Busloads of fans make it to Singapore for thrilling football action

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THE 37 busload of Selangor fans made the Sultan of Selangor’s Football competition, held at the Jalan Besar Stadium in Singapore, a memorable one.

About 1,500 fans made their presence felt from as early as 4pm on Sunday. Dressed in the famous red and yellow colours, the fans came armed to cheer the Selangor veterans as well as the Selangor Selection for the annual encounter.

Ahmad Omar, who came with his family, said he had been a Red Giants’ fan since his school days.

“This competition is unique as I get the chance to watch the veterans from both sides as well as current players in action. We like the atmosphere and I would like to thank the organisers for giving us the opportunity to be in Singapore.

Well done: Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah (left) and Nathan applaud the teams after the prize-giving ceremony.

“I speak for the other fans also. They had a great time,” Ahmad said.

The event became lively when a group of artistes from Singapore entertained the crowd. And when the veterans trooped onto the pitch there were loud cheers for Singapore’s Fandi Ahmad, T. Pathmanathan and Samad Allapitchay as well as Selangor’s Datuk Soh Chin Aun, Zainal Abidin Hassan, Dollah Salleh and Santokh Singh.

Fandi, despite his age, showed glimpses of the skills that made him a household name in the 1980s. The match ended 1-1 in normal time with Salim Moin scoring for the Lions and Abdul Muin replying for the Red Giants.

Out of my way: Singapore’s selection Noh Rahman(right) try to get past Selangor’s P. Gunalan.

The champions were decided on penalty kicks with Singapore winning 4-1 on penalties.

Then, when the big match between the Selangor Selection and Singapore Selection started, fans from both sides were sporting and cheered vociferously.

Singapore were the better side and took a 3-0 lead with goals by Indra Sahdan, Aleksandar Duric and John Wilkinson.

After the breather, Selangor had their fair share in attack but could not score any goals. With the convincing win, Singapore regained the prestigious Sultan of Selangor’s Cup as well as RM50,000 while Selangor settled for RM10,000.

Singapore president S. R. Nathan and Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah of Selangor gave away the prizes to the teams. Selangor mentri besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim was also present for the competition.

Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah had initiated the tournament in 2001 to foster better relations between Selangor and Singapore and to relive the glorious moments of football.

Then, it was called the Regent’s Cup. In 2003, it was renamed the Sultan of Selangor’s Cup.

Next year, the annual competition will be held in Shah Alam.