Lions’ ASEAN Championship semi-final, first leg to take place at Jalan Besar Stadium

SINGAPORE – The Lions will continue their 2026 ASEAN Championship campaign at the Jalan Besar Stadium, as the 55,000-capacity National Stadium will not be ready in time to host the first leg of the semi-finals on Aug 15.

In the two-legged semi-finals, Singapore, who finished second in Group A, will take on seven-time champions Thailand, who topped Group B. The second leg will be held in Bangkok on Aug 18.

The National Stadium, the venue for the National Day Parade on Aug 9, will not be available as the time taken to dismantle the set-up and get the pitch ready takes about 2½ weeks, said The Kallang Group on Aug 9.

It added that it would also not be possible to host the first leg of the final there on Aug 22 should the Lions go that far.

“Event venues at the Kallang are secured with due consideration for the set-up and tear-down time required. These preparation and reinstatement windows are not reflected in our events calendar,” said a spokesperson for The Kallang Group, in response to queries from The Straits Times.

“The National Stadium will need to be reinstated following the conclusion of the National Day Parade on Aug 9. In addition, the pitch will need to be installed and acclimatised to meet competition standards. This whole process will take approximately 2½ weeks from the conclusion of the parade.

“Based on the announced match schedule for the semi-final and final of the ongoing ASEAN Championships on Aug 15 and Aug 22 respectively, it would not be possible to host the semi-final and final matches at the National Stadium.”

The Football Association of Singapore said on Aug 9 that arrangements have been made for the first leg of the semi-final to take place at Jalan Besar Stadium, adding that ticketing details will be announced soon.

On Aug 7, in front of 5,113 supporters at a sold-out Jalan Besar Stadium, Singapore showed resilience to secure a comeback 1-1 draw with Indonesia to finish second in Group A and progress to the last four of the championship.

The biennial competition used to be held at the end of the year, but has been moved to the current dates to align with the international football calendar and avoid clashes with domestic leagues – which have largely followed Europe’s August-May schedule – as well as the monsoon season.

However, it does not fall within FIFA’s international window, which means clubs do not have to release their players for the tournament.

This is not the first time that Singapore will be unable to play a key fixture at the National Stadium, which was billed as the home of the Lions.

At the 2024 edition, Singapore hosted their home group games at the National Stadium, with 12,391 fans attending the 2-1 win over Cambodia and 22,611 witnessing the 4-2 defeat by Thailand.

But with the tournament dates moving from Nov 23-Dec 21 to Dec 8-Jan 5, they had to play the Dec 26 home leg of their semi-final against Vietnam at Jalan Besar, as Dec 28-29 concerts by home-grown Mandopop singer JJ Lin had already been scheduled at the National Stadium before the new competition dates were announced.

Then, match tickets were sold out within seven hours as 5,233 supporters turned up to watch the Vietnamese win 2-0 on Jalan Besar’s artificial pitch, which has since been replaced by a natural grass surface in December 2025 to meet the Asian Football Confederation’s latest requirements.

The artificial turf, which was fitted in 2005, had previously been an advantage for Singapore teams.

But Jalan Besar’s boisterous atmosphere, with the stands closer to the pitch than they are at the National Stadium, also gives the home side an edge.

While they have won the ASEAN Championship four times, world No. 148 Singapore had been in the doldrums since their last triumph in 2012 and are currently ranked sixth among the South-east Asian teams.

But in the past two years, coach Gavin Lee and his predecessor Tsutomu Ogura have brought about a strong team spirit and a positive mentality that have seen the Lions overcome adversity to qualify for the 2027 Asian Cup.

Since the start of the Asian Cup qualifiers in 2025, they have been beaten just twice in 15 games – losing 3-2 to Thailand and 2-1 to China.

This excludes a 2-1 friendly loss to Malaysia, which was later overturned with the Lions awarded a 3-0 win instead after the Malaysians were found to have fielded ineligible players.

A potential fifth ASEAN crown could now be within reach.

Speaking at the post-match conference on Aug 7 after sealing qualification to the last four, coach Lee said: “We want to keep giving people more of such positive memories and grow with them as we are on this journey to the Asian Cup.”