Forum: Everyone needs to pitch in to help Singapore football
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Singapore football fans have lost their temper and their patience, but can you really blame them ( Anger, frustration for S’pore football fans: Only 5,000 allowed for friendlies, no live broadcast,
Their heated reactions are not a consequence of just the underwhelming recent results against Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. They have been brought about by the cumulation of incompetencies of various stakeholders in our football community over the years.
An example of a recent issue would be the appointment of the national coach. When Tatsuma Yoshida resigned as the Lions’ coach after guiding the team to an inspirational semi-final berth in the 2021 AFF Suzuki Cup, fans expected the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) to ride on the momentum and find a good replacement to carry on the progress achieved by Yoshida.
However, not only did the FAS delay its announcement, but it also ended up appointing a relatively inexperienced coach in Takayuki Nishigaya when there were other better candidates on paper.
While Nishigaya has played his part and given some promising young players the chance to play in the national team, the team’s performances have not been up to par. Neighbouring countries like Indonesia and Malaysia managed to qualify for the 2023 Asian Cup, while we failed to impress against beatable opposition. We used to be one of Asean’s powerhouses.
Apart from the FAS, other stakeholders have to be singled out as well. With the Government taking over the management of the Singapore Sports Hub, why is the cost of holding a football match featuring our national team at the National Stadium still so high?
Surely a compromise of sorts could have been made to allow local fans to fill the stadium and support the Lions’ recent matches? It is heartbreaking to learn that the stadium is scheduled to hold six Coldplay concerts at full capacity next year, but only three sections were set aside for the Lions’ matches. Why even call it the “Sports Hub” if it is not going to be used to benefit local sports?
Money is understandably a significant factor, be it regarding stadium rentals or live broadcasts. However, it is my hope that everyone – FAS, Sport Singapore, telcos, broadcasters, sponsors – can pitch in and help Singapore football.
Henry Choong Kun Lin
