Central Park Football Club (Singapore)

The date has been set. The players are ready. For the first time, Central Park will go head-to-head against the Singapore Vikings in the EFL Challenge Cup which will run from 5th July to 3rd August 2008. The match-up would prove to be an interesting duel with the likes of Michael Jorgensen, Michael Jensen, Thomas Soerensen, Soren Larsen and Lars Moeller turning out for the opposite sides against team-mates such as Vincent Tan, Ng Heng Li, Alagu Murugesan, Syed Iskandar and many more. This after the Sharks were grouped together with the Vikings in Group A alongside British Club who have just captured the EOEFL Cup recently and Conchise-Kings.

In Group B, we will see the Vietnamese outfit of Fighting Cocks, the Irish team in the form of Hibernians, FC Nippon for the land of the rising sun and Youth All-Star. The competition will be played in a single round robin group matches with the top 2 teams from each group advancing to the Semi-Finals where they will face off again to decide who have the right to represent the group in the Finals. All the games will be conducted with 1 referee and 2 linesman.

‘With the current league season in a break, the tournament would most probably be used more for trialist to don the Sharks jersey in the new season,’ said the manager. Nonetheless, with the rumor going on in the backstage about the plight of Naoki’s who will be part of the Vikings setup for the new Cosmoleague season, the question on everyone’s lips would be if he will be donning the white of Vikings or the yellow for the Sharks.

Four years ago in May 2003, a group of players gathered for a game of football in the now-defunct Marina South football pitch which unsurprisingly ended in defeat. With no proper team kits and let alone a name for the team to be associated with, that team doesn’t looked any different from the next neighborhood team who periodically gets set-up so quickly and gone just in a flash.

Fast forward to 2007, that team is now known as Central Park Football Club, affectionately known as Sharks and yes, they have a proper kit now. Founded with the belief that it will provide its players the opportunity to compete at the highest level possible, there isn’t anything bigger than the National Football League for an amateur team who never once won any competitions that they have participated in but the club roots remained firmly on the ground as it maintained a team in ESPZEN, competing in Division 6.

Saturday, 17th March 2007 was a symbolic day as the team set foot at Farrer Park, a ground always associated with the colorful history of local football folklore. The opposition was Crescent Villa. Ninety minutes gone, the Sharks were still a goal down. With the clock ticking in injury time, Ng Heng Li put his name in the history books by scoring the leveler, instantaneously giving Central Park Football Club their first ever point in their debut and the Sharks frontman putting his name in the club history books by scoring his team first ever goal in the NFL. If anyone was guessing that the dream run is going to go on, they were to be disappointed as the team went on a winless run of 13 games which include a 9-0 demolition job by eventual champion Tiong Bahru at Tanglin. However, the team pulled themselves up with a 4-1 victory over Sporting Westlake in the next game and a 2-2 draw against Summerville before going down 5-1 against Sunrise Place and PUB in their final two games, ending the season bottom of the league with just 6 points from 1 win and 3 draws.

Over at ESPZEN, with just barebones of the team left, the club went on a recruitment drive which brought the likes of Jason Tan, Syed Iskandar, Goh Zhuoneng, Thomas Soerensen and Michael Jorgensen to the fold but in truth, the team was always going to struggle as they finished the season in 4th place. In the meantime, the last game of the season spells the end of veteran utility player Lutz Fullgraf’s reign with the club as he decided to hang up his boots after making 62 appearances for the club since August 2005.

With their tails in between their legs after the NFL experience and an inconsistent season on the ESPZEN front, it was a choice to either regroup players from both teams playing in these leagues or to give both these teams their own identity. The management chose the latter and Central Park International was borne, consisting of a mixture of local and expatriates players while Central Park FC consists of local players, in view of future participation in FAS tournaments and made up mainly from the players who took part in the club’s NFL misadventure.

Fears of how two teams will fare during this transitional period were laid to rest at the end of ESPZEN Season 7 which kicked off in August when both teams managed to secure automatic promotion placing with their 2nd place finishing, new recruit Isaac Mong receiving a personal accolades by finishing as the Division Top Scorer with 20 goals for FC and International team averaging 4 goals per game and finishing the season finding the net no less than 68 times in 14 games.

While critics may find that the club as a whole didn’t reach the highs of 2006, the experience gained from the NFL adventure alone on and off the field was invaluable to both the players and the management and NFL is by far, the epitome in amateur football and being part of it falls perfectly in line with the club’s vision of providing its members with the highest playing level possible. The chairman however summed it up where it all went wrong by commenting, ‘Somehow, somewhere, our visions got skewed to the point whereby we had players who came in just to join the NFL bandwagon. In our pursuit going thru this path, we lost the beliefs of players who play for the team and acquiring players to play for the team instead. We learn from this debacle and move on stronger.’

The highs and lows in 2007 however weren’t possible without the dedication of the players who came down religiously for 78 games during the year and managing a total of 37 wins, 10 draws and finding the net no less than 229 times. With an average of 3 goals per game, it wasn’t a surprise that it was a keen contest for the players to grab the title as the club’s top scorer for the year with Naoki Fukushima managing only to pip Ng Heng Li, who have held that title for 2 consecutive year by just a single goal, finishing with 22 goals as compared to the latter’s 21. Close behind was new recruit Thomas Soerensen who finished with 20 goals to his name. Further down that list include the likes of Jason Tan, Syed Iskandar, Richard Benkovic and Isaac Mong who managed to find the net at least 15 times and the list goes on to include the defensive act of Goh Zhuoneng and Jeffrey Soon to get their name on the list with a goal each to their name.

While goals are essential to win games, a quote by Isaac Mong ‘Goals are just the by-products of the game’ meant the contributions in defense were as crucial as the goals from the front as we have the emergence of defensive duo Vincent Yeo and Michael Jorgensen who became the mainstay at the heart of CPI’s defense. Both were ably flanked by the likes of Goh Zhuoneng, Fahrun Anderson, Jerry Kheng and Michael Jensen during the course of the season. For FC, new recruits such as Ridzman Rahman have added some stability in defense by forming a partnership with seniors such as Charlson Tay, Teo Yi Quan and Kelvin Tan. The Sharks culture continues with players such as Robert Price, Thomas Soerensen, Naem Rohman, and Muzzammil Abdul Malek calling the club as their own and making their contributions count for the team’s second place showing in the league.

However in any contact sports, there are bound to be causalities during the course of the year as the team had to make do without the services of players such as Zulkifli Awab who despite nursing a groin injury continues to turn out for the team while Chin Jiawen and Andi Mirza both had to undergo knee reconstruction after damaging their ACL. Team captain Jeremy Chua was probably the worst of the lot as he had to endure the year with reoccurrences of his knee injury just one week before the start of the NFL and while he managed to recover from that, a damage to his ankle at the end of the NFL season meant that he missed almost the whole season in ESPZEN at the tail end of the year.

