S.League faces a new threat from Philippines

MANILA — With the news that former Singapore international R Sasikumar may run for president in the upcoming Football Association of Singapore (FAS) elections, Singapore fans will be interested to see how the new Philippines National League (PNL) turns out.

If the man who scored Singapore’s winning goal in the 1998 Tiger Cup final against Vietnam also has the golden touch in administration, then he could be the perfect candidate to lead Singapore football forward.

Over the past year, the retired defender has been acting as a consultant to the Philippines Football Federation (PFF) as it sets up the country’s new and fully professional league. Due to kick off in April, it becomes the country’s top tier, above the semi-pro United Football League (UFL), which has been the main competition in the Philippines.

However, if the new league helps take football in the Philippines to the next level, then — ironically for Sasikumar — the S.League will have a new rival.

Given that the UFL’s Ceres FC finished above Tampines Rovers in the group stage of the 2016 AFC Cup and Philippine clubs have performed fairly well in past editions of the Singapore Cup, fans in Singapore may not think the Filipinos need much of a helping hand — least of all of from an FAS presidential hopeful.

In fact, Chris Greatwich, coach of Filipino side Kaya FC, said Philippines football is not far off Singapore now.

Pointing to his team’s 3-0 win over Balestier Khalsa in last year’s AFC Cup, as well as Ceres FC’s third-place finish in last year’s Singapore Cup, the former Philippines international told TODAY: “If you look at the results during the AFC Cup, we have shown this. Kaya as well as Ceres FC have proved the quality of our clubs.

“A fully-professional league is the only way to go. We have had a steep upward trajectory with the national team in recent years and that is what we need in the league.”

The Philippines national team reversed years of thrashings at the AFF Suzuki Cup in 2010 by calling up players born and raised in Europe who had one Filipino parent. This immediately raised standards. But building a new nationwide league over a sprawling archipelago is a much more painstaking process.

“The UFL was not a national league,” Edwin Gastanes, the PFF general secretary, told TODAY. “Only two teams come from outside Manila. They were also operated without basic club-licensing regulations.”

The PNL, though, will see pro clubs employing professional players and will help the promotion of football, added Gastanes.

“Young players will be eager to play more, like in basketball. After five years of football promotion here, we think football has gained enough traction in terms of crowd support, especially outside Manila,” he said.

The nationwide aspect is crucial in a country of almost 100 million. Singapore fans saw the empty stadium in the opening game of the 2016 AFF Suzuki Cup in November when the two teams played out a goalless draw. If the Philippines is more into the ‘Three Bs’ of basketball, boxing and billiards, this is especially true in the capital of Manila.

Football is more popular in the provinces. “When we had games in Cebu, we had big crowds,” said Greatwich.

“At the moment, you can’t differentiate between each club, that was the problem with the UFL being in the metro Manila area as there was no designated turf, but being in different parts of the country helps.”

Leading Philippines football journalist and broadcaster Ryan Fenix thinks that having all the country involved will help.

“There are a lot of potential growth areas in the provinces and here, football can be a clear No 2 behind basketball.”

If it is done correctly, there is no reason that teams from the new national league will not be able to outdo S-League counterparts.

“At the moment, the top four teams in the Philippines would do well in Singapore,” said Fenix.

“I have seen S-League games and while our clubs may not win it immediately, they can compete.”

A better league would improve the depth and enable the country to tap into its biggest advantage.

“Compared to Singapore,” said Fenix, “there is more potential here but Singapore has the advantage of football being No. 1.”

The same thing happening in the Philippines is a long way in the future but the big kick-off in April is not and a lack of clarity has some worried.

“Actual guidelines have not been announced at the moment,” said Greatwich.

“A lot of clubs are in limbo and waiting to see how things proceed.

“There was a initial manifesto that the PFF made public which included information on youth academy guidelines, all the way up to salary floors and ceilings.

“But there has been no clarification on what this all entails. We are entering pre-season and we need to know.”

According to Gastanes, this is due to the unexpected interest shown with clubs applying after the original December deadline.

“It is all currently being organised. All have to undergo club licensing requirements as approved by the PFF Executive Committee acting upon recommendations from the AFC," he said.

“Ten clubs or groups applied but I am not sure if all will pass. We can start with six or eight for the initial season.”

But it will, he insists, start in April.

And when it does, football in the Philippines will have taken a big step forward.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

John Duerden has been based in Asia for almost 20 years and covers the continental football scene for The New York Times, BBC Radio, The Guardian, FourFourTwo and World Soccer magazine.