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Straits Times
3 days ago
- Sport
- Straits Times
Combined girls' team beat Meridian Secondary to win maiden NSG football title
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Dania Adlina (centre, in blue) from CBP W3 combined team in action at the C Division girls' football final against Meridian Secondary School on Aug 13, 2025. SINGAPORE – Dania Adlina, 14, is equally adept with her hands as she is with her feet. This National School Games (NSG) season, the versatile student-athlete has competed in both netball and football as a goal attack and striker, respectively. On Aug 13, it was her feet that did the talking in the NSG C Division girls' football final at the National Stadium. The Boon Lay Secondary School student scored three goals as her CBP (Centre-based partnership) W3 combined team thumped defending champions Meridian Secondary School 7-0 to claim their first NSG title. Teammate Aria Romano also scored a hat-trick, while Griva Antonia added another from the penalty spot. Griva Antonia (in blue) from CBP W3 combined team attempting to get past a Meridian Secondary School player at the C Division girls' football final at the National Stadium on Aug 13, 2025. The team comprise players from Boon Lay Secondary, Methodist Girls' School and Westwood Secondary, ST PHOTO: AZMI ATHNI Nicknamed 'BMW', CBP W3 are a combined team of players from Boon Lay Secondary School, Methodist Girls' School and Westwood Secondary School – such teams allow students to participate in sports that are not offered bu their schools. 'I love playing as a forward because I like scoring goals,' said Dania, who attends netball and football training once a week. 'My teammates and I are just so happy to have won this after working hard for it.' While she did not win a medal in netball at the NSG, Dania was elated to have played a starring role in their gold-medal victory in football. The Secondary Two student has split her time between both sports for now, though her goal is to become a professional footballer. She said: 'I want to go overseas and play there. I want to play with better players and I want to achieve that by working hard every day. My father and brother both are very into football and used to play the sport so I want to continue that. ' Methodist Girls' Secondary One student Griva, who was born in Singapore to Greek parents, was delighted to play a part in their victory on Aug 13. The 13-year-old said: 'I want to be a professional footballer and represent Singapore. For now, I want to get selected for the Lion City Cup girls team next year.' CBP W3 head coach Fahrish Khan said he was proud of his players' progress, adding that seeing their development has brought him more joy than the gold. In their inaugural NSG outing in 2023, the CBP team were thrashed 20-0 by Meridian in the preliminary round. A year later, they were beaten 3-1 by the same school in their first final appearance. This time, they beat their rivals – who were gunning for their fourth consecutive title – convincingly. Meridian coach Fabio da Silva was proud of his players' efforts despite the heavy loss. He said: 'We played against a very strong side, but I want to congratulate my team who have worked very hard to be here in the final. 'We had this happiness of winning the title in the last three years, and now it is good to see other teams coming up.' CBP W3, a combined team comprising players from Boon Lay Secondary, Methodist Girls' School and Westwood Secondary, celebrate after winning the C Division girls' football final against Meridian Secondary School 7-0 on Aug 13, 2025. ST PHOTO: AZMI ATHNI CBP's success is also a boost for the Singapore Football Academy (SFA), which was introduced in July 2022 as part of the Unleash the Roar! national football project. It aims to strengthen youth football development and produce players with sound technical ability, complementing existing pathways at youth teams of the National Development Centre, local football clubs, and ActiveSG and private academies. In 2023, two girls' SFAs were started at Woodlands Secondary School and CBP. Under the SFA, players aged 13 to 16 will train up to four times a week and play significantly more games in the year, compared to those in other secondary schools, while following a structured training programme which makes use of sports science. The SFA programme also adopts a values-based curriculum that also nurtures the young athletes with values such as respect and resilience. Another SFA representative at the National Stadium on Aug 13 was Montfort Secondary School, who featured in their first C Division boys' final. In May, Anglo-Chinese School (Barker Road) – another SFA school – claimed their maiden B Division boys' football title. Philippe Aw, programme head of the SFA, who was also in attendance at the National Stadium congratulated the players and coaches of the SFA schools 'for a wonderful run.' Aw added: 'I am grateful to the schools for their belief in the SFA programme. We take pride in ensuring that schools in the SFA programme not only focus on results, but also achieve positive results through structured coaching and sports science support, while providing students with a values-based curriculum that also helps them be motivated off the pitch.' St. Joseph's Institution celebrate after winning the C division boys' football final against Montfort Secondary School 1-0 on Aug 13, 2025. ST PHOTO: AZMI ATHNI In the C Division boys' final, an extra-time goal from substitute Gabriel Ng gave St. Joseph's Institution (SJI) a 1-0 victory over Montfort Secondary School for their second consecutive title. The defending champions dominated proceedings from kick off but had to wait till extra time to find the elusive goal as Gabriel struck from close range. Gabriel, 13, credited his teammates, schoolmates, teachers and coaches for the successful campaign. He said: 'Montfort pushed us to our limits and it feels phenomenal to be coming on to score the winning goal.'
