BoLASEPaKO.com - A Blog on Singapore Football

The bold announcement of Singapore eyeing a spot in the 2034 World Cup by Edwin Tong , the vice-president of the Football Association of Singapore (FAS), sent a shockwave around the local football fraternity in recent days. It came at a time when local football is still trying to pull itself out of the bad patches it is experiencing now and barely a surprise such a lofty target is met with skepticism from all corners  once again it brought back sad memories of the "Goal 2010" project which was launched in 1998. I shall not dwell on why and how the "Goal 2010" was mooted but here to share what I witnessed at the fanfare at Suntec City - the venue where the whole project kicked start on 5th December 1998. GOAL 2010 WAS LAUNCHED AT SUNTEC CITY  It was a huge turnout with everyone eager and excited to play a part in this historical day that was supposed to see Singapore adhere to a blueprint to see her qualify for the World Cup in 2010 (although FAS clarified it wa

I first came to know the existence of the demolished Anson Road Stadium after I read a line from the veteran journalist Godfrey Robert's book "The Malaysia Cup" published back in 1990. USED TO THINK JBS WAS THE OLDEST Prior to that, it was always in my opinion that Jalan Besar Stadium was the oldest football stadium in Singapore (even though the old arena used to function as a rugby and hockey venue as well) due to its aged facade which I noticed when I first visited the ground back in the early 1990s before the redevelopment program begun in December 1999. Big turnouts like this were common at Anson Road Stadium (credit: NLB archive ) Field diagram for listeners tuned in for radio commentary in the old days (credit: NLB archive ).   Recently, when I chanced upon an online article that provides a scribe on the arena, it piqued my interest to find out where exactly was this stadium located in the Tanjong Pagar area. EXHIBITION VENUE TURNED INTO STADIUM Accordin

Lions Training Session 060619 Coach Yoshida briefs his players at Geylang Field Spotted two staff coaches, presumably, from Albirex Niigata (Singapore) observing the training session conducted by new national team coach Tatsuma Yoshida by taking notes of what they saw and noticed. The Lions will be playing two friendly matches at the National Stadium against Solomon Islands and Myanmar. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REST OF THE PICTURES SGPL - Geylang Int'l 5-0 Balestier Khalsa 160619 Geylang's Barry Maguire brace for an aerial ball  Geylang International crushed Balestier Khalsa 5-0 at Our Tampines Hub following the resuming of the AIA Singapore Premier League after the international week. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REST OF THE MATCH PICTURES SGPL - Geylang Int'l 2-2 Hougang Utd 050719 "Guys, I am just focusing on my shot" Thought the match was an evenly-contested one at Our Tampines Hub that ended two-two for both Geylang Intern

With due respect to the past visiting teams, this year's International Champions Cup Singapore (ICCSG) Tournament was probably be the most glittering since Singapore Sports Hub first hosted the event in 2017 under an ongoing four-year agreement. Not only because two of four participating teams - Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspurs are two of the best supported English Premier League sides in Singapore, Juventus, who back in Singapore for the first time since 2015, were boasted by the presence of talismanic Cristiano Ronaldo and the impressive 19-year-old Matthijs de Ligt, the new signing from Ajax Amsterdam following his notable performance that won him admirers among the top clubs in Europe. Credit to the man in cap for started the Kallang Wave on last Saturday Apart from the largely cold shoulder response by the Red Devils to their adoring fans upon their arrival at their Ritz Carlton Millenia base, the players of other three participating sides duly ob

Probably by now the newly-appointed Singapore national team coach Tatsuma Yoshida should more or less have a rough idea where our level of football is after the two recent matches that served as an orientation for the Japanese tactician. Coach Tatsuma Yoshida is the first Japanese coach of the Lions When his name was mentioned on various media reports prior to the official unveiling by the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) early this month, many skepticisms clouded over his appointment which mainly targeted his less-than-impressive curriculum vitae. Still, the former Jurong FC player pressed ahead and went straight down to business by taking charge of the Lions in the recent friendly matches against the Solomon Islands and Myanmar at Kallang. THE USUAL BRICKBATS Barely surprising after an unconvincing 4-3 win over Solomon Islands and a 2-1 defeat to Myanmar , critics were quick to jump onto the bandwagon to make their voices heard although there are those who felt it&