Singapore celebrates its 48th birthday on Aug 9, and to tie in with this, The Straits Times Picture Desk has put together 48 Singaporean Seconds, an audio-visual tribute to Singaporeans who have made this little red dot their home

We will be releasing their stories and videos in the next few weeks. In the third instalment of the series, Stanley Wong tells us why he supports home-grown football.

Stanley Wong, 38, football fan

Mr Stanley Wong is a true-blue Singapore football fan.

The 38-year-old Geylang Bahru resident attends an S-League match nearly every week to support his local club, Geylang International.

He is also an active member of the Ultras Eagles, a supporters group that prides itself on cheering on Geylang International non-stop for all 90 minutes of a match.

Mr Wong, who owns a jewellery shop in Katong, has this to say to critics of local football: "The standard is actually not that bad."

The father of two, who is married to an IT programmer, used to dismiss the S-League too and was an ardent fan of the English Premier League.

But he changed his mind after his foreign friends told him that he should be ashamed for choosing to support a foreign team over a local one.

"If we don't support our local teams, who is going to? Why spend your time cheering for an English Premier League team who does not even know you exist?" he says.

- Photos and videos by The Straits Times Picture Desk