The caged astro-turf pitch on your block where you learned to play as a kid will always have a special place in your heart. That’s for sure. But there are some 5-a-side courts you see on your travels that just outdo others in terms of location. After a recent browse through some old photo alba, we came across this masterpiece in George Town, Malaysia.
For part I of Sunnis, Sukarno and Soccer, please click here.
It is easy to make the mental leap that Indonesia is “more Muslim” than its sibling Malaysia is. But if that is the case, why are Koranic prayers read at before Football matches in Malaysia and not in Indonesia? The answer perhaps lies in the path to independence of both modern nation states.
It is something of a sour point to the Chinese and Indian Malaysians that Islam, a faith that is entirely foreign to them, has been chosen as their state religion. In a country where ethnicity is a factor that influences your legal rights and civil status, the Chinese and Indian Malaysians are somewhat used to playing second fiddle.
The British facilitated the migration of their ancestors from Canton and Kerala into their Southeast Asian territories in Continue reading
During my brief stopover in Singapore, the national Men’s XI played host to Hong Kong down at the Jalan Besar Stadium. An entertaining affair between two of Asia’s wealthy micronations finished 1-1, Singapore taking a long time to find a deserved equaliser.
Singapore Continue reading
Football is unquestionably Indonesia’s favourite sport. Java is the most populous island in the world’s 4th most populous country with around 56% of the 265,000,000 Indonesians living there. As such, Java is home to some of the biggest Football clubs and wildest Football fans in the country, and we have done our part to let you know which ones you really should know about.
This is the FBTG list of the biggest Football clubs in Java, based on average match attendance figures and general Continue reading
Malaysian Football culture and Malaysian culture in general can be difficult to define. After all, Malaysia is not really a country.
It’s best to think of Malaysia as a federation of different states each Continue reading
Persija of Jakarta, Indonesia Liga 1 heavy weights.
Persija fans, collectively known as Jakmania, are nuts. Word on the street is that their chosen orange, in spite of Persja’s traditional playing colours being red and white, dates from Dutch colonisation and presence in Batavia, the former name of the Indonesian capital.
Javanese Football fans have famously taken influence from the British fan scene of the 80s. That British style is reflected in this design, featuring a cross similar to the St George’s Cross seen on many English fan designs.
Tuesday evening saw Kuala Lumpur FA beat Sabah 2-0 at the Stadium MPS to successfully tie off their campaign with promotion from the Malaysian Premier League, the second tier, to the Malaysian Super League, the top flight. Yes that is correct. KLFA, the one team of the Malaysian capital city, has been absent from the country’s top flight for 6 years. Being the only professional club within its administrative boundaries, the capital has had absolutely no representation in the highest level of domestic Continue reading
FBTG‘s visit to Johor Bahru is now over, but we went out with a bang.
The itinerary included a daytime groundhop, the JDT II team vs ATM at the Pasir Gudang Corporation Stadium (1-1), the Johor Darul Ta’zim First XI beating Kelantan 3-0 at the Stadium Tan Sri Dato Hj Hassan, the presentation of the Malaysian Super League trophy to the reigning champions JDT the same evening and a good amount of conversations with locals to learn about the team, city, region and people of Johor.
The tour was too good not to share with you, so enjoy the Continue reading
From Boothferry To Germany 