BoLASEPaKO•COM - A Blog on Singapore Football

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...

1) I never utilize the "story" function available on Instagram until June last year when I posted my first "story" in June 2020. As I used to think why should I bother to post something which only lasts for 24 hours. It was only after I posted my first poll in November 2021 and realized how useful it is to solicit feedback and understand the ground's sentiments on various issues on local football. Like this poll, I conducted to find the fans' preferred mode to watch their AIA Singapore Premier League matches. A marginal majority preferred at the stadium 2) This recent poll was meant to be a tongue-in-cheek attempt to gauge how was the response seemed to be one-sided, and Shopee did reply after I tagged them in this story. I never expect Shopee would reply after I posted this 3) On a serious note, this poll was conducted right after the draw of the AFF Suzuki Cup which is scheduled to take place in Singapore at the end of the year. And seems like many are ...

I did a number of IG Story polls not that long ago to gauge the sentiment among the local football supporters by starting off with this question - Would you buy any official local football merchandise? It was an overwhelming 92% said "YES" that they are willing to fork out from their wallets to pay for any official merchandise offered by the local clubs. This is the outcome of the first poll of the series  REPLICA JERSEY - THE MOST DESIRABLE MERCHANDISE Another poll was followed up to ask which type of official merchandise is the most desirable item from a list that comprised (1) "Official replica jersey", (2) "T-Shirt (with club logo, mascot, players), (3) "Caps, scarves, mini flags" and (4) "Pins, Badges, Keychain, Cup, Mugs" Apparently, replica team jersey is the most desirable merchandise should any fan decide to buy one product from our local clubs. Later on, I posted a pragmatic question - how much you are willing to pay for one offici...

It's regrettable that recently on two separate occasions some prominent local social media icons used the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak as a theme of their humour to mock at the expense of local football. Subsequently, the postings from these social media icons had removed following feedback from local football supporters who registered their opinions on them. The first thing that came to my mind was how much do these social media icons know about local football to use it as a subject to poke fun with? FIRST POSTING Apparently, one appeared to be zilch when the name "S League" was used in the posting using an old picture from an S.League match courtesy of one local news outlet. If the aforementioned posting was referring to the local professional football league, the person may not be aware that the league had rebranded and inaugurated as "Singapore Premier League" (SGPL) in 2018 by President Halimah Yacob at the National Stadium (two seasons already). ...

I would say the assuming of ownership of the club formerly known as Home United Football Club (HUFC) by Sea , a leading internet company, shall be seen as a breakthrough in the local football fraternity. The logo of Lion City Sailors (via LCSFC) The idea of privatization of the Republic's professional football league has always been in the pipeline with little tangible progress till the official announcement was made in the early morning of Valentine's Day. "OWNERSHIP" - A NEW CLEAR INDICATION The word "ownership" mentioned in the press release issued by the official sources is a clear indication to see newly-formed Lion City Sailors (LCSFC) operate under a new business model that is going to set itself apart from the rest of the local Singapore Premier League (SGPL) clubs. According to an online search with the ACRA Bizfile portal, LCSFC is registered as a "private limited" whereas the other local clubs are "societi...

I don't feel sorry or have kind words to say about the recent ground-sharing move that will see only four (local) venues being used for the upcoming Singapore Premier League (SPL) season. Why should I or rather we feel sorry to see clubs uprooted from their "roots" to find themselves sharing grounds with their contemporaries in a struggling league system plagued with so many woes that don't seem to have any remedy formula to cure them all? Toa Payoh Stadium will not be used in the 2019 SGPL season When our own professional football league was launched in 1996, one of the key emphases was community outreach by having clubs based strategically around the island to see themselves fused into the vicinities they were based. But two decades down the road since it started, it seems to me that most clubs are still aliens to where they are based and we hardly see the bonding between the clubs and residents (not fans) like how I asked a co-worker of mine if he has tha...

