Jalan Besar Stadium

Jalan Besar Stadium (zh-s|s=惹兰勿刹体育场) is a football stadium located at Jalan Besar, in the Kallang area of Singapore. It is the home stadium of Young Lions S.League soccer team. The stadium is capable of holding 6,000 people.

History

The original stadium was built in 1932 and is considered to be the birthplace of Singapore football. Malaya Cup matches were played at the staudium from 1932-1966, and Malaysia Cup matches from 1967 to 1973. The stadium has also hosted countless international soccer and hockey matches.

During the Japanese Occupation, the stadium was one of the Sook Ching mass screening sites. During the war, the stadium remained opened and was also used as a language centre to teach the Japanese language.

The stadium was also host to many major events in Singapore's history, such as being the venue for the first Singapore Youth Festival in 1955, the first Singapore Armed Forces Day in 1969, and the 1984 National Day Parade.

The original stadium was closed in December 1999 for rebuilding. The new stadium was opened in June 2003 with a seating capacity of 6,000. Interestingly, the position of the pitch has been retained in the exact position as the previous stadium.

Under the FIFA GOAL plan, the stadium's pitch was relaid with an artificial turf.

The stadium also hosts S-League games that are shown 'Live' on television.

ee also

*AFC U-17 Championship 2006

References

*Sharon Seow, "Exploring Jalan Besar", "Voices@Central Singapore" Issue No. 35, Jul/Aug 2007.

External links

* [http://www.ssc.gov.sg/SportsWeb/sw_cat_details.jsp?type=9&root=31&cat=244&artID=3576 Singapore Sports Council website page on the Jalan Besar Stadium]