The Singapore football has reacted with sadness to the passing of former Sembawang Rangers Football Club chairman Charles Siahaan.
On 16 December, an obituary appeared in the Straits Times informing friends that Siahaan had passed away on 15 December.
He was 69, and left behind his wife and three children, among other family members, according to the obituary.
There has not been any post about his passing on the Football Association of Singapore socials as at 6.40pm on 17 December.
Siahaan was also a national shooter who represented Singapore at the Commonwealth Shooting Championships and had qualified for the Southeast Asian Games in skeet.
A former classmate Mike Ang also posted of his passing in various online media channels.
Siahaan was one of Singapore’s pioneer S-League club chairmen who helmed the unmistakeable black and white jerseys of the Sembawang Rangers Stallions when the league was inaugurated in 1996.
One of the moves he pioneered was the hiring of Thai players into the league, with Tawan Sripan the first Thai to grace the league in 1998.
Other players who donned the Sembawang Rangers jersey were Nazri Nasir and Rudy Khairon.
In 2003, they even signed the Thai Player of the Year Cumpee Pinthakur.
The club spent its last season in 2003 and sat out the following season with Siahaan almost vowing to ensure the club returns to the league, but didn’t.