Though 2007 was somewhat a roller-coaster season, one thing that stood out was the players who continue to don the Sharks jersey, whether result were favorable or not. These are players who are proud to be associated with the team rather than just being part of a setup. While there are several individuals in the team that played their hearts out and contribute immensely during the year, Vincent Yeo stood up with his resolute performance in the year after taking over the captaincy role from the departing CPI’s captain Lutz Fullgraf. His overall play improved over the year with some majestic displays during the season and his partnership with Michael Jorgensen looked to be blossoming from each game as the season moves on.

The year nonetheless was a bitter-sweet experience for the club as a whole but at the end of it, the club achieved milestones which would rarely be replicate with other clubs of the same stature, having players who can call Central Park Football Club as their own.

Come 2008, it is going to be another chapter for both Central Park International and Central Park FC as they continue their journey in Division 5 and 7 respectively. The questions that will be asked would be, will they do better than 2007? Will the club be sending a team in the Islandwide League at the tail-end of 2008? All this will be answered in the months ahead.

Central Park attacking duo of Ng Heng Li and Naoki Fukushima have apparently caught the Amazing Race Asia bug as the two hopefuls submitted their entries for the upcoming Season 3 version of the hit TV Show which was won by fellow Singaporeans Adrian and Collin in the last season. Submitting their entries just before the dateline, both players remained optimistic of their chance to be featured in the reality tv series which have been gaining popularity eversince it was first shown in the region. Sharks forward Heng Li commented that, 'We both had fun trying to come up with the audition tape but even if we don't get in, there will always be future opportunities for both of us to participate in the competition.'

When asked about his partner and their chances in the challenges ahead if they were chosen for the race, he quipped, 'It does look like all the challenges will be done by me considering this Jap guy is afraid of almost everything and he's just pants even when it comes to directions.'

Naoki on the other hand however feel that he definitely is an asset to the team. Having been to almost every continent in the world since birth, the player who is almost famous for his quirky comments on what he have for breakfast when come to alcoholic beverages feel that his fear of heights, anything that crawls and have more than 2 legs will not hinder his contribution to the cause. He too remain optimistic that they both will get an opportunity for an audition.

A club insider though commented that the audition video look more like two guys looking for a life partner. And yes, the both are self-confessed gays.

With the games coming thick and fast over the festive periods, both International and FC team plying in Division 6 and 8 are left with 3 more games till the end of the season. For the FC team though, their next game will be on 6 January. As for the International side, fixtures has been slated this weekend against Raptors and next weekend against ACE Team. The question now remained which not only have left the club fuming, how does the state of the pitch over at Chinese Recreation Club be deemed as playable? Over the weeks, it has been highlighted in many reports by the teams playing their fixtures on the field but it has fallen on deaf ears. With both games by the FC and International side being played over at that field last weekend and another game being slated this weekend for the International team, it looks like teams now have a part to play.

It has been clearly stated in league charter that the administrators of the league will ensure a good playing pitch for its games. Teams generally accept the fact that good pitches are hard to come by but to play in a field which in a state of disrepair, muddied and even potholes doesn’t bodes well for any team. If games from comparable leagues like the Cosmoleague have their fixtures cancelled due to the state of the field, questions is now being raised as to why are our league games still being played over at Chinese Recreation Club? Is it because that field is the only field being allowed to be played come rain, shine and storm since it’s a well-known fact that fiels from SSC are hard to come back during this period since most are closed for maintenance? This questions being raised by the club have been left unanswered. A little known fact for teams is both teams have the right to refuse to play on such fields even if the referee wants to carry on with the game. Perhaps it’s time teams invoke this right.

Over at Division 8, another issue arose with the likes of Redstar and Assumption reportedly having issues with their financial administration which we hope it will be resolved by the respective teams. But an interesting twist to this saga has left yet more questions. FC team was slated to have a scheduled fixtures against Assumption on the 9th December but it was postponed to 20 January, citing issues whereby financial deadlines are not being met by the team Assumption. In the league charter P5, it clearly spelt out that teams will have their games forfeited until their financial obligation the their games are being resolved. Thus to have the schedule postponed instead have raised questions as to whether they are two different league charters for teams.

Till now, this issue have yet to be formally replied by the league administrators. These are genuine questions being raised for the well-being of the league which some teams do want to know.

Who needs a pseudo Nani, a John Terry or even a Ronaldo in the team? In case you got the wrong idea, no. We aren’t talking about ESPZEN or some teams in the league. We are talking about the greatest football management simulation game produced by SEGA and from the people who brought us the cult game Championship Manager series from Sports Interactive. The launch of the latest instalment of the simulation management game, Football Manager 2008 have brought not only much anxiety from fans of the game, it somehow brought much joy to whoever is involved in Central Park Football Club. For those who are not accustomed to the game or even have ever heard of the game, it’s a football simulation game whereby you take control of a team ranging from Sleague to even the much famed Premiership, Spanish La Liga or even the Serie A. Think you can do a better job than Alex Ferguson or Martin Jol? Then this is the game for you as you take charge of the team and choose your best lineup as you seek for local and regional domination. Take control of your club’s transfer budget, signings and even tactical decision. If that’s your cup of tea, then this is the game for you.

The latest instalment of the series not only feature much advanced match engine and several eye-candy as compared to its predecessor which is a norm for every new series of the game, this time round, it features Central Park Football Club as one of the non-league teams in the game. Though the downside of the game has always been the Sleague as the only playable local league in the game, that doesn’t dampen the players and management of the team to somehow make full use of the availability of the majority of Sharks players, sign them up for their favorite team and see how they perform at a bigger stage. A little far-fetched some might say but hey, it’s a gaming world after all and it seems having a web presence is finally paying off as from the data collated for the game, it seems the information has been extracted from the Sharks website and an interesting data from the game was, since when did our homeground was Tanglin Pitch? Oh well, we are talking about the gaming world after all.

We have enough of the likes of Nani, John Terry and Ronaldos wannabe in the real world, let’s get some real Sunday Footballer in your team! As the saying goes, it’s not everyday that your name appear in some internationally acclaimed game. So grab your copy at any good gaming store now.

The EOEFL Cup (Edmund Optics Equatorial Football League) will kick off this coming Saturday with a slew of first round games. Central Park will be sending a combined team from both the International and FC team which will suplement their participation in ESPZEN. The games will be played in single robin group matches with the top two teams from each group advancing to the knock-out Quarter-Final stage played in a home-away format with the teams with the higher goal-difference advancing to the next round.

Central Park has been drawn into Group A against the likes of defending champion British Club who they will face off this Saturday at Bukit Timah along with the likes of Young Guns United and Kool N The Gang to be played on 27th Oct and 1 Dec 2007 respectively. In group B, St Andrew’s FC, Credit Suisse and Fighting Cocks made up the trio of teams while group C will be represented by NUS Longwind, Tembusu and Johor Kings. As for group D, South Bouna Vista Saints, J-Heat, Cochise and Titans make up the quartet.

