I was deeply saddened to read about Singapore soccer star Mohamed Noh's death.

I am also saddened that Singapore's 1977 national football team that made it to the finals of the pre-Olympic qualifiers and won the Malaysia Cup that year have been all but forgotten.

In my opinion, the 1977 team are one of the best football teams this country has had to date.

The team consisted of Eric Paine, Lim Chiew Peng, Edmund Wee, Samad Allapitchay, Hasli Ibrahim, Robert Sim, Lim Teng Sai, Lim Tien Jit, S. Rajagopal, Syed Mutalib, Zainal Abidin, M. Kumar, V. Khanisen, Mohamed Noh, Arshad Khamis, Dollah Kassim, Quah Kim Song, Nasir Jalil, R. Suriamurthi and Ho Kwang Hock, coached by the legendary Choo Seng Quee.

This team brought so much pride and joy to thousands of Singaporeans who watched them play.

They evoked patriotism in us when they won the Malaysia Cup, which was then the pinnacle of local football.

These players sacrificed a lot for the love of the game and loyalty to the country.

They did not earn attractive salaries or allowances.

Their pride was in donning the national team jersey with the Singapore flag.

I hope corporate sponsors can consider some form of support for the legendary 1977 team.

It is never too late to acknowledge and recognise our Singapore football legends while they are still around.

A. Thiyaga Raju