BoLASEPaKO.COM - A Blog on Singapore Football

Michel Sablon (picture credit/ source : FAS FB) On the surface, it appeared that the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) had scored a major coup when they recruited Belgian Michel Sablon as their new Technical Director. After all, the former Belgium national assistant coach came with a huge reputation for single-handedly revitalizing the game in his native land with his blueprint that elevated them back to be among the top footballing nations that now boasted the likes of Vincent Kompany, Eden Hazard, etc. after the vacuum left behind since the days of Enzo Scifo. DON"T PIN ALL HOPES ON A "BROCHURE" Perhaps, getting Sablon based on his track record is one thing, another reason the folks at Jalan Besar are hoping is to tap on his experience like how he tackled the backwater situation in Belgian football after Euro 2000. However, it would be naive in one opinion to replicate verbatim the "Belgian model" in Singapore, given the differences, as sugg...

On the 19th of November 2013 , I wrote on the blog's Facebook Page that Doing well or winning medal of any colours in the upcoming SEA Games Football tournament in Myanmar DOESN'T MEAN our football is on the right track. In fact, the gap between SEA and rest of Asia is widening when we are witnessing the possibility of not having representation from the Asean pac in the gathering Down Under. (for the Asian Cup) The sad thing is this "prioritized grooming" that only concentrated those in National Football Academy (NFA), Young Lions, and Lions XII for the case of this group of Cubs in the recent SEA Games, actually meant that we are constraining our talent pool by neglecting those in the eligible players in S.League and Prime League. NFA pit against a club side (Everton) in the match  So much so of kept telling us "best available players will play for the national team" when only selected are enjoying the privilege of "grooming the right way"....

(P.S: If you access this site via "come.to/matchpix", please click the "Facebook" icon after you click "HERE" when you want to view the album as that will redirect you to the album, thank you) Lions' 2012 Suzuki Cup Prep... Coach Raddy (wearing white cap) put the teams to drills I didn't apply for the necessary accreditation (which I eventually did, thanks to those you know who you are) that I thought it will be good for me to turn out for some shots two days before the semis against Philippines and only have it published after we won the game. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REST OF THE SHOTS 2012 NexLions Cup 16/12/12 Luis Cortez - to be the NEXT one? It was the dark horses in the likes of Sporting Lisbon U 19 emerged as the champions of this inaugural tournament beating Liverpool U19 2-0 in the final with another English side Manchester United U19 clinching third spot with a 2-1 win over gutsy hosts Singapore Youth Selection. ...

Coach Ferreira never doubts his team's ability FINAL: Sporting Lisbon U19 2-0 Liverpool U19 For a team that prided itself on producing many wonderful players throughout the year, one shall not fault Sporting Lisbon U19 coach Abel Ferreira for showing that kind of confidence during the post-match press conference following his side's 2-1 win over their more popular opponents Liverpool. "Are you surprised that my team won?" queried the former Sporting player in English at the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) boardroom at the Jalan Besar Stadium. This came after no question from the media was asked in the first place when requested by the emcee at the gathering. An impressive Sporting clinched the NexLions Cup When the mood set in, the former defender began to take some questions from the floor and mentioned the following (as far as I could remember). "To me, every player in my team is special and it's not just about one or two players beco...

(This entry is formulated based on the media release obtained via CROWD Pte Ltd, the PR agency of “NexLions Cup” together with the images being provided, unless credited) Coach Aide is confident of his team (file picture) With his squad's opening game to face a team that comprised no less than four players with Europa League's experience, Singapore Youth Selection coach Aide Iskandar is unfazed of the challenge ahead posed by Liverpool Academy side in the upcoming Nex Lions Cup. Much of that confidence stemmed from the match that the former Lions' skipper's boys drew 2-2 with Johor FA side, who is coached by another ex-Singapore skipper, the legendary Fandi Ahmad at Larkin Stadium in Johor Bahru days ago. Said coach Aide:"I have seen the squad list for Liverpool and I understand that they are bringing a strong squad for the NexLions Cup," "We will have a tough game on our hands against them, but I think that the team is well prepared and read...

(This entry is formulated based on the media release obtained via CROWD Pte Ltd, the PR agency of “NexLions Cup” together with the images being provi ded ) Weeks of building up leading to the inaugural NexLions Cup must have whet the appetite of football fans. With the array of talents to be showcased over this next weekend (14,16th December), local fans are expected to see many of the up-and-coming European footballers pipped alongside with some of the finest Singapore youth players. Chilean wonderkid Angelo Henriquez One such player being singled out is Manchester United's 18-year-old Chilean striker Angelo Jose Henriquez. "He’s very quick and a good finisher," said Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson of the Santiago-born forward, who is the youngest member of Red Devils' first team squad, in the tournament press release made know to the media. "He's strong and with great shoulders on him for a boy of 18. Angelo has made a tremendous...