The weekend game between Raptors and the International team earlier this morning has been postponed due to stormy weather around the whole island, the second consecutive postponement for the team. Next Sunday, a double header awaits as Royals Sports entertain the International side while Loco Quadrilla will face off against the FC team.

Season 7 kicks off this Sunday with Division 8 match between Simei United running out 2-0 winners over Bricklands and Redstar Woodgrove notching a 2-1 win over Assumption United. Central Park will be sending two teams in the new season and they will ply their trade in Division 6 for the Internation team which as the name suggest, will comprise the club’s multi-national players while the other team, named Central Park will start their maiden season in ESPZEN and will comprise of local players.

With the team now out of the National Football League having been relegated last month, ESPZEN will be the club platform to rebuild a team for next year Islandwide League and it is hoped that with two teams participating competitvely, players will be able to get the much needed competitive playing experiences. Both teams will kick off their season at the Chinese Recreation Club next Sunday with the International team being pitched against Raptors who missed out after losing their playoff game for promotion to Division 5 while the next game at the same venue will feature FC team opening their accounts against Interstar.

Five games on and the Sharks are still looking for that elusive win. Let’s face it. Besides the humiliating 8-1 defeat at the hands of Sunrise Place, the team was hardly over-ran in their 4-2 defeat against Tiong Bahru. Despite going down 3 goals in quick succession in that game, the team fought back to 3-2 and were caught late in the second half. In their fourth game, the team managed to draw parity after going down early in the first half before finally losing 3-1. In their latest game, Elias Park managed only a solitary goal.

Nonetheless, let’s not take the fact that in the game, it’s finding the net that’s important to at least stand a chance of a victory. With an average of only 1 goal per game so far and a leaking defence, it’s high time that the players awake from the slumber. The team didn’t become bad overnight and comparing the make-up of the current team with the team that played in the Islandwide League, the Sharks looked to have strenghten in most department.

In a candid interview after the game with Elias Park, the manager had this to say, ‘Although it’s still early days, it’s probably time for the players to stand up and be counted rather than ponder on what could have been for the last five games. We didn’t come this far by some turn of events, we came here because we fought for it and deep down, we wanted it badly. Now, let’s show that we deserve a place in the league and take the level up a notch. It’s important to remember that things happen when you work for it. When you stopped having that hunger, no amount of morale-boosting pre-game talk can help any team. Show the rest of the team in the division what’s it’s like to be playing with a Shark’s crest on your chest.’

The Sharks are currently trailing by 5 points from safety as the bottom two will be relegated. They will be meeting Sporting Westlake this weekend and it’s important for them to start accumulating points before the gap from safety widens further.

A shocking incident was reported in the match-up between Crescent Villa and Tiong Bahru at Tanglin on Saturday with reports coming out that the match was abandoned after an assault on a match referee from three Tiong Bahru players. Though it remains unclear what transpired before the incident, Crescent Villa was leading by a goal to nil at that point of time. If the report of this ugly incident is true, the Disciplinary Committee will make sure that it comes down hard on the guilty parties and club.

In the other matches, Summerville and Sporting Westlake notched their first point of the season with 1-0 and 2-0 win over PUB and Elias Park respectively while Redhill Rangers snatched a point with a 1-1 draw against Singapore Power.

This weekend, it’s a match against top and bottom as Singapore Power host Central Park at Tanglin 4. The top billing of the week will be the match which pit Sunrise and Tiong Bahru at Farrer Park. Over at Tanglin 3, Sporting Westlake will play host to Crescent Villa while Summerville will entertain Elias Park at Tanglin 1. PUB on the other hand will look to bounce back against Redhill Rangers at the PUB Ground.

Fellow promoted side, Elias Park will be cursing their luck as they fell to a late goal against PUB on Saturday with only 5 minutes left of regulation time. League favorites Sunrise Place opened their accounts with a 3-2 win over Summerville FC at Tanglin with Jaly Jelani grabbing a brace.

Another early favorites Tiong Bahru kept a clean slate against Redhill Rangers with a 2-0 victory with goals from Rahaizad and Musyadi while Singapore Power and Sporting Westlake played to a 6 goals affair as the former came out winners with a 4-2 win at Tanglin 3.

Next Saturday, Elias Park will face off against Crescent Villa at Meridian JC and Sunrise hosting Redhill Rangers at Tanglin 1. Summerville will be looking to get their season back on track after their opening day defeat as they host Singapore Power at Farrer Park. Over at the PUB Ground, Sporting Westlake will face off against PUB while Tiong Bahru will be looking to get their 2nd consecutive win against the Sharks at Tanglin 2.

Sharks have filled up the maximum quota of 25 players with 2 additional signings, just in time for their eligibity for the opening game against Crescent Villa on Saturday. Utility player Muhammad Hamdani impressed the manager with his versatility in the last game against UPS and he commented, ‘Every team needs a utility player as you never know what is going to happen during a game. Dani fits that profile and hopefully he will do well despite having only a single game with the rest of the team.’

The other signing for the club was the surprise capture of Mohammad Na’eem who is no stranger to the team after managing to score on 2 occasions against them while turning out for AIG FC in the ESPZEN competition. ‘We all know what he can do,’ said the manager.

He added, ‘It’s definitely great to have him in the side though initially, we had wanted him for the Islandwide League last year. Nonetheless, he’s here now and it certainly look like an exciting prospect to have him alongside chief striker Heng Li and new boy Sham spearheading the attack. Every team needs a goalscorer and in the three of them, we just hope that they can find their feet in the competition.’

In other team news, Kim Hwa has been ruled out for two weeks after he succumbed to an ankle injury last weekend, off a bad tackle at Braddell-Westlake while Ramdzan has also been ruled out of this week opener while he serve his reservist with SCDF. Third choice custodian Daniel Tan is also out of the clash after injuring his back against Interlink FC last Sunday.

Sharks will be having their final tune-up game this weekend before they kick off their maiden season in the National Football League Division 3 against Crescent Villa over at Farrer Park on 17th March 2007. The club have signed a total of 23 players for the league with the players who participated in the Islandwide League last year forming the bulk of the squad.

The team will be adding a total of 8 new faces to the team in the likes of Said Muhd, Muhd Firdaus, Adrian Chew, Andi Mirza, Mohd Shamsuddin, Mohd Ramdzan, Nuzrul Hakiem and long time member of the club, Stuart Mark Waterman while the notable absentees are Sanhaji Hassan, Roslee Atan and Mustaffa Bidin who have signed on for Balestier Recreation Club which is plying its trade in Division 2.

