BoLASEPaKO.COM - A Blog on Singapore Football

Former sports reporter Amanpreet Singh penned the following thoughts (in green text) on Facebook shortly after Albirex Niigata (Singapore) succumbed to their sixth defeat of the campaign to Tanjong Pagar United  on 12th July 2024. Albirex Niigata (S) under Kazuaki Yoshinaga in his previous 4 league seasons in charge (2017, 2018, 2022 and 2023): 7 losses in TOTAL. Albirex Niigata (S) so far this season: 6 losses. Yoshinaga is not the problem. In fact, he is the least of the problems. If you want him sacked, then you have very limited knowledge about the challenges in Singapore football. Sacking him will not solve anything. There is also no other coach (local or foreign) who knows the club better than him. Do you think hiring another coach will result in an immediate upturn in results for Albirex? It will not. In fact, things will, in all likelihood, get worse. Coach Yoshinaga made a sad exit from Singapore football Let’s not forget that Yoshinaga has won the league title in every si...

This article is contributed by Mr Chua Kheng Seng who wrote in to share his ideas on how to make the Singapore Premier League (SPL) a vibrant one after he read the blog post which suggested the implementation of a "play-off" system by this blog recently. Here are some of my suggestions that flash through my mind after I read a blog post by BoLASEPaKO•COM on whether a "Play-Off" system can sustain interest in the Singapore Premier League (SPL)? As the current SPL does not have a promotion-relegation system with the rest of the local league pyramid system (i e.: Singapore Football League, Island Wide League), it may be a major stumbling block to its growth because of the absence of this convention method to determine who to play in a league. No promotion/relegation for SPL since Day One LACK OF EXCITEMENT This may result in a lack of excitement for the fans or motivation for players to perform at a certain stage of the campaign because the same teams and players are...

This article is contributed by Mr Stanley Ho who is sharing his opinions on the recently announced "UNLEASH THE ROAR!" initiative by both SportSG and Football Association of Singapore. Disillusioned local football fans must be convinced this is not yet another paper exercise IF COMMENTS on social media pages are anything to go by, a plan that was drafted to unite the nation through football has divided it. On the one hand is a relatively small group of proponents who embraced the lofty blueprint with cautious optimism. And these are made up largely of people who are involved in some way in the local football ecosystem. "Unleash The Roar!" was unveiled last week (credit: FAS) On the other is the majority of your ordinary citizens who greeted the mere mention of 2034 World Cup with ridicule. Many of these people just couldn’t care less, especially when there are more pressing needs to be met amid a pandemic. But, among the non-believers is a particular group that int...

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...

Yusof B Ibrahim was at the National Stadium last Saturday to witness the "Battle of Masters" Tournament featuring the likes of former Arsenal players alongside their Liverpool and Singapore counterparts. Football fans at the National Stadium were in a treat the last weekend when they were given a chance to witness a number of former English Premier League stars in action alongside Singapore footballing legends in the “Battle of Masters” tournament organized by Masters Football. DURIC SCORED AGAINST HIS HEROES ... Both Arsenal and Singapore Masters raised the curtain for the night by dishing out some entertaining football with the Gunners had two of their attempts denied by the woodwork in the first half. Aleks Duric (blue) scored on his new National Stadium debut Shortly after the breather,1998 World Cup winner Robert Pirès reminded us all of his trickery during his “The Invincibles” heydays when he opened the account in the 23rd minute of play (each half of the ma...

Yusof B Ibrahim was among the 104,407 spectators who made their presence weeks ago at the first ever International Champions Cup - Singapore (ICCSG) tournament which was held for the first time in the South East Asian region since its inception in 2013. Here is his summary of the tournament after catching the likes of Chelsea, FC Bayern Munich and FC Internazionale Milano in action in a space of five days at Kallang. 48,522 at the ICCSG opening night (Getty Images for ICC) A total of 104,407 spectators from across the South East Asian region cherished the rare opportunity to catch their favourite teams and players in live action during the just concluded International Champions Cup - Singapore (ICCSG) tournament which was held for the first time in this region. MENTOR VS STUDENT ... Besides the players who mesmerized the fans on the field, it was also a battle of wits between the Italian coaches off the field where Chelsea FC's coach Antonio Conte found himself up agai...

The former players featured in last weekend's “Battle Of Europe” match between England Masters and Germany Masters had many of those at the game recalled those good old memories when they saw the likes of legends Lothar Matthäus, Teddy Sheringham, etc. took on each other in one of football's most storied rivalries at Kallang with Yusof B Ibrahim , among those at the game, who penned his thoughts on that evening. Teddy Sheringham and Lothar Matthäus skippered their teams It has been fifty years since England last won their first ever and only major international football honour to date - 1966 FIFA World Cup by beating West Germany 4-2 under one of the most controversial circumstances ever which is still much of a debate today. As such, there was a sense of Déjà vu over the last weekend when the England Masters repeated the same scoreline by defeated the Germany Masters in the Battle of Europe 2016 that took place at the iconic National Stadium of the Singapore Sports H...