(This entry is formulated based on the media release obtained via CROWD Pte Ltd , the PR agency of “NexLions Cup” ) The tournament logo (via the mentioned media release) In order to enable more local young footballers to expose to a higher level of the game, the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) and Kirkwall Sports Pte Ltd, who are exclusive partners of Manchester United Soccer Schools and Sporting Lisbon Academy in South East Asia, will be co-organize the “NexLions Cup” this coming December at the Jalan Besar Stadium (JBS). According to the media release made known to the media, the quadrangular will be held from 14th to 16th December featuring youth players from European powerhouses such as Manchester United, Liverpool FC and Sporting Lisbon. Inking the start of the newly joint initiative (picture credit: FAS) A press conference-cum-draw ceremony was held this afternoon at the FAS headquarters at JBS, the results of the draw are as follow:- Manchester United ...

(This entry is formulated based on the media release obtained via McGallen & Bolden Pte Ltd, the PR agency of Plantronics South East Asia ) (The copyright of all images depicted belongs to  Plantronics  ) The group photo that announces the sponsorship deal Two age-group squads of the Fandi Ahmad Academy (FAA) , which is founded by local football legend Fandi Ahmad, had recently inked a sponsorship deal with Plantronics. Under the eight-month agreement between the both parties that begins from September 2012 to April 2013, the Under-12 (u12) and the Under-14 (u14) Elites squad of FAA will be known as “Plantronics Gamecom u12 Elite Team” and “Plantronics Gamecom u14 Elite Team” respectively after the renowned personal audio communications manufacturer's gaming sub-brand - Gamecom. Gamecom is the gaming sub-brand of Plantronics. Officially known as Plantronics Gamecom , the company produces gaming headsets for console and PC gaming platforms under this brand...

(This feature is formulated from the media release issued by the Football Association of Singapore from which pictures and quotes were extracted unless credited) Adam (no 10) in action against Juventus in Canon LCC His glittering performance in the 23rd Canon Lion City Cup is a testament to why he is rated as one of the country's brightest footballing prospects. His commanding presence as the skipper during that tournament eventually led the National Football Academy (NFA) U15 to a respectable third position in that youth tournament featuring the boys from renowned club sides such as CR Flamengo and Juventus. So little surprise came last Sunday when Adam Swandi emerged as the winner from the pool of five nominees in the annual "Dollah Kassim Award", an initiative by the Football Association of Singapore (FAS), in partnership with The New Paper, Turkish Airlines and Singapore Pools. This award is named after the late Singapore football legend who passed away l...

(This entry is formulated based on materials obtained via Singa Cup Official Website ) INTRODUCTION Singa Cup is an international youth football tournament co-organized by Dynamique Konzepts Pte Ltd, an event management company with its partners Joji , a local based design and innovation consultancy. The inaugural edition will kick off on 07th November 2011 in Singapore with the organizers confirmed this tournament is going to be an annual event to allow exciting raw talents from Asia and abroad a chance to pit against each other in a competitive environment. CONCEIVING OF THE TOURNAMENT "This is the first time we are deviating from our mainstream scope and breaking new grounds into sports with this international youth tournament – SingaCup." said Mr Ng Tiong Hian, Business Development Manager of Dynamique Konzepts, who drawn their clientele base mainly from the banking and aviation industries. Taking a cue from renowned youth tournaments such as Goitha Cup, Danna...

I must admit I have not been giving much attention to COE football until this afternoon at the Old Police Academy. Alerted by "Liga Singapura" that the title decider was going to be staged at the once Police training facilities, I decided to head down with my camera to snap some shots between Home United and Tanjong Pagar United. Tanjong Pagar Utd's COE U16 team Home Utd's COE U16 first eleven The equation of the match was simple, all Home United needed to do was a draw with the junior Jaguars and the Centre Of Excellence (COE) U16 league title is theirs. At the end of the day, not only the junior Protectors did not lose to the match, but also convincingly beat their opponents 3-0 to seal the title. Despite long tucked in the obscurity from general football public, the standard of play has been "competitive" according to "Liga Singapura" who cater a separate blog - "Information on Singapore youth football" to focus on COE...