With an average age of 25 this time round, the Sharks will be the underdogs in the competition and the manager commented, ‘In terms of experience, we will probably lose out on that. The key aspects of the team will be their workrate and solidatary. Let’s hope that the boys will stand up to the challenges ahead and it’s no better way to gauge our season than be meeting a team that finished just above the relegation zone last year in for our first game against Crescent Villa.’

He added, ‘We know of clubs that have deep pockets and it’s definitely crazy to match them at this level. What we probably can match or even boast of are having players who feel part of the club and wants to do well for the team. No amount of cash can beat that. For this season, it’s going to be a watershed year and our minumum target for this year is to stay in the division as the players gained the exposure they so much lacking.’

The management of the club wishes to state that the saga in the incident with regards to the club’s no-show in the rescheduled game against Elias Park Football Club on 23rd December 2006 has now come to a close with the club being severely warned of the issue from Football Association of Singapore and the club being fined for an unspecified sum which has since been paid by the club. On top of that, the match has been awarded to Elias Park Football Club with 2 goals and 3 points.

Clearly disappointed with the turn of events, the chairman commented, ‘While it was a relieved that more severe sanctions was not meted out to the club, the incident has left the club with a poor opinion on how issues with regards to the notification of matches are being relayed to affected clubs. The club will just take it in their stride as the main thing is we are still in the NFL and that’s all that matters. On our part, we will treat the matter as close and will not be submitting any protest with regards to the charge but we will just take extra precautions on how we conduct on matters with regards to such issues in future and in fact, we have already taken our own initiatives to make sure that there’s no way that issues such as these will repeat itself.’

At the same time, the resolution of the issue will mean that the rumor of teams in the Islandwide League which have submitted a protest with regards to the club continued participation has been quashed.

An official statement from the club with regards to the charge by Football Association of Singapore is available as per attached files. Names has been masked to protect the person’s privacy.

The year 2006 was probably best remembered as the year Central Park Football Club finally achieved what it was set-out to do. Playing in the Islandwide League for the first time after three long years of waiting and tasting an achievement that defied all odds at the end of it was probably one of the highlights of the year. The club which was set up in 2003 had only two things on its mind when a decision was made to recognize it as a registered body; to be held accountable for its activities financially and to provide a platform for its members to play at the highest level possible. If anyone have told the Sharks what they would achieved at the end of the year at the start of 2006, most will just shrugged it off as just an extension to boost the team’s morale.

The year however started on a bad note as it signaled the end of the Central Park Football Club Reserves squad. As the chairman sums it up, ‘That team has run its course. It was loosely created in the hope that new recruits who had potential will be promoted to the First Team which plays competitively while maintaining a social aspect of the team as the rigors of competition will take its toll on new recruits. While it provided the current team with the likes of Ng Heng Li, Michael Lim and Chin Jiawen who started their debuts in the team, it hasn’t been running like well-oiled machinery.’

The chairman added, ‘To be frank, we are not a result-oriented club. We look for players who play for the club and in return, we provide them the platform. While we probably are still an amateur side with a social twist to it, not everyone understands the fundamentals on how to be associated with a club. In that context, the team has failed its purpose.’

On the other hand, it wasn’t smooth-sailing for its main team either as the club continued their participation in the Clementeers League at the start of the year on a bad foot only managing a single win after four games and during the process, they lost their vice-captain Salihin Zainal to a knee injury which have put him out of the game till date. On top of that, they lost the likes of Irman Mohammed which effectively placed a hole in the middle of the Sharks backline. The club nonetheless continued to soldier-on till they were controversially thrown-out of the tournament after only 13 games due to incidents which have been well-documented. After which, the team spent almost 4 months in the wilderness of friendly matches which provided neither incentives nor motivation.

Questions were raised on the directions the club is headed and in came the existence of ESPZEN whose progress over the years since 2004 has been nothing short of a model for sports organisation. After 2 enrolments in local competitions which were less than desired in terms of organisation and logistically, the change into a more professional organisation became apparent. Central Park kicked off its first season in the league at Division 7 in July and finished the season third and qualified for a playoff spot and earned them a right at Division 6 in January’s season after beating FECA Football Club in the playoff game.

The BIG one which was on everyone’s mind was the kickoff of the FAS Islandwide League in November. After two unsuccessful attempts to be part of the country’s mainstream competition, it became a reality and the rest they say, is history which will be remembered by those associated with the club for a long while.

Achievements and milestones aside, Central Park Football Club probably will not have got to where they are without the players who made it all possible. Despite the gloom and long-term injuries sustained by some of the club’s longest serving players, in came the likes of the dad and son team of Lutz Fullgraf and Chris Fullgraf, the brother’s connection of Shahrilnizam Ismail and Shahrizad Ismail, Charlson Tay, Nick Tan, Asawin Likhitsup, Naoki Fukushima and Zulkifli Awab who have proven to be able replacements and probably an important pillar of the team.

The seniors of the club nonetheless continued getting the job done with their attitudes on and off the field which clearly rubbed off new members of the club. Club captain Jeremy Chua achieved a milestone after turning out for his 100th game in all matches and competitions for the club as he marched his players out for the game against Unknown Boys on 10th September 2006. Though he was unable to rally his players to victory in a pulsating 4-4 draw which effectively ended Sharks slim hopes of finishing as Champions, the achievement was probably a poignant reminder for a player who made no impression on his debut as a left-winger but has move on to be one of the most respected member of the club.

Another amazing feat was the probably the attendance of utility player Kelvin Tan Wei Hann who missed only a single game out of the 41 games the club has scheduled for the year and that record will perhaps take someone special to eclipse. In other areas of the team, it was no surprise as Ng Heng Li finished the season as top scorer for the second year running with 18 goals in 26 games even though it clearly dwarfed his explosive first season where he finished with 35 goals in 29 games with niggling injuries putting him out for most of the season. This year will probably see some competition as Chris Fullgraf looked to better his scoring ratio after disappointments in 2006.

While statistics may just be numbers and one that players shows their contribution to the team, Central Park Football Club continues to function with the likes of Jeffrey Soon, Daniel Tan, Aaron Foo, Vincent Yeo, Nuriman Samsudin, Adrian That, Michael Lim, Ryan Soon and Sulaiman Othman providing important aspects for a well-oiled machinery. Not forgetting those who played their part for the team on a short-term basis such as Jean-Jacques who have since moved on, Norazman Suktiman and Kelvin Ang who answered the club’s call and Michael Fullgraf playing with the team on his overseas leave and whom the chairman later commented, ‘He came here precisely at the right moment to do a job and he done it fashionably,’ referring to his double strike in the playoff game against FECA which ended 4-0 in favor to the Sharks.

He added, ‘The only disappointment is he’s not here to stay as it will be interesting to see the likes of him, Chris Fullgraf and Ng Heng Li banging goals every game for the team.’

