CHIVAS presents a three-part profile interview series with Singapore’s most resilient footballers in collaboration with Junpiter Futbal for REGAL F.C., the social club for creative visionaries. From Panna players to S-League professionals, Jun Tan, founder of Junpiter Futbol, takes the guest editor’s seat for Regal F.C. to talk to these renaissance ballers about their blend of success, strengths and dreams.
For those unacquainted with Panna, one may think that the sport’s skillset has limited functionality on a traditional eleven-a-side pitch. However, for one particular twenty-six-year-old who also doubted the sport’s practical use outside of a street football court, Panna transformed his life.
Meet Shaun Ye, a former National Football Academy player who once harboured lofty ambitions to play professionally. However, like many who aspire to become pro-players, he failed to make the cut. While football remained his passion, he gradually drifted from the lush green of football pitches and discovered more satisfaction in street soccer.
The hardest thing to do for any art form is to make it look effortless. Panna is by no means an easy sport—but Shaun makes it look easy.
“Panna is like a game of chess”, says Shaun. “You’re constantly trying to outsmart your opponent with deft moves.” One has to be focused throughout the match, and picking your moment is critical. Even if you’re leading by many goals, a single Panna (nutmeg) will yield a loss.
Shaun’s journey in Panna began simply. A regular to be found in neighbourhood street soccer cages, it did not take long for someone to notice his excellent ball control – he was a whizz with the ball at his feet. One such person to make this observation was Daryl Low, co-founder of Singapore’s acclaimed freestyle football crew, EXPY.
“It was a typical day where I would go for my street soccer game. That day though, before I had even stepped onto the court, my friends told me that there was someone new joining. And that he was as skilled as I was. I was excited and hyped up—I couldn’t wait to play against him. Later, he introduced himself as Darryl, and quite naturally, we both hit it off right away. He even invited me to an EXPY freestyle football performance the next day!” said Shaun.
As an avid street soccer player, Shaun was keenly aware of EXPY’s reputation, and he was blown away by Daryl’s invitation. His visit to the EXPY performance was a memorable one, and little did he know, that signalled the start of a new phase for Shaun as an EXPY member.
Some seven years after he first joined EXPY, Shan still vividly recalls the rapturous applause and appreciation from the crowd during the one freestyle performance that changed his impression of freestyle football and Panna.
“For 11-aside football players, it’s the scoring of a goal which gives them the best feeling ever. But for Panna players, it’s the giving of a Panna that makes us feel like we’re on top of the World. We feel like champions.”
Shaun explains, “It’s the explosion of emotions when you know you have just given someone a Panna—that move of tricking a defender to pass the ball deftly through them unguarded. That’s the beauty of the moment. When a celebratory crowd joins you on the court, loudly and passionately, it really is an extraordinary moment and the greatest feeling ever!”
On the courts, Shaun spent gruelling years of practice under the mentorship of his EXPY seniors before he progressed to the next level as a Panna player. Don’t let his soft-spoken demeanour fool you—Shaun’s commitment to the sport shows in his tenacity to take up any challenge, clinching multiple Panna competition titles abroad and in Singapore.
Fact: Shaun Ye was the first Singaporean to represent the country at the 2017 World Panna Championship in Denmark.
“The World Championship held in Denmark was probably the most difficult competition I had ever participated in. Although it was not one of my sweetest memories, the experience I gained was invaluable. Watching how the competitors played on a global level, sometimes at insane levels of skill, really changed how I trained and played. To put it simply, even though I was defeated, I left the competition a much-improved player”, says Shaun.
Sharing the same field pitch and learning from the World’s best left an indelible mark on Shaun. It was also a defining moment. It created a drive to be greater and accumulated years of watching and mimicking Panna legends like Soufiane Bencok, Edward Van Gils, Issy ‘Hitman’, and Jermaine Vanenburg on YouTube, slow-motion replays over and over, and training 3 to 6 hours every day to perfect his moves. A chanced meeting with Soufiane Bencok, Shuan’s Panna idol and three-time World Panna Champion, was also a beacon of inspiration and driver for his success.
Today, even after winning multiple titles around the region, Shaun is still not satisfied. For him, the World Panna Championship is the ultimate goal that he has yet to achieve. To get there, he faces many challenges even though he trains hard to reach this grand ambition. One glaring issue is the relatively small football freestyle and Panna community in Singapore.
“If we are training for an international competition, we will not improve much if there are only a couple of us at that level. We need a larger pool of players where we can all constantly push each other to improve,” explained Shaun.
“Because of the challenges we faced, it also inspired me to do more for our community. Before the pandemic, I had already decided to compete less and take on a more active role in promoting the sport and growing the community. I’m proud to say that our community is now huge enough for us to organise the largest-ever freestyle football and Panna competition in Singapore. My goal is to see more players in Singapore taking up the sport across Adult and Youth categories in local competitions in the near future”, added the 3-time Singapore Panna Champion.
As a baller with clear validation of his achievements, championship titles and community advocacy, we ask Shaun what he thought of Chivas Regal F.C.’s social club motto: ‘I Rise. We Rise’?
“I am a team player even though Panna is a 1-vs-1 sport. You see, players often train together and improve as a community. When we travel abroad to compete, it is often with national pride. Despite the intense competition internally, all the representatives from each country always support their own country. And it becomes a situation where it feels like a team sport where you can hear your countrymates cheering, shouting and supporting you from the sidelines. The team spirit is always strong and invigorating! And if you ask me, although it’s a solo sport, all of us really do rise together by fellowship and a love of the sport.”
Where football goes, culture follows. Join REGAL F.C., a new social club that elevates global football culture at www.chivas.com/en-SG/REGALFC and gain priority access to member perks, events and competitions.
Article: Junpiter Futbol/Jun Tan & Vikram
Photos: Junpiter Futbol/The Goal Assembly, Russell
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