BoLASEPaKO.com - A Blog on Singapore Football

1965 Malaya Cup Final match programme It was a blessing to get my hands on the souvenir match programme of the 1965 Malaya Cup Final, a piece of football history that is so meaningful to Singapore's football history. The significance of it is that this was the last time Singapore won the esteemed tournament as a member of the Federation of Malaysia before the Separation on 9th August 1965, and it was barely less than two weeks before the expulsion took place when the match was played on 31st July at Merdeka Stadium in Kuala Lumpur. In his foreword, Tengku Azman Shah, the then regent of Selangor, wrote that this booklet should not just serve as a guide for the match itself, but also allow future generations to appreciate and understand the history and development of the game in Malaysia (which included Singapore at the time of publication). Foreword by Tengku Azman Shah (from programme) Besides the Selangor prince, other dignitaries who penned their forewords in this souvenir progr

 SGPL - Lion City Sailors 3-2 Albirex Niigata (S) 210523 LCS' GK Zharfan Rohaizad got ahead of ALbirex's Tadanari Lee Lion City Sailors came back from a two-goal deficit at half-time to beat reigning champions Albirex Niigata (Singapore) 3-2 at the Bishan Stadium. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REST OF THE MATCH PICTURES SGPL - Lion City Sailors 1-1 Tampines Rovers 070623 Stags' Kopitovic refused a helping hand from LCS' Lopes A draw was not what Lion City Sailors and Tampines Rovers wanted in their Singapore Premier League title race, with the former missing out on narrowing the gap with the second-placed Stags and league leaders Albirex Niigata (Singapore). PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REST OF THE MATCH PICTURES International Friendly - Singapore 2-2 Papua New Guinea 160623 Hariss Harun (14) made sure he got it covered Both Adam Swandi and Shawal Anuar found their first-half efforts being cancelled out by the visiting Papua New Guineans in the Lions' homecoming ma

I was flabbergasted when I realised how many sectors the organisers are going to open up for the Singapore national team 's upcoming friendly matches against Papua New Guinea (PNG) and Solomon Islands at the National Stadium (check out yourself at the SISTIC site ). Worth the effort for having games here? Gven such a small fraction to be opened up, it would be a challenging task to create the kind of atmosphere most accustomed to an international friendly, especially the spot where some of the most passionate supporters usually congregate is not one of those to-be-opened sectors. HAVING A WHITE ELEPHANT IN THE HOUSE Based on the seating plan, only a few sectors surrounding the "players' tunnel" are open for sale, and mind you those limited slots are located at the lower tier of the 55,000-seat facility. While there is a desire to see more of the Lions' matches to be staged at the National Stadium , the limited seats available for sale will make the place look lik

It definitely falls short of what I expected in the first place when I turned up at the much-anticipated townhall session organised by Unleash The Roar! (UTR!). As the name already suggested, I would expect a "townhall" setting at Suntec City where a Q&A session between a group of selected panelists and the floor would take place after being updated on the progress of the various UTR! initiatives. Some of the UTR! Townhall participants  After all, it was labelled as "football conversation" which I thought many questions were ready to throw up in this "townhall" session following the recent SEA Games debacle that had everyone talking all day long on social media. ATTENDEES IN SMALL GROUP DISCUSSIONS However, this was not the case when each attendee was allocated to a table where he/she was encouraged to share his/her opinions with the other attendees at the same table which resembled a small group discussion. A note taker from the organisers was ass

Invitation to UTR! Townhall at Suntec (credit: UTR! FB ) To begin with, we have to admit that "Singapore football is in a state of stagnation" as a way to acknowledge and have a consensus on the problem that will allow us to start from a common ground. I believe one of the keys lies in making those in attendance for t he upcoming Unleash The Roar! Townhall session to feel at ease at the venue, enabling them to contribute constructively to the cause, as some individuals may feel nervous and hesitant to speak up openly, unlike when they are typing on a keyboard. MODERATING - A KEY FACTOR IN TOWNHALL This is why I think both the moderator in the townhall, if any, and the agenda of the day play a crucial role during the whole event. Some fans suggested the scheduling of the townhall session on a Thursday (25/5) night at Suntec City can be a challenging one, as compared to having it on a weekend.  Additionally, part of the proceedings included updating the floor on the progress