That leave us with left-back Teo Yi Quan and left-winger Kit Wong who has been a revelation for the club in 2006 since their debut against Outsiders Football Club on 21st August 2005 and OCBC on 10th July 2005 respectively and have since gone on to play no less than 50 competitive games between them in the Goal Amateur Football League, Clementeers League, ESPZEN Division 7 and finally the Islandwide League. What’s interesting is the relatively young Yi Quan who is only 17 and has made that left-back role his own when available while Kit who had no prior competitive experience has finally found his footing with 5 goals and 6 assists in the year.

While the club enjoys the highs and lows of 2006 filled with controversies, disappointments and ecstasy, 2007 will be another interesting transition year as the Sharks will be looking at their current crop of players and new signings to bring the club to another level as they make a 2-pronged forays in ESPZEN Division 6 and the National Football League Division 3. It is a period where senior players passed their valuable experience and club’s culture to the multi-national and multi-cultural face of Central Park Football Club as we move forward to another voyage where it will probably be matched or bettered that what 2006 have provided to its players and club.

On the same note, the management of the club wishes their thanks for the contributions of the players on the field and the loved ones of the players who continuously supported the team off the field during victory or defeat, rain or shine.

After coming out tops in their play-off game against FECA FC on 7th January, Central Park will resume the league proper on the 21st January as their new season kicks off over at Ang Mo Kio ITE against Raptors FC. Going back into its archives, the Sharks had only one previous meeting with the Raptors on 18th July 2004 over at Tanglin Pitch. The result was in favor of the opposition as the Sharks Reserves went down 2-3 in that friendly match.

The rest of the competitors will feature AIG FC and Unknown Boys with the latter being renamed as Los Leones FC for the upcoming season as the trio looked to renew old rivalry. Another team which brings us back to the Sharks archives were Royal Sports Club. In that game over at Marina South, the score 3-1 was in favor of the Sharks with Jeremy Chua, Michael Lim and Sam getting on the scoresheet.

Interlink FC and DHL FC who finished fourth and fifth in the division last season make up the rest of the teams while new-comer Raygun FC completes the eight team league as all teams looked focus for the new season and Cup ties which are scheduled during the season.

With the club’s participation in the upcoming National Football League just months away and several new faces which was recruited during off-season, it will be interesting how the club copes in their two-pronged approach in 2007.

Central Park Football Club is currently in embroiled in another controversy after they failed to turn up for their re-scheduled fixture against Elias Park on 23rd December at Jalan Besar Stadium. Though the game has been awarded to Elias Park by default, the incident will incur the wrath of the organising committee - Football Association of Singapore.

Though the punishment to be meted out has yet to be forwarded to the club, the club may face sanctions with regards to the incident which may include a hefty fine or even being thrown out of the competition. When asked for comment from the management, they refused to comment and would rather present their case when the hearing convenes. However a member of the management team decides to speak on the condition of anonymity, ‘On face value, would the club have done it on purpose in view of the good position we are in? The club was told that a letter was sent dated 8 Dec but we didn’t receive it. It’s a tough case to prove but nonetheless, we’ll present a case to FAS since there seem to be a missing communication link.’

Central Park will be without their captain Jeremy Chua as they seek to leapfrog Elias Park, who will only play their next game on Sunday in tonight’s game against Westridge at Meridian Junior College. Jeremy who have started in all prior 3 games will be ruled out in view of Saturday’s showdown with Jalan Damai. Alongside him will be Zulkifli Awab who will serve one of his two match suspensions after his sending off last weekend.

‘He is not in the squad so that he can rest his sore knee and it’s nothing serious. Just a precaution,’ said the manager.

Jeremy’s and Zul’s absence will probably mean a start for Norazman who had to sit out last Saturday. At the same time, the manager could probably hand in debuts to the new recruits which was signed in time for the game tonight.

The three year wait is finally over as Sharks look to kick-off their maiden participation in the FAS Islandwide League 2006 on Wednesday, 22 November over at Clementi Stadium. It has been a long and arduous process for the team who three years ago were just another bunch of players playing Singapore’s number one game all over the island with weekly friendly games.

Though registered with the Registry of Societies and an affiliate member of the island football governing body FAS since 2004, it initially looked that they may never play on this stage after several applications to join the league was rejected in 2004 and 2005 due to paperwork issues. Nonetheless, the sheer determination to put everything in place and leaving no stones unturned meant that the stage has now been set for most of the players to set a new milestone for the club.

‘Whatever happens in the competition, whether we do qualify for next year’s National Division 3 is at the back of my mind’, commented the chairman.

He continued, ‘It’s an achievement in itself for a club in an infancy stage like us to actually get everything in place rather than taking shortcuts to achieve what the club was set to do. There were times when all seems rather bleak especially in 2005 when our second applications were turn down but with the support from the great bunch of players we have over the years, we kept going which without them, this club will just be another team without directions. On top of that, we have great support from our sponsor, iFoundries (Asia) Pte Ltd who shares our enthusiasm and believe in us all these years.’

When asked for any last word for the players, the chairman said, ‘Well, for that I will keep it for tomorrow.’

Based on past records, it is a norm for teams that compete in the previous year tournament to qualify for the following year’s league proper. This time round, last year participants Jalan Damai and Westridge started on a losing note with Elias Park notching an impressive 4-0 win at Meridian Junior College on Saturday while Hougang SC recorded a 5-2 win at Farrer Park.

Over at Meridian, Jalan Damai had no answer to their younger counterpart from Elias Park as they conceded 2 goals in each half and were left to chase the whole evening with nothing much to show for. The next day, Westridge custodian had a nightmarish outing when he misjudged the flight of the ball to concede an early goal before Hougang added another just before half-time. There were signs of hope when Westridge was awarded a penalty early in the second half but Hougang made sure of their win with 3 more goals before Westridge added another consolation in injury time.

This Wednesday, Elias Park will face off against Westridge at Kallang Practice Track while Hougang will look to grab all the points against Sharks over at the Clementi Stadium.

They started their season by banging in 11 goals in 4 games and looked favourites to finish at least in the top half of the table. That run saw them crushing the Sharks 1-4 at Turf City and it seemed they were unstoppable at that point. Yes, you guess it right. It was none other than FC Anri who are currently lying bottom of the table in the seven team league in Division 7 after the pullout from Lucasfilm earlier in the season.

How their season fell so sensationally remains a mystery to the teams in the division but somehow we can trace it back on that fateful day on September 3rd at Fu Chun Secondary School after Poseur notched an upset with a comfortable 2-0 win against them. Was it a case of over-confidence on their part or perhaps we can put it to sheer tactical error by the manager as reported in their post-match report? Whatever the reason behind their fall, that defeat seems to rock the once steady boat as they lost their next two games against Unknown Boys and to made matters worse, a walk-over was conceded for their next 2 games against Lucky Strikes and Poseur United which left the league administrator which no choice but to deduct 4 points thus leaving them bottom of the standings at the current moment.

