BoLASEPaKO.com - A Blog on Singapore Football

(This entry is formulated based on and partly extracted from the press release issued by and pictures credited to Integrated Marketing Solutions Group [IMSG] - the PR agency for Nike Singapore ) The relationship between Singapore football and Nike break new frontiers with the signing of three players from last year's Singapore YOG squad by the sporting equipment giants. Seen as part of the brand's commitment in supporting local footballing young talent, Nike had signed team captain Jeffrey Lightfoot (pictured above), striker Hanafi Akbar and midfielder Ammirul Emmran. Under the newly-inked deal, Nike will be sponsoring personal training products for these players for the next two years, according to the transcript of the media release obtained by this blog. Furthermore, specific Nike products had been identified for the triumvirate based on their positions and playing styles to enhance their game on the field. "The products that the players will get to wear are the same

National team manager Eugene Loo (pictured above, third from the right) in his opening address to the experience sharing session between the Lions and the YOG Cubs. Three YOG cubs - Ammirul Emmran, Dhukhilan Jeevamani and skipper Jeffrey Lightfoot got up close and personal with Lions stars - Aleksandar Duric, Baihakki Khaizan, Fazrul Nawaz, Ridhuan Muhamad in "BE THE NEXT" - another initiative by NIKE, the national jersey provider at the sporting giants' flagship outlet at Wisma Atria. Veteran striker Aleksandar Duric (first from left) shares his experiences with YOG team skipper Jeffrey Lightfoot (on extreme right) with Loo and defender Baihakki Khaizan look on. "Be The Next" is a campaign specifically targeted at local youth footballers, inspiring them to live their dreams and become the next great footballer of the nation. The campaign also aims to ignite a sense of national pride that encourages the youth's support for the national team to be the next ch

The Youtube Clip of the highlights of the match... It was indeed a roller-coaster ride for the group of 15 year-old boys that formed the National U15 football team that took part in the Youth Olympic Games. After two emphatic victories in the group stages over Zimbabwe and Montenegro, the expectation was at an all-time high on the "Little Cubs" to aim a shot at the elusive gold medal of the football competition. No one can blame the kind of expectation and hope, after all these boys did just enough to captivate the nation that is starved of footballing success in the recent years (yes, we were that close to knock the doors to Doha and only after a successful appeal that the Cubs are granted the ticket to Asian Games in November) . So how could we expect that every hope was crashed to the earth when the boys lost to the unheralded Haitian in the semi-final . As always, fingers went pointing around with players, coaches, media and fans putting the blame on each other . But at t

BEFORE So far the response have been positive on the Little Cubs' epic performance over Montenegro. It was such a long time I last heard of something said in unison about the performance of any of the national teams. Kudos again for the Little Cubs and credit to the coaching staff headed by Kadir Yahaya for the wonderful execution of the tactics on Thursday night. Of course, amid all the euphoria over these boys, it also important to like what coach Kadir said the essential "to keep the feet on the ground." (Pictured above)Headlines like this above epitomized the "feel good" feeling towards the "Little Cubs" Yet, so much hype on the YOG football team, hope the little cubs can cope with the expectation and media should balance their writeup on the little cubs without over hype the things. Hope the little cubs can play their normal game amid all hype around them, as unlike the last game they are now the favorite against Haiti. AFTER Our Little Cubs (pic

I think the title of this post should be suffice to describe the mood at the Jalan Besar Stadium just now when a near-capacity crowd of 5,850 (based on what the stadium announcer said over the PA system). (Pictured above) A shot of the crowds at the Gallery of the stadium before the kick-off Anyone who were at the ground just now, would tell you it was either their first time witnessed this kind of fiery atmosphere (some would say still existed in school games' finals) OR they would tell you it was such a long time they LAST had this kind of atmosphere in any Singapore game featuring any of the national teams, be it the senior or their juniors - the national U15 who triumphed over their much bigger-built opponents from the Balkan state of Montenegro in the YOG's Group D fixture and saw them clinched the top of their group . Twitvid of the celebrations after the victory over the Balkans (sorry for the quality as compression was necessary to load the video fast in the first pla

Whilst the S.League heads for its recess period, local football supporters will still get the opportunity to catch some live competitive football actions during the inaugural Youth Olympics Games football competition. The national U-15 team, coached by former national defender Kadir Yahaya, will kick off their quest for glory when they take on Zimbabwe on 13th August (Friday) at the Jalan Besar Stadium before facing Montenegro on the 19th on the same venue. (Picture above) The schedule of the preliminaries matches of the YOG football competition (click here for a larger view ) - courtesy of the YOG official site . Tickets are now on sale at authorized ticketing outlets (click here for the list of these outlets ) OR you may log on to the following website to purchase the tickets online at " http://www.singapore2010.sg/public/sg2010/en/en_tickets.html " To enhance your match day experience while watching the boys in action, what could not be the better way but to wave and swin