BoLASEPaKO•COM - A Blog on Singapore Football

Led by English entrepreneur Reg Lambourne , the contingent comprised of English powerhouse Arsenal, Scottish giants Celtic FC, and Yugoslavian titans Red Star Belgrade arrived in Singapore to give local football fans one unforgettable experience in the Metro 20th Anniversary Tournament back in July 1977. I doubt scenes like this would ever happen today when I prowled and read what I gathered from newspapers archives for details on the Metro 20th Anniversary Tournament which took place in July 1977, when three groups of footballers descended together at the old Paya Lebar Airport for the abovementioned quadrangular which was part of the "World of Soccer Cup" friendly tournament played in both Singapore and Australia. "$24-MILLION WORTH OF TALENT" Was how it was labeled by The Straits Times in their report when renowned footballers such as Malcolm "Super Mac" MacDonald, Liam Brady, Danny McGrain, and Vladislav Bogicevic were part of the contingent welcome...

(The content and images depicted in this entry were made available by the media release issued by the organizers) The SFA Fiesta at National Stadium (picture as credited) Football made its way back to the National Stadium this morning (28/1) after a hiatus when about 200 student-athletes from the School Football Academy (SFA) programme under the Unleash The Roar! national football project, which is run in 12 schools, experienced the thrill of playing on the pitch of the cornerstone of the Singapore Sports Hub in the SFA Fiesta . The abovementioned tournament is an inter-SFA 8v8 tournament which also saw participation from girl footballers from Methodist Girls’ School and Woodlands Secondary School who are new additions to the SFA programme in 2023. "GOOD EXPOSURE"  "It’s good exposure for us because it’s our first time playing at the National Stadium and it’s been a great experience; we had a lot of fun." said Khairufatin Binte Suyasri in the press statement issu...

One of the headlines on the stampede ( NLB archive ) The build-up to the match was intense. After all, it was between the two biggest sides of the tournament that saw them being the first finalists of the competition first known as the HMS Malaya Cup back in 1921. To make the showdown even more mouth-watering was the fact that Selangor, widely known as the Malaysian "second national team" back then with the likes of Mohktar Dahari, Soh Chin Ann, Santokh Singh, etc., had already beaten Singapore twice on a roll in the final to win the coveted Malaysia Cup in previous two years (1975 and 1976). The blogger speaking to Dato' Soh Chin Ann in 2010 (Gale Gan) Instead of making the arch-rivals face each other for the third consecutive time in the ultimate fixture in 1977, the script was changed to see both Singapore and Selangor in the semi-final instead. The young republic, coached by the legendary "Uncle" Choo Seng Quee, topped the South Zone undefeated with eight wi...

Mr Lim Teng Sai in his younger days (as credited) The story was shared by former Singapore national defender Mr Lim Teng Sai during the launch of the book "ROAR: Football Legends of Singapore" at the Jalan Besar Stadium (JBS) days ago. The former center-half approached a group of us during the friendly match between Singapore ex-internationals, which featured some of his former teammates, and their Malaysian counterparts, as he would like to peruse the book that documented the football history of Singapore. The friendly match, which was won 2-0 by the hosts, was part of the launch of the book authored and edited by long-time Singapore football supporter Mr A Thiyaga Raju and sports writer Mr Gary Koh respectively. The blogger with Mr Lim at the JBS Elated to see his name being featured in the list of the players in the book, he went on to oblige a fan's request to sign on a few pictures of his taken during his playing days in the 1970s. Pointing towards the direction wh...

 Standard Chartered Singapore Trophy Events 260422 Former Liverpool midfielder Jason McAteer (right) with a fan Nineteenth-time English league champions Liverpool will take on fellow Premier League side Crystal Palace in the Standard Chartered Singapore Trophy 2022. A press conference was held at Gardens by the Bay to announce the match will be played on 15th July at the National Stadium. The confirmation of this fixture will see the Reds and the Eagles being the first European top-flight clubs to play in Singapore since 2019. Besides attending the press conference in the morning, both Jason McAteer (ex Liverpool) and Andre Moritz (former Crystal Palace and now Hougang United) made their presence in the afternoon at Serangoon Stadium for the football clinic. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REST OF THE PICTURES SGPL - Tanjong Pagar United 4-2 Tampines Rovers 280522 Reo Nishiguchi of TPUFC celebrates after scoring After a six-goal thriller in the first half that saw them take a two-goa...

