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Tag: SEA Games 2015

  • SEA Games Organising Committe Chairman Calls Singapore Football Fans Fair Weather Fans

    SEA Games Organising Committe Chairman Calls Singapore Football Fans Fair Weather Fans

    Recent results for Singapore’s SEA Games football team have made for grim reading. But the Republic’s top sports executive called on fans to “show your mettle and come out in force” to support the struggling national Under-23 squad.

    SEA Games Organising Committee (Singsoc) exco chairman Lim Teck Yin, who is also Sport Singapore’s CEO, admitted that Aide Iskandar’s charges are under “a lot of pressure” following a 1-8 mauling by Japan’s Olympic team, a 1-2 defeat by Syria’s U-23s and a 1-3 loss to regional minnows Cambodia’s U-22 side this year. Coupled with poor displays from the senior Lions and their U-22 counterparts, Singapore’s national teams are still searching for their first win this year.

    Yet Lim, a former national water polo player, is urging true fans of Singapore football to back the Young Lions. He told The Straits Times on Wednesday: “Our SEA Games team is training hard and trying to do their best. For fans, it’s your turn now to step up.

    “For a fan to say ‘you perform then I come’, it’s sort of saying you’re not quite a fan. Fans are there for the highs and lows – they lift the team when they are low.

    “Singapore’s pride is at stake and regardless of how good or bad they are, this is our team.”

    Lim was speaking after leading President Tony Tan Keng Yam on his first tour of the Sports Hub in Kallang, where they met national athletes who are training for the Games.

    The Young Lions have been grouped with Indonesia, Myanmar, Cambodia and Philippines for the June 5-16 extravaganza. The football tournament will kick off on May 29, with tickets going on sale on May 6.

     

    Source: www.straitstimes.com

  • Lions Gold Medal Hunt Begins

    Lions Gold Medal Hunt Begins

    There is no doubt Aide Iskandar’s job is a tough one. His SEA Games-bound squad have been handed an easier group for the Under-23 football competition but the irony is that expectations will be higher for them to deliver a better result than their bronze medal performance in 2013.

    Singapore will host the 28th edition of the Games from June 5 to 16 and playing on home soil in front of a partisan crowd, the pressure will be massive.

    During today’s (April 15) draw for the competition at the Sports Hub, Aide’s under-23 side were placed in Group A with 2013 silver medallists Indonesia, Myanmar, Cambodia and the Philippines.

    The tougher Group B consists of defending champions Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Laos, Brunei and Timor-Leste. The top two teams of each group will advance to the semi-finals but Singapore’s passage to the last four is anything but assured.

    In six friendly matches they played from January to March in their preparation for the Games, they lost five and drew one. Two of the losses were during a training stint in Turkey, including a 1-1 draw with Uzbekistan’s Under-21 side.

    On their return they were handed an 8-1 drubbing by Japan’s under-22 team, and they suffered a 3-1 defeat by Cambodia’s Under-22 side last month.

    With Indonesia a perennial threat and Myanmar also in the mix, Aide has his work cut out to whip the team into shape.

    He will only be able to assemble the entire team in May because the squad, made up of players from LionsXII and Courts Young Lions, have Malaysian Super League and S-League commitments.

    “As hosts we want to do well and we have to challenge ourselves to qualify for the semi-final,” said Aide. “But our final phase of training will only kick off from May 1, which is an important and critical period when we can work on team bonding and cohesiveness.”

    Team unity is an issue for the national Under-23 coach, particularly with talk among the fraternity that the poor attitude of some players is disrupting the team. Aide has engaged the help of former fellow Lions defender Kadir Yahaya, a reputed task master who steered Singapore’s Youth Olympics side to bronze in 2010.

    “He is a no-nonsense guy who is focused on results and won’t stand for prima donnas,” said former international Lim Tong Hai. “The team needs to be consolidated before the Games and between Aide and Kadir, they could probably do it.”

    Added former Lions midfielder Malek Awab: “The performance of the team during pre-Games matches in the last few months has not been encouraging.

    “We had stars like Fandi Ahmad and Sundram (ex-striker V Sundramoorthy) during my time in the national team and none of them were prima donnas. if they want to make anything of themselves, they must follow the instructions of the coaches. If not, it is going to be tough for them.”

