Change in the air as Singapore football heads for landmark year

It was another disappointing year for Singapore football in 2016, by most standards.

The Lions crashed out of the group stage of the Asean Football Federation (AFF) Suzuki Cup for the second consecutive edition, the S.League season was once again plagued by poor attendance figures despite the initial buzz from the signing of Mr Jermaine Pennant and in October, Singapore sank to an all-time low of 171 in the Fifa world ranking before eventually ending the year in the 165th position.

It was not just the senior team that flopped. Results from the various national age-group sides over the past two years have also been poor, with around two-thirds of their matches ending in defeat.

Local football finds itself in a beleaguered state even though the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) is the most well-funded National Sports Association (NSA) in the country. It operated on a budget of S$35.8 million in FY2015/2016, according to its financial statement. This is more than three times the Singapore Swimming Association’s (SSA) budget of S$10 million.

As the sport enters 2017, TODAY speaks to members of the local football fraternity to find out what the problems and issues are that need to be resolved for the sport to move forward.

THE F.A.S. ELECTION

First things first: Who will lead Singapore football out of its rut?

A new FAS Executive Council (exco) must be elected by May after the national governing body amended its constitution in November to allow for the democratic election of its office-bearers for the first time.

The move marks a break from the past, when FAS council members were appointed by the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (now known as the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth). It also means that all 46 FAS affiliates will, for the first time, get to decide the team that will take charge of Singapore football for the next four years.

Fifteen council seats will be up for grabs at the election. According to the new FAS constitution, the president, deputy president, four vice-presidents and three council members will be voted in as a nine-man slate, while six other members will be voted in individually.

Mr R Sasikumar, the managing director of sports marketing agency Red Card, believes that the landmark election will be a step forward in revitalising Singapore football. “It’s going to be interesting because no matter what happens, there’ll be change in Singapore football this year,” the former national defender told TODAY.

“What’s more exciting is that the power is with the affiliates and so the new team will be decided based on what the collective thinks is best.

“A new team means fresh energy and people coming up with new ideas … right now, the only way for Singapore football is up, so I’m looking forward to a rejuvenated local football scene in the near future.”

So far, the only team that has declared its intention to contest the election is Team Majulah, which was formed by ex-Woodlands Wellington team manager R Vengadasalam and lawyer Alfred Dodwell.

“We have a capable and ambitious team which just wants the best for Singapore football,” said Mr Venga. “A vibrant football community is needed, so the question is, how do you engage your community to support your local football? We’ve already devised our plans on how we’re going to achieve that.”

While he has not officially declared it, current FAS vice-president Lim Kia Tong is also tipped to form a team to contest the election, one that will feature members from the previous exco — such as vice-presidents Edwin Tong and Bernard Tan, and Balestier Khalsa chairman S Thavaneson.

“Whether I choose (to run) or not depends if a certain circle of people thinks that Singapore football needs me to continue,” said Mr Lim, who is also a deputy chairman of the Fifa Disciplinary Committee. “The fact that I did (already) indicate there’s a chance I will step forward is because people have asked me to compete.”

46 TO DECIDE THE FUTURE

Who are the 46 FAS affiliates? They are nine S.League clubs, 10 NFL clubs, 14 Islandwide League (IWL) clubs and 13 other organisations.

But the prevailing mood appears to be sour. Most — especially the amateur clubs — are unhappy with how they have been neglected over the past several years.

According to the FAS’ financial statement for 2015/2016, S$16 million was spent on the S.League. Each of the seven local clubs — including the Young Lions, an U-23 club side run by the FAS — can get up to S$1 million in subsidies from the FAS if they meet performance targets throughout the season.

In contrast, the FAS spent more than S$4 million in 2015 to run the LionsXII, another club side it formed in 2011 to play in the Malaysian football competitions, which also took most of the best local players from the S.League. The LionsXII became defunct in 2015 after it exited the Malaysian Super League.

The FAS’ statement also showed that a total of S$70,000 was spent on grassroots competitions (NFL, IWL, Singapore FA Cup and Singapore 9s).

While FAS vice-president Bernard Tan later clarified that the figure only represented the direct cost, and estimated that the FAS had instead spent up to “a quarter of a million” on grassroots football, the amount is still a fraction of the FAS’ investment in elite football.

But despite the FAS’ decision to focus the bulk of its resources on elite-level football, the top-heavy approach has not yielded results — the performances of the various national age-group teams are proof of that.