I thought one of the good initiatives of the rebranded Singapore Premier League (SGPL) is to allow fans to buy their match tickets online, which is a laudable move as it is a practice in tandem with many other sporting events held in Singapore. However, I wish to highlight matters pertaining to those tickets, which are now printed on better quality material, bought on match days at the game venues. After a few rounds of matches, it is regrettable tickets purchased over the counter not longer detailed those match information except these words, as shown in the picture below. The "22/7/18" match saw Albirex Niigata (S) clinched the SGPL title No one seems to be able to give an answer when I asked causally why the changes were made. As one may never know these ticket stubs, which were usually discarded by many after games, may be an important testament to something significant that happened during that particular match. I, myself, still have those match ticket stu...

If the rebranding of S.League as Singapore Premier League (SGPL) is being seen as a litmus test for the current Football Association of Singapore (FAS) Council, it would mean there is little confidence in them from the general public. Right after the unveiling of this worst kept secret of Singapore football days ago, a barrage of skepticism was hurled from all corners on the Republic's only professional sporting competition, labelled it nothing more than just cosmetic makeover than attempt to eradicate the root problems once and for all. "They are just trying to bury the ghost, without realizing that soil can’t keep the spirit out of its tomb," said a former FAS official who declined to be named when sharing his thoughts on this rebranding exercise with this blogger via text. He added: "Instead of fixing something that’s broken, they give it a new coat of paint and call it new." on the changes such as the name of the competition which many fans opined the ...

RIP S.League, Hello Singapore Premier League Many don't understand why the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) decided to delay the announcement of the new name for the "League", when it was already the worst kept secret in the fraternity in recent weeks. FAS council member S Thavaneson once  remarked in last December "they don't rule out the 'possibility' of it ..." after prior official press releases did not mention the term "S.League" but labelled the tournament as "Singapore’s domestic professional league", Subsequent weeks following those words by the Balestier Khalsa chairman, several social media updates, seen by this blogger, posted by various individuals in the scene suggested the change of name was imminent. One club even had to retract a Facebook posting which imprinted the name "Singapore Premier League" (SGPL) after it was posted by mistake before the official announcement was made, FAS di...

Best view in the house at Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium Being an avid baseball fan too, I headed to Taiwan, a popular tourist destination for many Singaporeans, to catch my favourite baseball team - Chinatrust Brothers (CT Bros, 中信兄弟) in action for the past six years. It was something I never expected in my recent trip when I was offered an opportunity to join my Taiwanese friends in a hospitality event hosted by CT Bros at one of their home games in Taichung weeks ago. EXCLUSIVELY FOR THE FANS... From what I gathered, the hospitality event is exclusively for fans (and their guests) who are members of the team's official fan club. Besides quality buffets being served to those who were present at the event, the organizers also arranged interactive sessions for the fans with one player from the roster and two members from the team's official cheerleading group before the game. CT Bros' infielder Hsu Chi-hung (with mic) addressed the fans Two mem...

"It is just like washing toilets. Different contractors / cleaners at different times." remarked a friend bluntly in a text exchange when I mentioned to him that the S.League is due for another review , as reported in TODAY. Washing Toilet again? (credit:dipart.com) In the same report by the Mediacorp publication, it also speculated the position of the S.League CEO, vacated by Lim Chin at the end of March, could be gone as well as part of the reviewing process to streamline the country's only professional sporting competition under the competition structure of Football Association of Singapore (FAS) since the new council took office weeks ago. Ironically, it was at the introductory press conference which unveiled Lim and his erstwhile deputy Johan Gouttefangeas on January 2012 (), the local fraternity was presented the "S.League Version 2.0" - an initiative to revive the sick man on the bed that met with limited success to be proud of. WEIRD FORMATS...

“I would love to see more proactive initiatives from clubs; more savvy marketing of players and teams to boost their profiles, as what we have seen (so far) has been dull and uninspiring.” I said those words which appeared in a wide-ranging article on TODAY weeks ago. Due credit to those who tried like how Home United did theirs last and this year, Hougang United kept everyone in the loop during the pre-season with some eye-catching updates on their Facebook "Page" and other social media platforms. While these updates online can be easily accessible on mobile gadgets during our daily routines, let's not rule out some information could be outdated to certain end-users unless they stick to their devices faithfully on a 24/7 basis in order not to be left out. Home United held their "meet-greet" before the start of the season Furthermore, one of the challenges facing most administrators using Facebook "Page", which is one of the main outreach ...