     

    Source: www.todayonline.com

  • The Singapore Sports Hub Will Be Ready For SEA Games 2015

    The Singapore Sports Hub Will Be Ready For SEA Games 2015

    The Singapore Sports Hub will face its biggest test in less than two months when the S$1.33 billion facility hosts 10 of the 36 sports to be competed at the 28th SEA Games from June 5 to 16.

    While the Sports Hub has experienced some glitches since it opened last June, its chief operating officer Oon Jin Teik is “confident, but not complacent” that the 35ha venue will hold up well during the Games.

    The National Stadium had experienced issues with its grass pitch, as well as a roof leak during Taiwanese singer Jay Chou’s concert last December, but Oon is hopeful of restoring the public’s confidence in the Sports Hub when the Games roll into town.

    “We want to redeem (ourselves) on every occasion and not just the SEA Games,” he said at a media briefing at the Sports Hub yesterday.

    “We want it to continue to be functioning at every event, that’s always the objective. There’s a lot of work (to be done). We are confident but not complacent. “The bigger issues that are publicly known, we are fixing them and we see the improvement there and we’re also fixing the other smaller issues.”

    The lay-and-play natural grass turf will be placed in the 55,000-seater National Stadium after the opening ceremony on June 5, and in time for the athletics competition two days later as well as for the football semi-finals and final on June 13 and 15,
    respectively.

    “The preparation for this (lay-and-play) has already started. Progress is good and we will monitor it on a daily basis,” said Oon. “Yes (it’s a short turnaround), but it is within the scope of what we have planned for and what our partners and suppliers can do.”

    Four venues within the Sports Hub — the National Stadium, OCBC Arena, Singapore Indoor Stadium, OCBC Aquatic Centre — will host aquatics, athletics, badminton, basketball, billiards and snooker, fencing, football, netball, table tennis and volleyball during the SEA Games.

    The organisers aim to attract 800,000 to one million visitors for the 10 sports at the Kallang cluster, while the remaining clusters at Marina Bay and the Singapore Expo will stage the rest.

    The Games’ biggest venue host plans to pull out all the stops to draw spectators and fans to the Sports Hub during the multi-sports event, with a slew of activities and programmes planned throughout this month and the next to promote awareness among the public and drive support for the national athletes.

    Dubbed the Pre-SEA Games Roar, activities include venue tours, meet-and-greet sessions with Team Singapore athletes, a Games-inspired fashion show, and Experience Sports Super 10s, a fun challenge to give the public a chance to play and compete in the 10 sports featured at the SEA Games. Entry to events such as the Cuesports Festival (April 18 to 19) and the 11th men’s SEABA Basketball Championship (April 27 to May 1) will also be free of charge.

    The Sports Hub is promoting the SEA Games in tandem with the Singapore SEA Games Organising Committee, and Oon explained that, as the biggest venue cluster for the region’s biggest multi-sport meet, the Sports Hub is obligated to hype excitement levels.

    “Through this initiative called the Pre-SEA Games Roar, we want to help Singaporeans discover, support and play,” Oon said. “Help them experience, understand and meet the athletes, form a relationship between the venue, sport and athletes.”

    Visit www.sportshub.com.sg for more information on the Pre-SEA Games Roar activities.

     

    Source: www.todayonline.com

  • Irfan Fandi Makes S League Debut At 17 Years Old

    Irfan Fandi Makes S League Debut At 17 Years Old

    Just hours after signing for the Courts Young Lions, Irfan Fandi made his S.League debut as his team took on Tampines Rovers on Thursday night.

    The eldest son of Singapore football legend Fandi Ahmad, who turns 18 later this year, will link up with what is essentially the national Under-23 side until 30 June in order to be part of their preparations for the upcoming SEA Games.

    Irfan, who stands at a strapping 1.86 metres despite his age, was deployed in a centre-back role instead of his usual position as a striker at Jurong West Stadium.

    The teenager acquitted himself well enough at the back with a few no-nonsense clearances, while weighing in with one or two solid tackles. He was also involved in some robust challenges and the number 23’s night ended when he was taken off after 62 minutes in a 1-0 loss.

    It was not Irfan’s first time playing as a defender, having been deployed in the position the Singapore U22s’ recent 3-0 loss to Cambodia’s senior side in a friendly a week ago.

