Newsbreak: Singapore football legend Dollah Kassim has died

Football legend Dollah Kassim died this morning. He had suffered a heart attack during a friendly match between the Singapore and Selangor Veterans last October and stayed in a coma for a year. He was 61.

Here’s the statement from the Football Association of Singapore regarding the sad news:

http://www.fas.org.sg/default.asp?V_DOC_ID=3679

Update @ 2245hrs: Here’s the report on Dollah’s funeral procession which appeared on The Straits Times Online about 30 minutes ago:

http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_590840.html

My deepest condolences to his family.

I never had the chance to watch Dollah play for Singapore live as I only started watching the Lions in the Malaysia Cup from 1980 onwards. I think he had retired by then. 

But in my encounters with him, he always struck me as a friendly, genial and humble person.

Dollah will always be considered one of the giants of Singapore football, one who lit up the National Stadium and brought thousands of fans to their feet with his magical skills, and that, perhaps, is the best way to remember the ‘Gelek King’ by.

God bless you, Dollah.

Yours in sport

Singapore Sports Fan