BoLASEPaKO.com - A Blog on Singapore Football

Why is it so? Read on  It was the right decision for me not to snap in the recently concluded AFF Suzuki Cup , which I would like to show my greatest appreciation to Mr Jaron Lee for helping this platform when I felt I was not physically and mentally prepared for that regional marquee tournament. In the meantime, we also noticed the increased presence of "fan-based media" like myself during the abovementioned tournament who also have been actively churning out content for the past one, two years. The emergence of these new players is a welcome sight, and it is also a constant reminder to me that the need to be innovative in order to stay relevant in the field. BEING SELECTIVE NOW I thought with the proliferation of social media tools which are now seen as a "must-have" for many organizations and individuals, information posted on these new media domains can be shared, re-curated by other platforms easily . This is why weeks right after the end of the 2021 Singapore

When I declared my season was done after the 2019 Singapore Cup final, I realized I amassed a stack of accreditation passes that were essential in order to work behind the scene from the days it was known as the S.League till two years ago when it was rebranded as Singapore Premier League (SPL). My involvement started halfway in 1998 (the third season) when I answered a call and turned up at a meeting in the S.League office at old National Stadium to be part of the crew assembled to help the official league website. Evolution of the passes  The first pass I received was a laminated pass with the necessary details besides the photo which I snapped at one of those instant photo booths, on the bottom of the pass listed the league sponsors of that season like Tiger Beer, Pepsi, NTUC Income, and Singapore Pools. "BUSINESS CARD" PASS FIT IN NICELY The following year saw the pass shrunk into a business card-size made of plastic material by Cardwon from Taiwan and honestly

"Thanks for coming." said one of the staffers whom I met at the end of a press conference I attended some times ago. While it is always a pleasantry to receive such a greeting but for that particular time, I found it awkward or rather uneasy to receive such acknowledgment. Usually, the press conference of that nature would see a decent turnout from the media to cover the event, whereas it was not the case when I was there and I could easily count the number of those reporters who were there. To make things more intriguing was the absence of representation from several notable players of the field to cover the announcement which they usually would. If this is going to be the typical scene in the subsequent weeks to come, it should be something of a concern to local football officials for such a lukewarm response from the media, especially of those from the big players. MEDIA RESTRUCTURING The recent restructuring of both MediaCorp (source: 1 , 2 ) and Si

Despite the proliferation of social media tools such as Facebook and Twitter, writing to the papers' forum pages to express their views in printed is still a preferred choice of many. HOT TOPIC IN FORUMS ... Given its fair share of problems in recent years that dominated the headlines for the wrong reasons, opinions shared by members of public on Singapore football has always been a hot topic on these columns. Opiners' favourite topic - Low crowds at S.League matches However, if those opiners have nothing more than repeating the same worn-out suggestions to improve local football, they should try harder to conceive more innovative suggestions. Talk about revamp of all aspects of Singapore football by anyone around us is nothing new at all, since it's always surfaced whenever something catastrophic happened (i.e.: poor performance in major tournaments). SAME ISSUES SINGLED OUT ... Beside singled out the shortcomings of the S.League whose inability to support th

(This entry is formulated based on the media release issued by the Football Association of Singapore ) (L-R) Mr Zainudin, Minister Wong and Mr Radrizzani Barely weeks after making their presence the north across the Causeway where they signed a record-breaking deal with the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) (source 1 , 2 ). MP & Silva, the renowned media rights distributors brokered another deal, but on a smaller scale, with the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) on the south side of the bridge as well. This announcement was made this afternoon at a ceremony held at the FAS headquarters at the Jalan Besar Stadium with Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, Mr Lawrence Wong graced the occasion in full business attire to signify the importance of the event.\ AGREEMENT VALUE AT MORE THAN $25 MILLION Outfitted in a similar fashion with the guest of honour, Mr Zainudin Nordin, the FAS president was joined by Mr Andrea Radrizzani, the founding partner of MP &

(P.S: I have nothing against any sort of initiatives proposed by the league authority, but feel that it can do a better job in gaining the public acceptance) Picture courtesy of CPBL's 心棒球俱樂部 It all begun when I saw this promotional poster online featuring the upcoming Taiwanese' CPBL All-Star Game (top) and instantly it drawn my comparison with the photo featuring the "SuperGals" (as issued by the league authority weeks ago). The "SuperGals" (credit: FAS) A random gauge around and I asked if these two posters are being placed side-by-side which of it is likely to gain that "instant attention". Not surprisingly, the words "ALL STAR" stood in between the sluggers immediately caught the attention of those who responded . Natural instinct would make one to take a closer look at what was the CPBL poster is talking about, rather than those ladies. Using similar concept, I made use of "Halftone" , one of the many a