That is why members of the local football fraternity are hoping the new FAS council will learn from the mistakes of its predecessors.

National captain Shahril Ishak, who is Singapore’s joint-most-capped player with 132 international appearances, told TODAY: “It is important that the new leaders look towards building the entire ecosystem. In particular, they should look at building the base of players and encouraging more people to take up football. Only then will our football progress.”

Mr Darwin Jalil, president of NFL champions Eunos Crescent FC, wants “a change in the FAS’ attitude to grassroots football”.

He said: “Today, the focus is all on the national team and the S.League, whereas the NFL and IWL are not given enough support.

“So I want to see the new FAS office-bearers looking at local football holistically, giving us the resources to continue developing footballers and recognising our role in producing players for S.League clubs.”

Sport Singapore CEO Lim Teck Yin says the new FAS exco needs to constantly engage its stakeholders to have a successful reign.

“Developing a structured long-term plan for football is not rocket science,” he told TODAY. “The key is in systematic implementation and learning, and to stay the course on the plan and strategy,” he said.

Mr Sasikumar agreed. “The entire ecosystem has to be put in place. These are key stakeholders whose buy-in is needed for each major decision the FAS makes,” he said. “So whoever is coming in must get regular input from these stakeholders.

“Only when you listen, get feedback and address their concerns do you become relevant to them.”

NEW DIRECTION FOR S.LEAGUE

With Mr Lim Chin’s impending departure as S.League CEO on Mar 31, a search for the new shepherd for Singapore’s only professional sports league is likely to begin after the FAS election. There will be a full in-tray for the new man in-charge as he plots a way back to greener pastures.

The to-do lists include raising the playing standards and entertainment levels of the match-day experience; bringing the fans back to the stadiums, determining a viable and sustainable revenue model for the clubs; and getting clubs to forge a strong affinity with their communities. Perhaps the biggest challenge, after years of decline, is to convince local players that playing professional football in the S.League can be a viable career.

“Every player wants the S.League to be strong and competitive,” said Lions and Hougang United midfielder Zulfahmi Arifin, 25. “As players, we know what we’re being paid cannot compare to those who play in Malaysia and Thailand. But most of us are not asking for the sky.

“We just want to comfortably support our family and fulfil our financial responsibilities. This career is not as easy as people think it is.”

These are perennial problems yet to be solved despite 21 years of professional football. However, before solutions can be found, a new problem — or rival, rather — is rising.

The proposed Asean Super League (ASL), a regional initiative led by former FAS president Zainudin Noordin, is in the works with a September kick-off being mooted. Already, marketing partners have been appointed and the search for ASL’s first CEO is under way. There are fears that the ASL — which is likely to feature at least one Singaporean team — will further dilute whatever little interest is left in domestic football.

“A lot of work needs to be done to make the local leagues better and this could be made complicated if the ASL goes ahead,” said an S.League club official, who declined to be named. “We’ve seen from the LionsXII project that taking away the country’s best players to play in a separate club competition badly affects the S.League.

“It’s perhaps understandable if it leads to the national team producing good results but, as we can see for the past few years, that hasn’t happened. So whoever takes over must make our local league a priority, rather than an afterthought.”

REGAINING REGIONAL PRIDE

Meanwhile, last December’s Suzuki Cup debacle confirmed what the local football fraternity has suspected over the past few years — that the gulf between four-time Asean champions Singapore and South-east Asia’s best such as Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and Myanmar, is getting wider by the year.

Singapore is ranked sixth in South-east Asian football, according to the Fifa ranking in December. As such, the journey towards regaining regional pride will not take place overnight. But Singapore can take a small step forward this year — by delivering a podium finish at the South-east Asian (SEA) Games in Kuala Lumpur in August.

National youth teams’ head coach Richard Tardy has been quoted in media reports as saying that his Singapore U-22 players will have to “work very hard to do well at the SEA Games”.

Said the Frenchman: “Technically, I don’t think our level is enough and we have problems heading, shooting and crossing, which we will work on specifically for 60 to 80 minutes every week.

“(But) we drew with Vietnam in the Nations Cup and lost 1-0 to China and Iran. This means we are not far off.”

Given the disappointments of the past year, a bronze medal from Kuala Lumpur will probably be almost as good as gold for long-suffering fans who have been yearning for some good news in local football for a long time.