Straits Times
09-05-2025
- Sport
- Straits Times
Jet-lagged Liyana Indah Rickit captains Meridian to three-peat in B Division Girls' football
SINGAPORE – She was not expected to feature in the B Division girls' football final on May 9, as Liyana Indah Rickit was still feeling the effects of jet lag after returning from an overseas trip the previous morning. However, the determined 15-year-old captain refused to be denied, leading Meridian Secondary School to a decisive 3-0 victory against the CBP W3 combined team at Jalan Besar Stadium, and even scored the final goal herself to seal the win. Her coach Fadio da Silva was full of praise for the dedicated captain after Meridian won their third straight National School Games (NSG) B Division title. 'She's a very important player. She came back yesterday morning from overseas. She's still jet-lagged, but she still wanted to come and play. It's not easy, so I really (have to) salute Liyana,' said the 51-year-old. 'Her leadership, her personality is very good. She's very committed.' Secondary 4 student Liyana, who scored all four goals in their 4-3 win over Queensway Secondary in the 2024 final, was glad to have the chance to mark her final outing for the school. 'I just want to win with my team. We worked very hard for this. I really am thankful that I have this opportunity to lead all my amazing teammates.' Liyana Indah Rickit (in red) played the full game despite being jet-lagged. ST PHOTO: BRIAN TEO An early blitz proved to be the difference in the final, with Nayli Elvira putting Meridian 2-0 up, her second goal an audacious lob over goalkeeper Claire Mok after a long pass from Liyana. 'I feel proud that I get to score early in the first half,' said Nayli, 15. 'It brings our spirits and confidence up so we can relax and control the game from there.' When asked about her finish for the second goal, she said: 'I saw the space behind the keeper so I just decided to chip (the ball) over.' Liyana Indah Rickit (left) and Nayli Elvira (right) combined for Meridian's second goal. ST PHOTO: BRIAN TEO Her electric pace and hard running earned acclaim from Da Silva, who described Nayli as the 'best player on the pitch'. He added: 'She's very fast and we have players that can make long passes to her. We know that she always has the opportunity to make the runs and face the goal. We did exactly that and we were able to score the goals in the first half. 'That's (our) way,' he said about his team's fast and aggressive start. 'We always try and get as (many) chances in the first half.' Liyana scored just before the half-hour mark as Meridian saw out the win, despite playing with one fewer player after one of the players was injured. 'I just tried to encourage them, to push to the end because it's our last game. If one got tired or went down then we would cover for that person,' said Liyana. For CBP W3, a combined team from Methodist Girls' School, Westwood Secondary School and Boon Lay Secondary School, luck played a role in their first appearance in an NSG final since their formation. There was nothing to separate them with Tampines Secondary School after the round-robin stage and CBP W3 won the final berth via a draw of lots. 'We thought it would not be possible. It was really a scare for us,' said captain Tessa Chang on their road to the final. 'There's always things you can't control.' Despite the defeat, she was still immensely proud of her team. 'I don't think we were just a bunch of players that were suddenly put together. We became a family and treated each other like family.' Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