Since the start of the season, there were several S . League matches which were delayed from starting on time or had to halt abruptly before resuming due to the activation of the Lightning Warning System (LWS), following is an article contributed by Corinthian, a long-time observer of Singapore football, on his thoughts on the safety initiative. The incidences of potential storms that require LWS to come into service seem to be quite prevalent again and as we 've seen over the last few seasons, it's not just during the rainy season that this Sport Singapore public safety mechanism is being activated.  The LWS is "calling shots" at the S . League game, not the referees these days I do wonder why FAS (Football Association of Singapore) don't take on the authorities and argue for an exemption from this arbitrary ban which is treating professional sports in the the same way as public activities in our stadiums and in so doing take accept full responsibility...

This article first appeared as a posting on the blog's Facebook Page days before 2015 and it was written by Mr David Ng who called himself "an old friend of singapore football". With his permission I decided to reproduce the posting as a form of guest columnist piece and the first piece of the year. Coach Bernd Stange was given a lifeline recently  I am relief that (current national coach Bernd) Stange is given a chance to prove himself and his method. He credential and his achievement speak of who he is and is capable of achieving. It cannot be that he is successful elsewhere but suddenly he is a flop in Singapore. Otherwise, why would FAS after so many months of selection choose him. (Former national coach ) Raddy (Avramovic) has (Aleksandar) Duric, (Daniel) Bennett and a few others to help him. It is now up to the mentality of the players to professionally accept his style of training and play and get out of their comfort zone and learn new tactic...

Mr Gale Gan was formerly the Marketing and Media Executive of Tanjong Pagar United (TPUFC). He started his S.League involvement as a photographer with KallangRoar in 2007 and joined Geylang United in 2011. The following post is a contribution by him on the topic of CRM (Customer Relationship Management), which in his opinion is something has yet to make its presence in the local football industry. Fans are always a crucial part of the game (file picture) If you see happy customers returning to consume your product no matter how much it costs, it will mean your business is successful one way or another. Of course, the best combination will be having a good product and good customer relations management. Sad to say that in terms of football here, we are still very backward in that mindset. Supporters are basically the customers in football as they pay to support their clubs. Here, the people in charge seem to have totally missed that open goal and have been trying to...

Days after I posted the entry titled "Hello! #sleague is NOT a FARM LEAGUE!" , I received a mail from Mr Foo Mao Chian and with his permission, I reproduced the content of this said mail. I share your frustration with the direction FAS is taking Singapore football and the way the S . League is being run. S.League kicked off in 1996 The league started out in 1996 as a competition between clubs representing regions in Singapore (with the exceptions of Police and SAFFC). Fans were encouraged to identify and support the clubs representing their kampung . Somehow along the way, we seemed to have lost our way. Foreign teams, who Singaporeans have no sense of affinity with, joined the league. To make matters worse, these foreign clubs were generally badly run, players ill-disciplined and some were even corrupted and playing standards have overall been poor. And then FAS started the CYL (Courts Young Lions)  initiative, which deprived the clubs of the young talents ...

I saw what one of my fellow photographers, Mr Andrew Him who shoots for The Unofficial Woodlands Wellington Supporters' Club (The Black Sheep) , posted on his Facebook page days ago on taking match photos at various S.League venue that I thought it would be good to share what he said. So with his permission, I reproduced what he shared online of his experience as below. Shooting the S-League matches in our (unfortunately) very dim stadiums, many non-photogs have the misconception that ALL the action can be caught irregardless of the distance. There's a limitation due to brightness of the stadium lights - the dimmer it is, the better your camera equipment have to be (which is likely to cost thousands for a good camera body + top ranging lens). The distance and range of action captured (credit: Andrew Him) In many cases, most photogs are not rich nor have company sponsored equipment; they make do with mid-range photography equipment that's able to handle low lighting ...

Rennard Ho, a 14 year-old Courts Young Lions supporter, who penned a letter to one of the papers regarding his thoughts on the recent announcement of the joint FAS-FAM MOU that would see a Singapore team playing in the Malaysian League for the first time since 1994. Below is the unedited version of the letter Rennard emailed and many thanks to him for allowing me to republish it. "First and foremost, I do not actually expect this to be published. I'm 14 this year, and I support the Courts Young Lions. This move to the Malaysia Cup, has brought disappointment and shock to me, and many others in the football fraternity. I'm upset that, after those attempts to secure major sponsors, fans and a TV show about the team, we are going to Malaysia. This is from the BOTTOM of my heart. Have FAS ever thought about how fans think? They EXPECT us to be happy. Wait. What about those players? Don't they have an education here? So should we expect them to travel to and fro from...

Prelude... I'm not being unprofessional for placing this uncompleted team shot of the visiting Hanoi T & T (pictured above) before the start of their AFC Cup match against Tampines Rovers, as their star striker Le Cong Vinh abruptly left the field to have his boots changed before the shot was taken (much to our "disappointment"). THE OUTCOME A sweet victory for the hosting Stags, as I'm please again to have the regular guest columnist of this blog, Mr Neo Chee Seong to have his take of the match. Many Thanks to his effort. "Knowing that a win will put them firmly in the drivers' seat for a ticket into the next round, Tampines Rovers came out to Jalan Besar Stadium, with the mentality to kill the game early. Ahmad Latiff Khamarudin (pictured below, leaped to celebrate his second goal), the “bad boy” of Singapore Football, puts the stags 2-0 up within 22 minutes with two brilliant efforts from outside the penalty box. The second, which was...