Jalan Besar Stadium, officially the Jalan Besar ActiveSG Stadium, is a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

stadium A stadium ( : stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand o ...

located in

Kallang Kallang is a planning area and residential town located in the Central Region of Singapore. Development of the town is centered around the Kallang River, the longest river in Singapore. Kallang Planning Area is bounded by Toa Payoh in the no ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

. The stadium is part of the Jalan Besar Sports and Recreation Centre, a community sports facility that includes the stadium as well as a swimming complex. It is the home ground of the

Singapore Premier League The Singapore Premier League, commonly abbreviated as SPL, officially known as the AIA Singapore Premier League for sponsorship reasons, is a men's professional football league sanctioned by the Football Association of Singapore (FAS), which re ...

club Young Lions. The stadium is also used as an alternative home ground to the

National Stadium Many countries have a national sport stadium, which typically serves as the primary or exclusive home for one or more of a country's national representative sports teams. The term is most often used in reference to an association football stadiu ...

by the

Singapore national football team The Singapore national football team (, zh, 新加坡國家足球隊, ta, சிங்கப்பூர் தேசிய கால்பந்து அணி ) represents the Republic of Singapore in the senior men's international footb ...

. The

Football Association of Singapore The Football Association of Singapore (FAS) is the governing body responsible for the administration of football in Singapore. Established in 1892 as the Singapore Football Association (SFA), it is the oldest football association in all of As ...

(FAS) is also headquartered within the stadium.

Location

Jalan Besar Stadium is located along Tyrwhitt Road, within the close proximity of the major road

Jalan Besar Jalan Besar (; literally "Large Road" in Malay, but taken to mean "Main Road") is a one-way road in Singapore, connecting Lavender Street in Kallang and Rochor Canal Road in Rochor Rochor is a Planning Areas of Singapore, planning area locate ...

, hence its name.

History

Opening

The original stadium was opened on

Boxing Day Boxing Day is a holiday celebrated after Christmas Day, occurring on the second day of Christmastide (26 December). Though it originated as a holiday to give gifts to the poor, today Boxing Day is primarily known as a shopping holiday. It ...

1929 by president of the

Municipal Commission of Singapore The Municipal Commission of Singapore was a body created in 1887 by the British colonial government to replace the Municipal Committee that was created in June 1848. The role of the commission was to manage key services for the Town of Singapore, ...

, R. J. Farrer, with the nearby

Farrer Park Farrer Park is a subzone of the Rochor planning area in the Central Region of Singapore, bounded by Serangoon Road, Rangoon Road, Race Course Road, Northumberland Road, Tekka Lane and Bukit Timah Road. This article is about the Farrer Park su ...

named after him. It is considered to be the birthplace of Singapore football.

Malaya Cup The Malaysia Cup ( ms, Piala Malaysia), formerly known as ''Malaya Cup'', is an annual football tournament in Malaysia, held at the end of the calendar year. The cup was first held in 1921. Despite its prestige and popularity as the nation's o ...

matches were played at the stadium from 1932 to 1966, and Malaysia Cup matches from 1967 to 1973.

Japanese occupation

During the Japanese Occupation, the stadium was one of the

Sook Ching Sook Ching was a mass killing that occurred from 18 February to 4 March 1942 in Singapore after it fell to the Japanese. It was a systematic purge and massacre of 'anti-Japanese' elements in Singapore, with the Singaporean Chinese particularl ...

mass screening sites orchestrated by Japanese officials. During the war, the stadium remained opened and was also used as a language centre to teach the Japanese language to locals.

Post-war

On 12 November 1956, the

United States men's national soccer team The United States men's national soccer team (USMNT) represents the United States in men's international soccer competitions. The team is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation and is a member of FIFA and CONCACAF. The U.S. team ha ...

(USMNT) for the

1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, whi ...

played an

exhibition game An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

against the Singapore team at the Jalan Besar Stadium. On 30 May 1964, a mass rally led by Singaporean statesman

Lee Kuan Yew Lee Kuan Yew (16 September 1923 – 23 March 2015), born Harry Lee Kuan Yew, often referred to by his initials LKY, was a Singaporean lawyer and statesman who served as Prime Minister of Singapore between 1959 and 1990, and Secretary-General o ...

was held at the stadium to mourn and honour the death of Indian statesman

Jawaharlal Nehru Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat— * * * * and author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20t ...