While the debate is open to anyone for the reason behind their fall from grace, it’s a shame if we do not see them again as they had potentials to achieve much greater things than to harp on just a single defeat. It would be very disappointing though if the reason for their dramatic fall and no shows are due to what Sharks have experienced in other leagues when teams pull out when they do not have a shot at 1st place. Eventhough the deductions of points for FC Anri meant that the Sharks can finish no worse than 3rd, we just hope that they will bounce back from this blip and hope to see them competing on the field soon.

Sharks preparations for the much anticipated Islandwide League has been thrown in chaos as each teams are slated to play 4 games on a weekday which will kick off at 7pm. At the same time, a clash of fixtures for their titanic clash between FC Anri on 26 November provided another headache as Sharks are scheduled to meet Elias Park Football Club in their second IWL game. With the league orginally slated to kick off this weekend, 29 October 2006, it has been pushed to start on 18 November but Sharks are scheduled to play their first game on 22 November.

While little clue was provided to teams on the reason behind the competition being pushed later, it just shows the lack of proper planning and due consideration from an organised structure and at the same time, how does one expects an amateur player to play 2 games a week?

‘From our standpoint, every league has its own plans, rules and how they schedule the fixtures and we respect that. In fact the club expects at least 1-2 weekday games but to play half of the fixtures on a working day totally caught us by surprise,’’ said the manager.

He added, ‘But surely considerations should be made on working professionals who work long hours? Anyway, we just move on and see how our journey goes.’

The time has finally arrived as Sharks look set to stamp another milestone in the club short history as they embarked on the 2006 (IWL) Islandwide League journey which is set to take place from October to December with the team manager’s meeting slated to take place on Wednesday, 25 October 2006 where details of the fixtures would probably be released to the team and the possibility of the league kicking off this weekend. The only information which the club has been provided is that they will be 5 teams vying for a top 2 places to gain entry into the 2007 National Football League Division 3.

The key issue Sharks will be raising is the inclusion of under-18 players which is not permitted under the IWL stipulated rules. At the same time, the ability to register only Singapore-born players will mean that the Sharks will be deprived the services in the likes of Lutz, Chris, Naoki and Asawin which have form an integral part of the current team campaign in ESPZEN. While gaining promotion would be a dream on their first attempt, the Sharks are focused instead on gaining the exposure and experience in the competition which could prove invaluable for a young club.

With only one game left this weekend before Sharks proceed to a historic participation in the FAS Islandwide League, the management would like to assure the players that weekly games will remain in the form of non-competitive games especially for those players not eligible for registrations in the competition which is only open to local players. Another interesting news could be the re-organisation of a second team in view of participation in a competitive league rather than just a platform for players to play leisurely. While it would be great to send 2 teams to participate in the current ESPZEN league, details still remain sketchy as the management decide in the weeks ahead on the financial viability of such a commitment and most importantly, the commitment of these players.

The manager commented, ‘The most important aspect of sending 2 teams in a competitive league like ESPZEN is firstly whether it’s financial viable and whether these 2 teams can compete competitively. We have to be honest that some of our players are just not getting that regular playing time during the competition while they would have walk literally into any other team to play regularly. The club always look at long-term developement and commitment rather than just a stop-gap measure to fulfil its ambition. It’s a balancing act which we hope to resolve and ultimately feel that these arrangement would strengthen the team as players are being exposed to more competitive action.’

At the end of the final whistle at this weekend game, two exciting challenges awaits the Sharks as they embark on their maiden challenge in ESPZEN league which kicks off on 23 July and in between that, they will compete in the annual Islandwide League organised by the FAS after an almost 3 year await which is slated to start right after Hari Raya in November.

Prior arrangements have been made for Sharks fixtures to be suspended in November in the ESPZEN challenge to accomondate the team’s participation in the annual FAS competition to decide the team that will be joining up in the National Football League Division 3 in 2007. On top of the suspension of games in November, two more dates which fall on 24 September and 22 October have been slated as rest day by the management.

As per previous year, the make-up of the team is still unknown but it’s certain that the teams that were relegated from Division 3 this year will somewhat form part of the competition to justify their place. The only grouse to this whole arrangements however is while details is still sketchy, Sharks have to be prepared to play on a Saturday fixture for the competitions.

As part of 2006 sponsorship, the club is pleased to unveil it’s new kit proudly sponsored by iFoundries (Asia Pacific) Pte Ltd. At the same time, the new kit will represent an identity to the club with it’s emblem proudly displayed on the kit together with its sponsor’s logo.

The manager were clearly beaming with pride on the new kit. He commented, ‘It’s a symbol on how far the club have progressed since 2003 and it shows the commitment of our sponsors towards the club. Perhaps it’s time for the players to produce results which would mark another milestone in the club short history.’

Four more teams namely La Grove, Campos, CNA and Central Park have joined Cool Joes who had pulled the plug on their participation in the league. That leaves only 7 remaining teams in the league which have been disrupted following the series of event for the past couple of months. Unconfirmed sources have mentioned that La Grove pull-out are due some biased official decisions which left them no choice but to pull the plug.

The requirement laid down by Central Park for its continued participation which have been brushed aside which as per the following meant that its participation have to be ceased.

The saga continues as the management challenged the credibility of the official report with regards to the incident on 9 April 2006. The report which was submitted to all team managers were taken to task by the Sharks management pointing out the discrepancies. The management came out with the following statement;

‘There is no place in the game for violence and CPFC have maintained their regret on their part of the incident. The point in contention is the organiser’s stance of forming a solitary front despite the inadequacies of the official for the game. It simply shows that while the need to form such a stance is understandable in any organisation, its credibilty has to be questioned in any future events they may organise. Statements made in furtherance to our replies were without context despite photo evidence provide by the club.

Despite valiant efforts on their part to stand their ground, CPFC management have made their points clear with the assistance of photo evidence which have clearly placed the credibility of the organisers in jeopardy. Bringing forward the due date by a week for the settlement of the fine despite outstanding issues raised meant that the points raised by the club is unquestionable. These include the basis on how the amount of fine was raised and for whom. The shocking reply that it’s for payment of the free ball provided to all teams meant nothing more than to fill their coffers, confirming CPFC management statement made earlier since simple maths would deduce that the per game cost in a week would have sufficiently cover this costs.’

While the manager was disgusted with the turn of events. He commented that, ‘CPFC will move forward from this and continues to operate with their mind at ease having had the discrepancies pointed out in the report and setting the record straight. We just hope that the credibility of the Clementeers League organisers form the basis for future participation of teams.’

He added, ‘All along we have been unbiased in our report but their firm stance on forming a solitary front based nothing more than blind faith is regretful that an official statement have to be presented.

In the aftermath of the incident in the match against CNA, the Sharks have been deducted 3pts for their part in the mass misconduct. On top of that, Amran will be suspended for 4 matches for his involvment in the incident while Shah and another trialist has been banned for the duration of the tournament. Despite the hefty punishment, Sharks will be penalised for a sum decided by the committee.

