BoLASEPaKO.COM - A Blog on Singapore Football

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 new Merlion Cup trophy was unveiled by the members of the FAS Council It was a mere formality earlier this afternoon at the Jalan Besar Stadium (JBS) to confirm the revival of the Merlion Cup tournament this coming June following news of its coming back being revealed by Fox Sports Asia weeks ago. Back in late April, the online portal first reported the Philippines U22 side will be taking part in the mentioned tournament and posted another update days ago that revealed the dates and venue of the quadrangular which will be taking place on 7th and 9th June at the JBS. Former Lions skipper Terry Pathmanathan (second from left) shares his Merlion Cup experiences In a draw that was conducted during the press conference at JBS VIP Lounge, the fate of the four participating teams namely - the U22 sides of Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines were made known. THE FORMAT The first day (7th June) of the tournament will see Thailand vs Indonesia in the first match...

Can the "Kallang Roar" return to the National Stadium Will the three-year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Football Association of Singapore (FAS) and SportsHub Pte Ltd , the operators of Singapore Sports Hub, signed days ago set the pace to see the much-awaited revival of the Merlion Cup in the local football calendar? FUTILE ATTEMPTS TO REVIVE In the recent years, futile attempts were made to revive the invitational tournament, last staged in 2009 as an one-off fixture when English side Liverpool were featured against the Singapore national team, in the iconic 55,000-capacity National Stadium. The well-documented spat back in late 2015 between SportsHub and MP & Silva, FAS commercial and media rights partner, over the venue rental costs eventually had the plan shelved indefinitely after talks between both parties broke down. The reason why FAS did not organise the Merlion Cup in 1987 (source: NST ) Since the reopening of the National Stadi...