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This time, there’s no more signing of agreements. It’s crunch time. Singapore take on Malaysia in the first leg of the World Cup 2014 Asian Qualifying Tournament 2nd round, at Jalan Besar Stadium. Sure, it only has a capacity of 6,000. But all the tickets are sold out and live telecast on Channel 5 means everyone – AND THE ROCK MEANS EVERYONE! –  can tune in. And those of you who can, please do: this match might bring back the much-desired Malaysia Cup feeling, but make no mistake. This one is all about the future.

Despite some questionable actions by the FAS, there can be no question about the buzz generated for the match. With the likes of Kunalan Subramaniam, Safee Sali and Muslim Ahmad in the Tigers squad, the reigning champions of ASEAN football will want a decent result for the second leg back at Bukit Jalil on July 28th.

But Singapore, three-time champions of the region in their own right, will not lie down and let the Tigers roll over them. It’s going to be a catfight of epic proportions!

GO LIONS GO!

Over Twitter I found out that the Football Associations of Singapore and Malaysia have signed an agreement to work together for their mutual benefit after protracted discussions. In short, here is what was agreed upon:

• Increase competitive matches between the two countries
• Competition between representatives of the respective leagues
• Malaysian presence in the S.League, League Cup and Singapore Cup (2012-2015)
• Singapore presence in the Malaysian Super League, FA Cup and Malaysia Cup (2012-2015)

This move was made in the hope that “fans and players alike” in both nations will be able to witness “exciting and pulsating football in the respective domestic leagues spiced up by the traditional historic rivalry” and both countries will benefit from the increase in international matches.

Not really referring to this but you can if you insist. Had a decent week, still missing my precious visitors from Singapore but at least some work is getting done. It’s slowly approaching the time to make a huge decision. My Master’s thesis needs to be written, starting soon! First, of course, there is the small matter of deciding on a topic.

Till then, I have lots on my plate as usual, and one of these is to help a neighbour create a website to publicise his writing. Wonder how much is a reasonable price to charge, though, since I’ve never done it for money before. And it’s not like I’m some damn pro web designer… though even if I were I wouldn’t charge a hefty fee.

So, the weekend looks to be filled with anticipation on all fronts, and one thing has at least already gone right: Singapore’s U-16 football team has beaten Juventus U-15 on penalties to advance to the finals of the Canon Lion City Cup. Mismatch on paper, perhaps? But I hear it was an intense match. Singapore’s football future is looking good. What would make it even better is if the U-15s also vanquish Flamengo U-15 to make it an all-Singapore final. Jalan Besar Stadium would be packed to the brim, I think!

One can always dream.