Commentary: Singapore's past football culture is a forgotten treasure worth rediscovering

SINGAPORE: My first encounter with football was in the early 1990s when my grandfather took me to the old National Stadium to catch a Malaysia Cup match between Singapore and a team from across the Causeway.

Was it Kedah? Or Selangor? Or perhaps Pahang? I can't remember the exact details - this was about 30 years ago - but I do remember it was supposedly an important match against a tough opponent.

The experience was a memorable albeit unnerving one. The cavernous stadium was packed to capacity, making it difficult to move through certain parts, especially the stairs to the spectator stands.

I had one hand on the curry puff my grandfather bought, and the other desperately grasping his hand as we squeezed our way through the boisterous crowd.

The noise also became overbearing at times when the spectators suddenly burst out yelling. I later learned this was called the Kallang Roar.

I suppose my love for football began on that day because I started to join my neighbours for their kickabouts at the void deck after that outing with my grandfather. Sometimes we pretended to be players from the Singapore national team.

“Who are you today?” my friend asked on one occasion.

“I’m Saswadimata Dasuki,” I replied.

He couldn’t understand why I didn’t pick the likes of Fandi Ahmad or V Sundramoorthy. 

The truth was I didn’t have a favourite player. As a 10-year-old who barely knew anything about the sport except that I had to get the ball past the person who was standing between two concrete pillars in the void deck, my choice was solely dependent on the fact that he wore my favourite number. 

Before long, I was hooked on the sport, and playing it with my peers wasn’t enough to satiate my obsession. I would also catch matches on the tele, beg my