Nineteenth-time English league champions Liverpool concluded their South East Asian tour with a 2-0 win over fellow Premier League side Crystal Palace to clinch the Standard Chartered Singapore Trophy last evening at the National Stadium. The result meant the Reds fly out of the region with a record of a win and a defeat (4-0 loss to Manchester United in Bangkok). Liverpool fans at the match (credit: Standard Chartered Singapore Trophy 2022) In front of 50,217 fans, the fixture was the first that featured the two European top-flight clubs played in Singapore since 2019. Other than a small number of Palace fans that congregated behind one of the goals, it was almost a partisan Liverpool crowd that recreated the Anfield atmosphere at Kallang, such as the rendition of the club's iconic anthem - "You'll Never Walk Alone" during the night. Liverpool took an early in the 13th minute when skipper Jordan Henderson fired past Eagles' keeper Vicente Guaita in the box after...

The VIPs at the announcement of the match  Nineteenth-time English league champions Liverpool will take on fellow Premier League side Crystal Palace in the Standard Chartered Singapore Trophy 2022. A press conference was held this morning at Gardens by the Bay to announce the match will be played on 15th July at the National Stadium. FIRST MATCH FEATURING EUROPEAN CLUB SIDES SINCE 2019 Organized by TEG Sport in partnership with Standard Chartered, Singapore Tourism Board (STB), and CARRO, the confirmation of this fixture will see the Reds and the Eagles being the first two European top-flight clubs to play in Singapore since 2019. Brendon Bainbridge, Managing Director of TEG Asia “TEG is proud to bring live sporting action to Singapore once again. As the organisers of the Standard Chartered Singapore Trophy 2022, our priority is to provide an exceptional sporting event in an atmosphere with all the elements that make watching live sport an incredible experience for all fans in att...

 SGPL - Balestier Khalsa 2-2 Tampines Rovers 260222 Aerial duel at Tigers-Stags game Balestier Khalsa came back from behind to salvage a draw with goals from Shuhei Hoshino and Ensar Brunčević in the second half. The Stags took a two-goal lead in the first half through Boris Kopitović and Taufik Suparno. The match also saw the return of Balestier's head coach Akbar Nawas to the local top flight after five years when he, ironically, stepped down from the Tampines Rovers' hot seat in 2017. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REST OF THE PICTURES SGPL - Tanjong Pagar United 2-2 Hougang United 060322 Jags' 'keeper Zharfan ensured safety Shodai Nishikawa's 88th minute diving header salvaged a 2-2 for Tanjong Pagar United after they earlier surrendered the lead to Hougang United's two quick goals in 77' & 79'. Khairul Nizam opened the account in the 72nd minute for Jags. Tanjong Pagar United reclaimed the pacesetter role barely one day after their co-tenants Alb...

An IG poll was conducted to see how many noticed this poster There is some marketing buzz going on for the upcoming AFF Suzuki Cup though I am not sure how many noticed this banner while strolling along this busy walkway of Bishan MRT station? Not that far away from this station is Bishan Stadium - the venue for most of the Group B matches. One thing to take note of is the stadium is installed with a new natural grass surface (picture below) which I had a look at recently from the nearby Bishan Sports Hall. Being a surface that was only laid not that long ago, not sure if it is able to withstand the robustness of the team like the Vietnamese who are known for their pace. (maybe someone with some horticultural knowledge can answer that)? Will Vietnam thrive on this new surface? In the meantime, the delay in the announcement of the ticketing and broadcasting details caused some anxieties among the local fans during the run-up to the biennial showpiece. Yet when the ticketing details we...