For 83-year-old Auntie Ng, Lion City Sailors matches are the happiest time of the week

SINGAPORE – Auntie Ng is an 83-year-old, Teochew-speaking grandmother of five who enjoys her food, family time and also football.

And week after week, her love for the game takes her from her home in Hougang to stadiums across the island – from Bishan to Jalan Besar and Jurong East.

All to cheer on her favourite team, the Lion City Sailors, in the Singapore Premier League (SPL).

Flanked by her grandsons, a silver-haired Auntie Ng, whose name is Ng Song King, can usually be found sitting among the boisterous group of die-hard Sailors fans at home and away games, cheering along with them.

She has also taken her passion abroad, and on Feb 13, Ng and her grandsons, Quek Han Yew, 24, and Quek Han Wee, 21, will be at the Thunderdome Stadium in Nonthaburi, Thailand, for Sailors’ crucial Asian Champions League Two clash against Muangthong United.

“Whenever my grandsons tell me that we’re watching a match that week, I feel very happy and look forward to it,” said Ng in Teochew.

While she can reel off names of former Lions like Fandi Ahmad and Quah Kim Song, Ng had only watched football on TV and did not have a particular interest in it. That changed when her grandsons took her to a Sailors game.

The duo have been local football supporters since 2012 and loyal fans of the Sailors since 2018, when the club were still known as Home United before being privatised and renamed in 2020.

Growing up, the brothers spent a lot of time with their grandmother and late grandfather, who would take them to school and shopping malls. And as they grew older and got busy with school commitments, they wanted to find a way to spend more time with Ng, hence the idea to take her to a Sailors match.

While Covid-19 initially delayed their plans, in 2023, they finally took her to a match expecting it to be a one-off experience. But she loved it so much that she asked her grandsons to take her to the next one and now, it has become a family tradition.

She said: “From the time they were very young, my husband and I took good care of them and now that they are older, I feel so happy that they want to spend time with me and bring me out.

“Every time we go to a Sailors match, we take the train together and eat near the stadium and have a good time. I also get to meet so many other fans who are now friends. I enjoy these days.”

During games, Ng sits among the Sailors fans, clapping and cheering along as they sing and bang their drums.

Han Yew said: “Even though she doesn’t know the lyrics, she will copy what the both of us do. We’ll start clapping and she’ll clap along. Whenever she is at the stadium, she will be smiling... she’s very happy to be there. ”

As both brothers are currently in national service, the weekend matches are extra special.

Han Wee said: “I would say it kills two birds with one stone because not only can I share something that I enjoy, but I can spend quality time with my grandma as well.”

Ng’s enthusiasm is infectious and she has become a beloved figure among fellow supporters.

Charmaine Yeow, 22, a member of The Crew, the official fan club of the Sailors, said: “She’s very cheerful, always being very happy around all of us, despite the results, at any stadium or any games, even if it is a loss or draw, and that lightens all of us.”

And if anyone thinks Ng’s support is merely a casual pastime, just ask her about her favourite player – the Sailors’ Belgian winger Maxime Lestienne, whom she describes as the “No. 17 (who) can score and create for others to score”. Over time, she has also learnt the rules of the game.

When The Straits Times visited her Hougang home, where she lives with her sister, Ng excitedly showed off a signed Lestienne jersey that the former PSV Eindhoven winger had gifted her, as well as photographs of her and her grandsons with various Sailors players. Each one is printed, laminated and kept as a precious memento.

The Quek brothers hope that together with “Ah Ma”, the trio will be able to collect more photographs and memories.

Han Wee said: “Ah Ma is a very, very, very important person to our lives. She went the extra mile to really take care of my brother and I. So now that we are older and mature, we have this opportunity to spend time with her and make her happy. We hope we can do this for a long time.”