SINGAPORE - For many, the experience of watching professional football is intertwined with fantasy football. I am one of them.
There are over seven million registered players in the English Premier League's official Fantasy Premier League (FPL) game this season. In Singapore, there are over 55,000.
So when I learnt the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) is launching a fantasy game for the Singapore Premier League (SPL), called SPL Real Manager, I was thrilled.
The folks at FAS also gave The Straits Times a go before officially announcing the roll out of the beta version of the game on Monday (Match 14).
Elements of the game, however, will divide users.
For example, I made a good captain choice in Albirex Niigata striker Kodai Tanaka, who scored twice against the Young Lions, earning him 128 points and 256 for my team (a captain's points are doubled).
But then I flicked through the other fantasy teams in the league I was in, and noticed that he had scored 157 points for another player who did not captain him.
The extra 29 points came from a training bonus.
You see, you can use coins in the game to train your player so they get bonus points in each game.
That took away a bit of the enjoyment of a good captain pick - which is one of the biggest satisfactions in fantasy football - and to me, the training element becomes a bit of a hat on a hat. Almost an unnecessary addition.
I'm aware others, of course, will enjoy being given an opportunity to get an edge over their friends or rivals.
Aside from that, however, there are many other elements of the game which are interesting.
For one, you get unlimited transfers from matchweek to matchweek, meaning you do not get a points deduction for making transfers, as you would in FPL.
This gives users flexibility to alter their team frequently, and may also introduce them to SPL players they may not be very familiar with.
You also earn points from your bench - which can be a minimum of three players and a maximum of five, although placing a player on the bench earns your team only half his points.
This adds another dimension to the game, where you can strategise how to use your funds (everyone starts with a budget of 120 million).
Will you prefer plumping for more expensive players and picking a squad of just 14? Or will you spread your funds over a team of 16, which might earn you more points in total?
Similar to FPL, you can also set up your own mini-leagues to go head to head with your friends and chart one another's progress more easily.
The FAS is hoping the SPL Real Manager game can help them engage with fans, with prizes up for grabs once the game is relaunched in May 6 from Round 2 of the SPL.
And if local football fans take to the game and consume it the same way fans all over the world have done with the FPL, then it could well turn out to be a sound investment for the SPL.