    Irfan, who is on the books of Chilean top-flight side Universidad Catolica, noted that the style of play was different from what he had experienced in South America.

    “I think it was a very good experience for me because the way they play here is different,” he said. “It’s more physical, so I am going have to get used to that and just give my best every time I play.
    “I thought we played really well and I think everyone gave their best; we were just unlucky [to lose].”

    Coach Aide Iskandar explained after the game that Irfan was used as a makeshift defender as captain
    Shakir Hamzah was ruled out due to injury and he was satisfied with his display.

    “I think he did well and now he gives me good options [as] he can play [both] upfront and at the back,” the former national captain said.

    Irfan is likely to see action in his usual striker role as the season goes on, having already proven himself as a threat after scoring a goal each in his last two games for the U23s in their friendly defeats to Japan U22s and Syria U23s last month.

    Touted as one of local football’s brightest prospects and tipped to emulate his father, Irfan will be vying for a spot in the U23s team that will be gunning for a first-ever gold medal in football when the Games come around in June.

     

    Source: https://sg.sports.yahoo.com

  • Lions Suzuki Cup Debacle: Replace Bernd Stange With Local Coach?

    Lions Suzuki Cup Debacle: Replace Bernd Stange With Local Coach?

    The Lions’ ignominious group-stage exit from the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Suzuki Cup after Saturday’s 3-1 defeat to Malaysia has prompted fans and former national footballers to call for swift changes to local football and its management.

    The brickbats came fast and furious after the defending champions’ poor showing, with some calling for national head coach Bernd Stange to resign, while others pointed to issues within the sport that have seen Singapore’s world ranking slide to No 158 this month as well as the S-League’s recent brouhaha with the decision to reduce the number of clubs and implement age restrictions for players.

    Former national defender R Sasikumar and veteran footballer Aleksandar Duric have joined in the chorus for Mr Stange to quit. Mr Sasikumar told TODAY: “I don’t think the calls are premature as the coach is there to get a result. It is time for him to go and to let us rebuild with local coaches. Ninety per cent of the public would want V Sundramoorthy or Fandi Ahmad as national coach.”

    But Mr Sasikumar — who won the Tiger Cup with the team in 1998 — believes the root of the Lions’ problems lies much deeper. “There are fundamental issues that need to be addressed … The Germans did it after they were kicked out of Euro 2000. It is also time for us to take stock of how we play football and how we approach football and we need to fix it,” said Mr Sasikumar.

    “After the 2010 AFF Suzuki Cup loss, what was done was aesthetic and we didn’t make changes to the philosophy of football. Right now, we talk about (the Football Association of Singapore) Strategic Plan, but where are the key performance indicators? Is it winning the Suzuki Cup consistently or qualifying for the AFC Cup?

    “If you are a private organisation, it’s natural that when you don’t give shareholders (what they want), they will look at the management. Football is no different, and that is accountability.”

    Added local football fan Navin Nambiar: “I’m not calling for Bernd Stange to be sacked as coaches need time. But looking at this, will a local coach do any worse? Some local flavour will be good and it would have been nice to see Fandi come up against Malaysian coach Dollah Salleh.”

    While players such as Hariss Harun, Shahril Ishak and Shakir Hamzah drew praise for their performances on the field, others came under fire. Former Lions player Rafi Ali attributed the poor performances to the lack of technical ability, saying: “My observation of teams such as Thailand, Vietnam and Myanmar is that their technical ability is good. Thailand are very comfortable with the ball, they move the ball nicely and are exciting to watch.

    “What is most glaring (about Singapore) is the lack of basic technique, such as passing and movement. We have to look at it and stop giving excuses. The most important thing is to grow the players technically, so the national coach has a lot of players to look at.”

    Aside from next year’s 2018 FIFA World Cup Asian qualifiers, the next big tournament will be the 2015 SEA Games to be held here from June 5 to 16. The gold medal is the target for the national Under-23 side, and former Singapore international Terry Pathmanathan said: “Players will be under tremendous pressure. They have to identify the players quickly and move them into regular training together.

    “I don’t know how much help it is for the Young Lions to play in the S-League as playing there and against Under-23 opponents is different.”

    Local fan Yusuf Kay, 39, is not hopeful of the team’s chances just yet, saying: “I don’t expect much for the SEA Games as a lot more needs to be done.”

     

    Source: www.todayonline.com