S-League braced for hurdles in bid to continue improving attendances

SINGAPORE — Average attendances for last season’s Great Eastern-Yeo’s S-League may have improved, but S-League Chief Executive Officer Lim Chin concedes that it faces an uphill battle to attract more fans to stadiums as a slew of initiatives are being introduced in a bid to make that happen.

This season, fans will be given match-day programmes with previews, pictures of players and statistics.

Under a new Food Initiative Programme, the first 500 fans at matches can also exchange their admission tickets for complimentary finger food provided by the S-League’s partner merchants, and vouchers for items such as movie tickets or complimentary cups of coffee.

There will be also be photo opportunities with club mascots at home matches.

The S-League will also use its social media platforms to reach out to football fans, including plans to provide video highlights of matches for those who cannot make it to the stadiums.

Local football fans will get to experience these initiatives when the S-League kicks off on Friday with the Charity Shield match between defending champions Tampines Rovers and Singapore Cup holders Home United at the Jalan Besar Stadium, which will also be a league match with three points at stake.

The initiatives are being rolled out in a bid to maintain and even improve on last season’s average attendance of 1,200, which is a 30 to 40 per cent improvement on the historic low of 932 for the 2012 campaign.

“We have to be realistic even as we try to get more people to come to our matches. In the minds of Singapore football fans, it’s all about the action across Europe,” said Lim.

“Singapore has a population of 5.3 million, of which 1 million are foreigners. We are also a vibrant city filled with many other kinds of attractions. So, it will be a huge challenge to bring in more fans to the stadiums.

“But with all our new initiatives, the signing of marquee players by the clubs, and the performances of local players, things will get better.” DAN GUEN CHIN