, whom Lee considered "a staunch friend" during the

decolonisation Decolonization or decolonisation is the undoing of colonialism, the latter being the process whereby imperial nations establish and dominate foreign territories, often overseas. Some scholars of decolonization focus especially on separatism, in ...

era after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Nehru had previously spoke at the stadium when he visited the country in June 1950, calling for "peace and conciliation" in the region while decolonisation was underway. The stadium was also host to many major events in Singapore's history, such as being the venue for the first

Singapore Youth Festival SYF has seen the involvement of more than 30,000 students in the activities and performances each year. History The SYF was first launched on 18 July 1967 by then President of Singapore Yusof Ishak, and was initially a two-week affair involving ...

in 1955, the first Singapore Armed Forces Day in 1969, and the 1984

National Day Parade The National Day Parade (NDP) is an annual parade held in Singapore to commemorate its independence. Held annually on 9 August, it is the main public celebration of National Day, consists of a parade incorporating contingents of the Singapo ...

Redevelopment

In December 1999, the original stadium was closed for rebuilding. The new stadium was opened later in June 2003 with a

seating capacity Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available, and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...

of 6,000. The position of the pitch was retained in the exact position as the previous stadium. On 24 July 2010,

Burnley F.C. Burnley Football Club () is an English association football club based in Burnley, Lancashire, that competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football, following relegation from the 2021–22 Premier League. Founded on 18 Ma ...

played against a Singapore Selection side in the FIS Asian Challenge Cup held at the stadium. The Singapore side narrowly lost the game 0–1. That same year during the

2010 Summer Youth Olympics The 2010 Summer Youth Olympics ( ta, 2010 கோடைக்கால இளையோர் ஒலிம்பிக் விளையாட்டுக்கள் ms, Sukan Olimpik Belia Musim Panas 2010), officially known as the I Summer ...

held in Singapore, the stadium was the designated venue for both the boys' and girls' football tournament. As part of the LionsXII's sponsorship by Kingsmen, a local fan club, the King George's Stand was built in 2012 using a removable stand, increasing the stadium's capacity to 8,000. On 30 October 2012, an LED scoreboard was implemented at the Gallery stand to provide better quality video to the spectators, allowing replay video highlights of the action on the field during matchdays. Two new screens were also placed at the two ends of the Grandstand, North and South, to enable better match experience for the Gallery fans. On 22 May 2013,

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), known simply as Atleti in the Spanish-speaking world and commonly referred to at international level as Atlético Madrid, is a Spanish profess ...

played against a Singapore Selection side in the Peter Lim Charity Cup held at the stadium. The game ended 0–2 to the away team.

Turf

Since 2006, the Jalan Besar Stadium has used

artificial turf Artificial turf is a surface of synthetic fibers made to look like natural grass. It is most often used in arenas for sports that were originally or are normally played on grass. However, it is now being used on residential lawns and commer ...

for its pitch. That year, the stadium's pitch was laid with a "FIFA 1 Star Recommended Turf", an artificial turf. The cost of relaying the pitch had cost approximately $1 million. In 2008, the stadium's pitch was relaid again at the cost of an additional $500,000, with a "FIFA 2 Star Recommended Turf", an improved quality artificial turf. The cost of re-turfing was sponsored by FIFA in collaboration with the

(FAS). In 2014, the pitch was relaid to ensure maintenance of the turf. In 2021, the pitch was relaid with a GreenFields Evolution Pro 40 pitch, which is softer than the previous turfs. It consists of a durable shock pad underneath the playing surface, enhancing the compactness and reduce the hardness of the pitch.

Transport

Mass Rapid Transit

Jalan Besar Stadium is located near to

Lavender MRT station Lavender MRT station is an underground Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station on the East West line in Kallang, Singapore. Located under Kallang Road, the station is close to the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) Building, Golden Mile Compl ...

on the East West Line (EWL) and

Bendemeer MRT station Bendemeer MRT station is an underground Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station on the Downtown Line in Kallang, Singapore. Despite its name, the station is not located under Bendemeer Road, but under Kallang Bahru. This station serves the commercial ...

on the

Downtown Line zh, 滨海市区地铁线 ta, டவுன்டவுன் எம்ஆர்டி வழி , color = , logo = Downtown Line logo.svg , logo_width = 250px , image = DT17 Downtown Platform B 1.jpg , i ...

(DTL). Despite its name, the stadium's location is closer to the latter station on the DTL rather than

Jalan Besar MRT station Jalan Besar MRT station is an underground Mass Rapid Transit station on the Downtown Line in Rochor, Singapore. The station is located under Jalan Besar, at the junction with Weld Road, hence its name. The station was first announced as Sungei ...

International fixtures

References

External links

Singapore Sports Council website page on the Jalan Besar Stadium
*Sharon Seow, "Exploring Jalan Besar", ''Voices@Central Singapore'' Issue No. 35, Jul/Aug 2007. {{Young Lions FC Sports venues in Singapore Football venues in Singapore Kallang Sports venues completed in 1932 Venues of the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics Youth Olympic football venues LionsXII Singapore Premier League venues Young Lions FC