While the manager have prepared for the worst, he was visibly unhappy by the monetary fine. He said, ‘The report by the referee was definitely not a true reflection of the episode. How can one know the details of the episode by standing 20m from the incident? If only he was astute as keeping a precise timing of the incident then we will have no arguments.’

On being monetary penalised, he shot back, ‘You must be kidding that the organiser have the cheek to ask for that. Where does this sum goes to? Are they under some registered body that we are not aware of? The whole league was already badly organised with unplanned fixtures which are released 2 days prior to a game. The news of teams pulling out means that at most we would have 6-7 games to go before the conclusion of the league. Do we want to pay to any Tom, Dick or Harry just so that we can complete these games?’

With the team out of the league, they will engage in friendly matches before the start of their participation in ESPZEN in August.

With only 2 matches played over the weekend including Sharks game, it looks like the league are going thru a stalemate where teams not in the running for the top 3 placing are no longer interested in fielding a team for their matches. This despite the organisers taking a tough stance to penalise teams not taking further part to complete their fixtures. Sharks however are taking a stand that they will not be made makeweights just so that the top 3 teams can be decided by playing these teams. History have shown in our previous game that once the top 3 have been decided, the league will cease.

The manager reacted angrily, ‘Why are we trying to our best to field a team despite the numerous injuries when the rest takes the fixtures for granted? Our stand remains that we will play teams we have yet play in the first round. Since most of the top teams are near completion, it’s not our fault that these teams have played more games than us. The fact that 5 of our games were postponed were beyond our control. While some do have their reasons for not making the fixture, it frustrating when reasons given are having not enough players. I believe we would have a better stand using that as an excuse. While the organisers have maintained that the league will complete, it already sounds like a broken record with numerous promises to take action not materialising.’

With the recent announcement that Sharks are making their participation in ESPZEN a regular fixture in their calendar, we’ll hope that this issue will not be making a comeback.

More bad news for the Sharks as Irman adds to the already lengthy list of defenders out for some time. He will join Salihin who is out for at least 2 months and Isa who have undergone an ankle operation. On top of that, Yi Quan ankle injury took for the worst today and is doubtful for this weekend match. The manager is hopeful that during this period, the rest of the defensive players take this opportunity to shine and probably gain an upperhand in team selections even when these players return back to fitness.

The latest setback is sure to worry the Sharks manager. Already missing his first choice striker and defender for most of this campaign, the injury to some key players are clearly hitting the team hard as the Sharks defence were disarray at the last game against Tenchi. The good news is however that Sharks will be introducing some new players to bolster the team.

It has been decided by the players and management that the club will compete in ESPZEN Season 5 which kicks off in August. After competing in 2 leagues namely, Goal Arena Amateur League and the ongoing Clementeers League, players and management are keen to look for long-term competition in which they hope ESPZEN can provide.

‘While we may not know what or how well the league is managed without experiencing it first-hand, the number of teams currently competing in the league means that they must be doing something right.’ the manager said.

He continued, ‘The added bonus of having advanced fixtures for the duration of the season plus the promotion/relegation incentive sealed the approval of the members and management. If all goes well in our maiden season, we are definitely looking for long-term participation in ESPZEN.’

The FAS Competitions Department have clarified on the note sent to the FAS President, Assoc. Prof Mr Ho Peng Kee with regards to the inclusion of affiliated clubs entry into the 2006 FA Cup competition.

Mr Quah Kim Song, member of the Competitions Department have clarified that while affiliated clubs are allowed entry to the competition for the first time last year, entry however are thru a strict selection process so that the competitiveness of the competition is not compromised. It was however noted that FAS will be open to review CPFC entry into the competition by way of sending technical teams to CPFC games to gauge the team strength and competitiveness if the club so requires. With the competition draw just weeks away and the club inability to call upon a full strength team, it have thus been decided that CPFC will not proceed with their plan to enter in this year competition.

The year 2006 was supposed to be a maiden year for Central Park Football Club to participate in the FA Cup competition which was announced by FAS on 4 March 2005. We quote the following off FAS Web Portal,

“Entry requirements into the 2005 F.A. Cup competition have also been relaxed. For the first time, FAS-affiliated clubs are now allowed to take part in the tournament. The F.A. Cup was previously open only to clubs playing in the National Football League. Said FAS Director (Competitions) Mr Quah Kim Song: “We hope that by implementing these changes it will increase the level of competition in the National Football League, and also encourage wider participation from the many amateur football players in Singapore.”

The FA Cup preliminary rounds has been traditionally scheduled in March and till now, no news of team registration has been received. A quick call to the Competitions Executive reveals depressing news. This year rules for participation has been changed to only include Prime League and NFL teams. Last year announcement came too late since right after the announcement in the change of rules, the teams have already been drawn to play in the preliminary round and thus no affiliated clubs competed in last year tournaments. This year, the inclusion were totally scraped to the dismay of CPFC. The management is totally preplexed with the turn in events.

He said, ‘One year ago, wider participation was encouraged. The next, it was scrapped. So what’s the direction now? It just doesn’t make sense then since no teams outside of the NFL participated in last year competition due to the absurb timeline between when the announcement was made and the draw for the preliminary round.’

We just hope that our letter to the FAS President, Assoc. Prof. Mr Ho Peng Kee would reinstate affiliated clubs to compete in the FA Cup. Let’s keep our fingers crossed.

Sharks bad run in the Clementeers League looks set to continue after X-ray results done on Li’s troublesome ankle revealed that he will miss up to 4 weeks of competitive action. His absence will mean that he will join a long list of players out such as Salihin, Aaron Foo, Aaron Huang, Irman, and Sarhan due to various injuries and personal issues. The worrying trend has to be in defence where they formed the bulk of the absentees and it’s no surprise it coincide with their worst period in the club history.

The manager currently remains in limbo as to whether it’s prudent to continue with the coming weekend fixtures in view of the lack of backups in defence but one thing for sure, their bad run looks set to continue with the exclusion of these players but at the same time, it certainly will provide an opportunity for the rest of the players to stand up and be counted in the absence of these players.

The end of 2005 closed another chapter of the club short history and during the year, the club competed in its first ever competitive league, Goal Arena Amateur League from March to October and finished a rather respectable 7th in a 13 team league format and in the process, notching 10 wins. It started so brightly for the team when they went on a 4 game winning streak before losing the next 5 games. During the course of the competition, there were some memorable games but one game that came to mind was the game against Bonjol Wanderers who most believed was the turning point of the competition as the Sharks lost 0-1 in a match that they dominated. After that loss, their season just collapsed as the team failed to produce consistent results which reflect their mid-table finish. Results aside, the club participation have indeed achieved its goal of providing the players an insight of what competitive football is all about and to some who are playing in their first ever competition, the experiences they gained were invaluable yet ‘fun’ despite the higher learning curve as compared to playing in friendly matches.

