That Singapore (along with several more noteworthy absentees teams) didn’t qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup hasn’t stopped local football fans from participating in the excitement of the World Cup in varying degrees, whether it’s by snapping up the latest national team jerseys or complaining about the price of live stream packages but signing up for them anyway.
Another favorite pastime of local football fans? Drawing on local football nostalgia, and two key sources of that would be Weston Corp, the long-running football gear store, and Singapore’s football legend Fandi Ahmad. On June 12, adidas brought both together, as well as Fandi’s footballer sons – Irfan and Ikhsan – for a panel discussion about football and how Weston has shaped the memories of many a Singaporean football fan.
The occasion also saw the rollout of a video (above) celebrating the heritage of Weston Corp, and how the store, along with the Queensway Shopping Centre it is located in, have become synonymous with football in Singapore. Long-time customers and the Fandi family feature in the video, each to share fond memories they have of the beloved shop.
“Coming to Queensway is important as you have the best choices here. It’s the best place (for football gear) and for boots, it’s always Weston that provides the best. For me, there’s no other place like Queensway,” said Fandi.
Fandi’s preferred football gear compared to his sons’ are, no doubt, generations apart. During the panel discussion, Fandi waxed lyrical about some heavy leather boots he used to wear that, respectfully, we had never heard of till he spoke about them. His firm favorite, however, remains the adidas Copa Mundial, a classic boot you can still find in stores today.
Fandi’s sons, unsurprisingly, prefer the modern top-of-the-line football boots designed for peak performance. Irfan prefers the adidas Predators while Ikhsan remains torn between the adidas Nemeziz and the X range.
Finally, the Fandi family was asked to make early World Cup predictions. Fandi and Ikhsan had no qualms picking Brazil as the front-runners. Brazil are certainly favorites as they look to avenge the heavy 7-1 defeat on home soil four years ago. With star player, Neymar, back from an injury lay-off, it could well be more than just a pipe dream.
Irfan, however, is hopeful about France – the team that has among its ranks world-class talents such as Paul Pogba, Kylian Mbappe, and Antoine Griezmanns. At the same time, Irfan knows too well not to rule out defending champions Germany from being able to retaining their title.
To cap off all the talk about football and the 2018 FIFA World Cup, we also fired a couple of questions at Fandi and his boys to find out if they are into streetwear just as much as they are into football. Check out their answers on our Instagram stories.
Which country will you be rooting for this year? Leave your answers in the comments section below.
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