BoLASEPaKO.com - A Blog on Singapore Football

Yusof B Ibrahim was among those who made their presence days ago at the International Champions Cup - Singapore (ICCSG) tournament which was held for the second time in the Lion City. Here is his summary of the tournament after catching the likes of Arsenal, Atlético Madrid and PSG (Paris Saint-Germain) in action in a space of five days at Kallang. Arsenal head coach Unai Emery The second edition of the International Champions Cup Singapore tournament (ICCSG) was held in late July at the Singapore Sports Hub with the likes of Arsenal, Atlético Madrid and PSG (Paris Saint-Germain) pitted against one another in this annual mega tournament featuring some of the biggest football clubs in the world. Early birds Arsenal arrived with a full squad which included former German international Mesut Özil who was, however, not featured in their opening match against Atlético Madrid, as new Gunners gaffer Unai Emery opted for a similar system favoured by his predecessor Arsene Wen

SGPL - Home Utd 1-0 Hougang Utd 010718 I think panic button should be pressed by now With this Great Eastern-Hyundai Singapore Premier League fixture between Home United Football Club and Hougang United Football Club (HGFC) together with the one I saw a day earlier, I would say if we are to depend entirely on this league as our main source for the team playing in the AFF Suzuki Cup, the panic button should be pressed by now. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REST OF THE MATCH PICTURES Friendly - Ex Internationals vs SCRC 180718 Former Lions skipper Razali Saad (left) in action This friendly match between Ex International Legends and SCRC from SMRT was played at the Jalan Besar Stadium. The former is preparing for the upcoming The Sultan of Selangor's Cup in late August while the latter is gearing up for the GSFL season. Additional photos from Mr Yusof Ibrahim. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REST OF THE MATCH PICTURES ICCSG2018 - Atlético Madrid 1-1 Arsenal (AM

The arrival of Singaporean footballers in Hong Kong (credit: Hong Kong Football History Society) Recently after some inquiries, I received these old newspaper clippings from the administrator of Hong Kong Football History Society , a Facebook Page which specialized in the history of Hong Kong football. It came after a few years ago when I posted some details on this blog's Facebook page that briefly described back in the 1950s, seven Singaporean footballers** were being invited by Kitchee Sports Club to play for them on a two-month stint, a  information cited from this Facebook posting in Mandarin , in Hong Kong First Division - a feat that caused quite a sensation back in those days. Based on what was mentioned in those clippings, I managed to single out names like custodian Chu Chee Seng, Foo Hee Jong, Ho Hin Weng, and the legendary striker Awang Bakar who was referred to as "Tong Wong" (唐旺) in Cantonese pronunciation. The report detailed the players

SGPL - Albirex Niigata (S) 1-0 Hougang Utd 060518 The result saw Albirex Niigata FC Singapore pulled away from the pack in the Great Eastern-Hyundai Singapore Premier League league standing with the rest of them still scratching their heads. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REST OF THE MATCH PICTURES SGPL - Balestier Khalsa 1-2 Geylang International 020618 Not much to snap when most of the actions were "out of bound" due to my equipments limitations but nonetheless Great Eastern-Hyundai Singapore Premier League the match saw Geylang International beat Balestier Khalsa 2-1 at the "dark" Toa Payoh Stadium. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REST OF THE MATCH PICTURES SGPL - Hougang Utd 0-2 Tampines Rovers 090618 Khairul Amri (partially hidden by ball) scored in this match For Tampines Rovers, their main is try to narrow their gap in between them and Great Eastern-Hyundai Singapore Premier League leaders Albirex Niigata FC Singapore and Hougang Unite

Barely into the second round of the Great Eastern-Hyundai Singapore Premier League (SGPL) had Balestier Khalsa coach Marko Kraljevic ate his words. Speaking to The New Paper (TNP) after his side's five-nil defeat to defending champions Albirex Niigata (Singapore) on the 27th of May, the Croatian coach declared: "Albirex are looking like champions. There's no way to chase them, they're too good this year." Albirex is simply the best so far in SGPL. This marked a stark contrast to his earlier remarks in April when he claimed the Yuhua-based side "are definitely not as strong as last year", a sentiment seemingly echoed by his Home United counterpart Aidil Sharin, as suggested in a separate article that appeared on The Straits Times. Ironically, the Protectors were crushed 6-1 by the White Swans at their Bishan backyard on the very same day when the said broadsheet carried those thoughts with Adam Swandi scoring the final goal in the dying minut