I am not very sure how many of you out there would go "ga-ga" whenever it was quoted in the papers that a particular "who and who" is "keen to play" on our shores and "hope to lift the profile of the league (not just the club he speculate to join)" because of his participation. I wouldn't be such of those "ga-ga" or "blink-blink" keen to see those "who and who" come over to play in the S.League. Put aside factors that these "who and who" are not longer who they were in their prime, it's more because we are not yet ready to welcome them onboard (we all should know if we can, need not to ask more). While some may argue the presence of these "who and who" may be just the "push" we need to lift ourselves up from the doldrums, but it could be risky move that would see the heavy investment gone down to drains if things goes wrong (especially the fact that these "who and who&

I was wondering if this boy know who is this S.League footballer "in front" of him I would like to apologize for the lack of update of late due to my heavy day job workload that has been piling up in recent months (those who know me personally should know how my workplace has been under scrutiny of since last December). Anyway, just to blog a short entry here to keep the pace going (of course, not blindly for the sake of it) when I chanced upon what I saw yesterday (as pictured above) at one of the MRT stations. In this picture, we can see that this schoolboy, while waiting for the arrival of his train, is having a look at the poster in front of him that featured former national and Home United custodian Lionel Lewis. Beside the goalkeeper, other who are featured in this series of advertising campaign includes the likes of Lions XII stars Isa Halim , Khairul Amri and the legendary Fandi Ahmad . However, for those who you might have seen those posters spreading aro

(This entry is formulated based on the transcript of the media release jointly issued by the Football Association of Singapore , StarHub and ESPN STAR Sports with quotes extracted and pictures credited accordingly) The whole idea is actually simple when the new broadcast deal is inked today (as in yesterday when this entry was loaded up) - to provide the necessary catalyst to fuel the realization of the ambitious ASEAN Super League (ASL) . Moving out of obscurity as S.League goes regional  The ASL is the brainchild of FAS spelt under its "Strategic Plan" when it was announced two years ago to see championship winning teams from the region to complete in a similar format of that of the successful Champions League in European club football. With the participation of Brunei's DPMM and the Harimau Muda from Malaysia in this season's S.League, it does make sense to boast its regional presence in those two countries and to serve as a gauge if fans in these two c

Got an email from Friz, who is a DJ of Rediffusion Radio that he would like to feature me on their morning show on SYNC - Your Lifestyle Radio . With DJ Friz  (pictured right) who is the host of  "SYNC - Your Lifestyle Radio" Rediffusion has been in Singapore since 1949, during its heyday from 1950s to late 1970s it was a common sight everywhere in Singapore to have its trademark "box" receiver strategically located at places like kopitiams, shophouses to allow listeners to tune to their programs with Chinese Dialect Operas and Story-Telling segments by the legandary Lee Dai Shau being the mainstay of the station from decades. As times evolved, so did Rediffusion as well with the station broadcast its programs using Digital Audio Broadcasting (DBA) System that provides crystal clear sound quality. Here I was in the recording studio doing the recording Just like the "Razor TV" segment I was on earlier, this program was pre-recorded as well

(Media Information from the Football Association of Singapore ) (Picture above) The "sending off" that triggered the incident SINGAPORE, 15 March 2011: The FAS Disciplinary Committee convened on Tuesday 15 March 2011 with regard to the charge against Courts Young Lions Technical Director Slobodan Pavkovic. Pavkovic had been charged for breaches of misconduct which brought the game into disrepute during the Great Eastern – YEO’S S.League match between Courts Young Lions and Geylang United FC at Jalan Besar Stadium on 3 March 2011. Having investigated the incident and having considered all the relevant facts and circumstances, the Disciplinary Committee came to the following decision: (i) Pavkovic, who admitted to the charge, was found guilty of the charge. After much deliberation, the Disciplinary Committee decided that the punishment meted out by FAS – a touchline ban for the rest of the Great Eastern – YEO’S S.League season and a fine of $10,000 – is suffici

(Media Information by the Football Association of Singapore ) The ban will only come into effect if he is found guilty by the DC of any further misconduct committed prior to 31 Dec 2011 SINGAPORE, 11 March 2011: The FAS Disciplinary Committee convened on Thursday 10 March 2011 with regard to the charges against Woodlands Wellington head coach R. Balasubramaniam (pictured above). Balasubramaniam had been charged for breaches of misconduct after the Great Eastern – YEO’S S.League match between Woodlands Wellington Football Club and Albirex Niigata FC at the Woodlands Stadium on 21 February 2011. Having investigated the incident and having considered all the relevant facts and circumstances, the Disciplinary Committee came to the following decision: Balasubramaniam, who admitted to the charge, was found guilty of the charge. He has been suspended from the area immediately surrounding the field of play, and in particular from the technical area and substitutes’ bench for four S-League mat

Hi Guys, this is my first article for SINGAPORESPORTS.SG 's " StarBlogger " column and the first topic I blogged about is the use of "twitter" in the S.League fraternity. In which I spoke to various clubs' officials and fans random on their views and opinions on utilizing the mentioned social media tool to generate the much-needed awareness for the S.League and local football on the whole. And many thanks to Singapore Sports Council for this opportunity that allows me to share my thoughts. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO ACCESS TO THE FULL ARTICLE.

