial role during the whole event. Some fans suggested the scheduling of the townhall session on a Thursday (25/5) night at Suntec City can be a challenging one, as compared to having it on a weekend.  Additionally, part of the proceedings included updating the floor on the progress ...

The recent statements by both Eric Chua and Philippe Aw on the current state of local football is a sign which I sincerely hope we are on the right path. Right after Singapore U22's recent Merlion Cup campaign that saw them finish last in the quadrangular, the multi-tasking Coach Aw, who is concurrently the Young Lions head coach in the Singapore Premier League (SPL) and assistant technical director of the Football Association of Singapore (FAS), admitted the arduous task ahead as he and his boys are preparing for the upcoming SEA Games. “It is no secret we have been struggling in age-group competitions for some time now as other countries have improved. The SEA Games will not be a simple assignment and we have to be realistic and manage expectations.” said Aw, as quoted by The Straits Times (ST), after the Cubs' 2-1 defeat to their Cambodian counterparts at the Jalan Besar Stadium. NOT TO MAKE INSTANT NOODLES BUT DOUBLE-BOILED TONIC SOUP: CHUA In the meantime, in an extensive...

(The content and images depicted in this entry were made available by the media release issued by the organizers) The SFA Fiesta at National Stadium (picture as credited) Football made its way back to the National Stadium this morning (28/1) after a hiatus when about 200 student-athletes from the School Football Academy (SFA) programme under the Unleash The Roar! national football project, which is run in 12 schools, experienced the thrill of playing on the pitch of the cornerstone of the Singapore Sports Hub in the SFA Fiesta . The abovementioned tournament is an inter-SFA 8v8 tournament which also saw participation from girl footballers from Methodist Girls’ School and Woodlands Secondary School who are new additions to the SFA programme in 2023. "GOOD EXPOSURE"  "It’s good exposure for us because it’s our first time playing at the National Stadium and it’s been a great experience; we had a lot of fun." said Khairufatin Binte Suyasri in the press statement issu...

With the privatisation of the Singapore Premier League (SPL) on the card: - 1) NO PROMOTION/RELEGATION? Would it mean the plan to see promotion/relegation between SPL and the Singapore Football League (SFL) will never take place, as many hope for ?   SPL be more competitive with the privatisation? Since the SPL, as understood by Straits Times, will be under the purview of Unleash The Roar! (UTR) project instead. Unless there are some arrangements to work out with UTR, SFL will remain exclusively a competition under the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) who will no longer be running the SPL. 2) ASSESSMENT OF CLUBS FOR PRIVATISATION? Like any new management taking over, will there be an inventory check or audit process to assess the health of each SPL club to see if they are going to meet the criteria set by the new management body if any? The late N Ganesan made many brave decisions to improve things in the 1970s Sometimes, plugs need to be pulled off the lifeline to avoid...

(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 LCS) The highly anticipated Lion City Sailors (LCS) Training Centre was officially declared opened last evening (28/7) by Mr Edwin Tong, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth and Second Minister for Law, and LCS chairman Mr Forrest Li. SAILORS ' COMMITMENT TO SINGAPORE FOOTBALL Located at 8 Mattar Road, this 28,000-square metres integrated football training facility is first-of-its-kind in Singapore. Some of the facilities in the centre included physiotherapy rooms, a gym, an analysis room as well as study facilities for academy trainees alongside five top-of-the-line football fields. LCS' $10 million facility at Mattar Road The training centre will the new home of the Sailors' first team, Under-21 side, academy trainees as well as its women’s team. "The training centre is the most tangible manifestation of the Sailors’ com...

(The content and  images depicted in this entry were made available by the media release issued by the organizers) As part of the action plan to cement the commitments that were spelt out months ago in the ambitious blueprint to lift Singapore football out of the doldrums, the audience at the Jurongville Secondary School witnessed the launch of the School Football Academy (SFA) programme under the Unleash The Roar! (UTR!) project last Saturday (23rd July). Mr Edwin Tong (extreme right) and Mr Eric Chua (extreme left) Graced by the presence of Mr Edwin Tong, the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, the event also saw the unveiling of the logos of both SFA and UTR!. Being one of the key pillars of the UTR! project, the SFA initiative was first announced last November following a partnership with the Spanish top-tier league LaLiga. TRAINING FREQUENCIES TO INCREASE Among the key features of the programme are increased training frequencies – up to four times a week from the averag...

The name is fixed? (created using meme generator ) After months of anticipation, we are given some updates on the Unleash The Roar! (UTR!) project days ago. When I first read about it, my main concern would be the sustainability of those ten School Football Academies (SFAs) schools (ie: resources like financial, manpower, etc.) which are the cornerstones of the update. Are we getting full support from the Ministry of Education (MOE) on the setting up of these SFA schools? Let's hope so, especially it seems to me past blueprints like "Goal 2010" did not have the backing of the educators. Besides MOE who must wholeheartedly support the "SFA" concept, I think to convince the parents of this UTR! is a viable project is equally important too. Parentage support is important to UTR! While it seems that the UTR! received a booster with Borussia Dortmund (BvB) and LaLiga coming on board as strategic partners , there are concerns of the roles to be played by them wh...

This article is contributed by Mr Stanley Ho who is sharing his opinions on the recently announced "UNLEASH THE ROAR!" initiative by both SportSG and Football Association of Singapore. Disillusioned local football fans must be convinced this is not yet another paper exercise IF COMMENTS on social media pages are anything to go by, a plan that was drafted to unite the nation through football has divided it. On the one hand is a relatively small group of proponents who embraced the lofty blueprint with cautious optimism. And these are made up largely of people who are involved in some way in the local football ecosystem. "Unleash The Roar!" was unveiled last week (credit: FAS) On the other is the majority of your ordinary citizens who greeted the mere mention of 2034 World Cup with ridicule. Many of these people just couldn’t care less, especially when there are more pressing needs to be met amid a pandemic. But, among the non-believers is a particular group that int...

I was wondering if the turmoil at Warriors Football Club did not surface, would the attention be dominated by the injury-time appearance of that Fulham FC youngster by the name of Ben Davis in the Carabao Cup or the "Goal 2034" topic? A poll was conducted to ask which was the talking poll on Facebook The Thai-born Davis caused quite a stir a few months ago for defaulting his National Service (NS) obligations in his pursuit of a professional football career in England. Whereas the troubles at one of the most successful clubs in Singapore football history saw the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) take an unprecedented step to direct Warriors FC to remove Paul Poh from his role as the club's general manager and honorary secretary following several lapses of discrepancies. While the two incidents may not be linked directly, it is not hard to realize the coincidence of having the military background in both occurrences. MILITARY BACKGROUND For ...