In the Reserves team, a total of 29 games were organised for the team as compared to 12 the previous year. While the team provided another avenue for players not selected for the first team to play regularly, the response and the directions the team is heading meant that the club will be scraping the Reserves team for 2006.

Off the pitch, the club secured its first corporate in-kind sponsorship with iFoundries (Asia Pacific) Pte Ltd during its 2005 sponsorship drive as the club website goes over a makeover with a more robust backend to ease the maintenance of the club’s only source of information.

The year 2006 could probably be an exciting year for the club as they look forward to entry in 2 FAS organised tournaments, namely the FA Cup and Islandwide League which will kick off in March/April and September/October respectively. On top of that, they will continue to participate in local amateur leagues organised throughout the year to supplement their learning curve and hunger for competitions. At the same time, non-football activities will be organised for its members and sponsors.

As mentioned, 2006 will sadly spell the end of the reserves team indefinitely until a decision is made later in the year. While the team served it purpose of providing an avenue for non-competitive football, regular games for the players proved taxing and at the tail-end of last year have proved to be a liability rather than an asset to the general running of the club in terms of man-resources and financially. Despite the demise of the team which have provided new players an avenue for trials before promotion to the first team, new players are still welcome to the club’s first team setup.

In terms of club management, an executive committee will be elected during the year after the end of the 2 year cycle as per the club Constitution, those leaving their post are notably the club honorary auditors Michael Lim and Jeremy Chua and Treasurer Jojo. Senior players are expected to form the bulk of the new executive committee.

While some may feel that 2006 will be a ‘make or break’ year for the club as it aims to fulfil their goal of gaining an entry to the national league, the club chairman thinks otherwise as he feels that while others may think that it will be a failure for the club not to achieve an entry to the NFL Div 3 via the Islandwide League this year, he believed that if the players keep plugging away, nothing will be deemed a failure for a club that not only dares to dream but to put them in action.

Central Park Football Club added another milestone to its short history when its management signed a sponsorship agreement with a local SME iFoundries (Asia Pacific) Pte Ltd. Under the agreement, iFoundries sponsorship will include a revamp of a more robust website for the Sharks among other things which is worth a five figure sum.

"The signing of the deal marks an achievement for the club as a whole after months of looking for a company who believes in our values and objectives." said the club chairman.

He added, "We are honored to be associated with iFoundries and look forward to work closely with iFoundries and its partners to meet its marketing objectives". With the sponsorship agreement signed on 18 Feb 2005, a sponsorship ceremony will be slated in the coming months and at the same time to commemorate the launch of the new site

Thanks from Management

Sharks manager wishes to thank all players who have participated in the league.

He said ‘Without the support of the players who came week in, week out, rain or shine, our participation was impossible. The league have made most of us mentally stronger and eventhough we have achieved what we set out to do before the start in the season, I’m sure most of us knows that we can do much better in some areas of our game. We had our ups and down in some periods of the competition and while a couple of us preferred to jump ship, some of us stayed to steer the ship to where it’s final destination was bound and at the end of the day, closer bonds and ties were borne during defeat and victory. Let us look forward to our next adventure and hopefully, more bonds and ties will be forged. At the same time, I wouldn’t mind a couple more wins in the process,’ the manager grinned.

For the teams which competed in the league, the Sharks manager commented, ‘Overall it was a league well-organised with the support of teams with great sportsmanlike attitude towards the competition and in the process, friendships were formed. But at times, I’m quite disappointed with some teams which left the league in a lurch but I’m sure they have their reasons. Hopefully we will meet again on the field so that we can renew our friendly rivalry on the field’.

Affiliation Finally

Central Park Football Club is pleased to announce that the club is finally affiliated with the local football authority, FAS. With the affiliation, another key objectives of the club work plan has been achieved and is moving towards the right directions. The question right now is as to whether with this affiliation, is the club ready for take part in the entry league (Islandwide-League) organised by FAS yearly for it to gain access to the National Football League? While the chairman do not wish to comment more on it’s participation, it has however hinted that a modest target of 2006 or even 2007 would be an a much more feasible year.

He added, ‘The upcoming league would be a good indicator of the club general readiness to compete at a much higher level.’

It’s Official

The management wishes to announce with great pleasure that its application to be a registered society has been approved on 7 Jul 2004. It has since submitted an application with FAS for the club affiliation and at the same time, the club crest has been submitted for approval with the Registrar.

The approval comes at the best possible time for the club as a whole and at the same time provide an opportunity for the club to move towards the next level.

ROS Decision Delayed

In the latest update pertaining to the club registration to be a registered club under the Registry of Societies, the management revealed that the last communication between club officials and officials from the Registry was dated May 10 2004. There were some issues needed to be addressed as required by the registrar with regards to the club constitution which have since been provided.

The management is keeping their fingers crossed that the application will proceed without further delay.

End of road for Yusri

Yusri remains optimistic

In an exclusive news from the Sharks, it was being reported that Yusri is back yet again in hospital. He has been diagnosed of having a kidney failure, which clearly left himself and his family frustrated as it was not detected much earlier in the year when he was first admitted in Changi Hospital where doctors there only diagnose it as high blood pressure. Yusri have finally admitted that with the diagnosis, his long drawn battle to return playing for the Sharks has ended. But he remain hopeful that he will return one day being involved in the club day-to-day activities. He is currently receiving dialysis treatment from Bedok NKF while the doctors will review his condition in the next few weeks to fully diagnose the full extent of his kidney and whether a transplant is needed. The players and management are clearly affected by the latest development on one of their most beloved player and are hopeful that he will recover fully from his latest setback.

Najib on road to recovery

Najib in high spirits

Sharks left-back Najib went under the knives on Monday and remains on course for a full recovery from his injury setback after going through a successful 2 hour operation at Changi Hospital. Najib is currently recuperating at home after being discharged on Wednesday morning.

It is understood that the player season is over after the specialist advised him to rest completely for the next 5 months. He added, ‘For this type of injury, it’s best to rest the foot completely. After 5 months, the player is only advised to do some light jogging for at least 2-3 months. The next barrier would be the physiological effect of the player after his nightmare injury.’

Najib who is currently on a week-long vacation from his National Service is currently upbeat to be back on the field training with the Sharks after his recovery. However, he is quite disappointed as his injury would be a setback for his ambition to be a full-time combat personnel. The players and the people from Newton Heath FC wishes him a full recovery.

Sharks Awaits Decision

In line with the club targets for this season, the management have submitted it’s bid to the Registry of Societies, governed by the Ministry of Home Affairs on 19 Mar 2004 for the team to be an officially registered club, which would enable them to compete in the FAS (Football Association Singapore) sanctioned league.

The decision will be known only after 2-3 months from the date of submission. The manager remains upbeat that they will be no obstacle and the club have since started their objectives for the next 5 years.