(The content of this entry is based on the transcript of the media release issued by SPRG-Singapore, one of the coordinating agencies of this event) In a media release issued by the PR agency coordinating their visit to Singapore, it's confirmed the New York Cosmos contingent that includes footballing legends Pelé and Eric Cantona will be in Singapore as part of their Asian tour that includes a stopover in Hong Kong. Pelé's presence in the contingent is in his capacity as the honorary president of the legendary NASL club, while the former Manchester United skipper Cantona was recently named as the club's Director of Soccer. The visit by the two of most famous football names is made possible by retailing giants Courts, who recently dominates the backpages for their ground-breaking naming rights deal with S.League club, Young Lions (now known as Courts Young Lions), in an upcoming event to launch its partnership with the Cosmos. "I am delighted that our commercial team h

Getting ready before the recording with host, Yi Qian (pictured above middle) It never came to my mind that I would appear in front of camera screen, let alone being part of the discussion panel group to talk about the recent disbanding of the Lions. But there I was with my fellow blogger Arief , "Super Fan" Daniel Lau and Han Keong, the sports editor of "mypaper" at the "Razor TV" studio for the recording on Wednesday evening. (Pictured above L-R) The rookie panelists - Daniel, Arief and myself Being someone slow in react when being prompted a question, the host, Yi Qian, gladly acceded to my request to the last person to voice my opinion after the rest did theirs. I'm relieved that everything went smoothly, as Yi Qian told us to be as if we were having a chit-chatting session and complimented us with our efforts. I am glad to have this opportunity to voice my opinion on the recent saga on a platform like this of an interactive medi

It just got everyone talking after the disbanding of the national football team by the President of the FAS (pictured below). Frankly, it's something doesn't surprise me at all when such circumstance taken place that got everyone jumps onto the ship to give their opinions. Nothing new and fresh suggestions as most experts like us would finger pointing at all those perceived "guilty lots" (you all know who they are). However, amid all these stories, features and opinions that got everyone talking about this saga, that really caught my attention and in what would be the BIGGEST embarrassment (pictured below) among those relevant stories I came across. If one is sharp enough, one would know where the mistake is and a key lesson here is not to go and write something about when everybody is talking about and make disastrous error out of it... (P.S: This entry is not meant to embarrass anyone here, but it's important to convey the message and story to the

INTRODUCTION Ever since we are made known that Mediacorp Channel 5 decided to DELAY telecast, instead of LIVE telecast the crucial AFF Suzuki Cup tie between Singapore and Vietnam on the 8th of December, there are fans voiced their disappointment over the broadcaster's decision. While it was made known that the time-slot for "NEWS 5 TONIGHT" program being the reason for not being able to live telecast of the match. However, as avid Singapore football supporters, we sincerely hope the broadcaster can reconsider their decision and allow the thousands of fans out there to catch the game LIVE on the terrestrial channel. The desire of we, the fans, can be strongly felt on various feedback channels such as: "Twitter", "Facebook", etc. (as illustrated below) ON "FACEBOOK" Fans having posting appealing message on Mediacorp Channel 5's Facebook page to plead the broadcast to reconsider the decision. ON "TWITTER" As illustrated above,

(Picture credit and edited with permission from Gan Meng Yeow ) Since I switched to iPhone , I have been heavily utilizing the "Twitter" related applications (such as " TweetDeck " and " TweetDeck ") on this wonderful gadget (as pictured above and to think the fact that I once proclaimed I'm not an APPLE user). Straight to the point, with the popularizing of this revolutionized handset that almost everyone is carrying nowadays. I think making full use of the social media tools such as " Twitter " and " Facebook " would do more good than harm. While I am aware the league authority and some clubs also have their own "tweets" and "FB" presence, but in my presence opinion those are rather under-utilized. Under-used in a sense, it's nothing more than just trying to squeeze everything like the latest information, match updates within the 140-character limit. So this is why I making use of the picture uploading func

Prt-Scr of the Blog's Facebook group Out of spontaneous, I had created a FACEBOOK group for this blog. "just created for future necessity" is the reason why this group is created, this group will served primarily as an online archive of those photos I snapped since I decided to get down to the ground level to capture those "easily-forgotten" moments of Singapore football. Other than that, there are no other plan for the time being until further notification via this blog or on the group page itself. To access to the page, please click on the URL below (one must be a FACEBOOK user to access to the page) http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=304227695329

14 years down the road what had we achieved? “Below-average moderate” as I am to grade the overall achievement for the league. Yes, it provides a chance for any budding footballer to earn a livelihood out of kicking a ball around, also ample jobs in coaching and club administration, etc. Despite the constant proclamation as “one of the top 10 leagues in Asia”, it's not hard to see that there's a lot to be done to overcome some teething issues bugging the league.   SENSE OF HELPLESSNESS From time to time, I have been using this blog to share my thoughts and views on the local football scene, I can't help but felt let down that several nagging issues have yet to be resolved. It's easy to spot a mistake from far, but before we can tackle that problem, how and where are we going to make the first step? Maybe this feedback from a reader on one of the previous entries sums up the best. “Well, it is always easy to give 'suggestions' while watching from far (sic). One