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Move Out From Home to a Wider City?

I would say the assuming of ownership of the club formerly known as Home United Football Club (HUFC) by Sea, a leading internet company, shall be seen as a breakthrough in the local football fraternity.

The logo of Lion City Sailors (via LCSFC)
The logo of Lion City Sailors (via LCSFC)

The idea of privatization of the Republic's professional football league has always been in the pipeline with little tangible progress till the official announcement was made in the early morning of Valentine's Day.

"OWNERSHIP" - A NEW CLEAR INDICATION

The word "ownership" mentioned in the press release issued by the official sources is a clear indication to see newly-formed Lion City Sailors (LCSFC) operate under a new business model that is going to set itself apart from the rest of the local Singapore Premier League (SGPL) clubs.

According to an online search with the ACRA Bizfile portal, LCSFC is registered as a "private limited" whereas the other local clubs are "societies" registered with the Ministry of Home Affairs where licenses are granted to run jackpot operations.

On top of that, LCSFC opted not to receive subsidies from the Tote board, which is disbursed by Sport Singapore to offset operational costs of SGPL clubs, since it is now a 100% private entity funded solely by Sea.

(L-R): Forrest Li, Chairman of LCSFC; Lim Kia Tong, President of the FAS; Winston Wong, Chairman of HUFC (LCSFC)
(L-R): Forrest Li, Chairman of LCSFC; Lim Kia Tong, President of the FAS; Winston Wong, Chairman of HUFC (LCSFC)

Gabriel Quak (14) is one of the high-profile signings by LCSFC
Gabriel Quak (14) is one of the high-profile signings by LCSFC 

Prior to Valentine's Day's announcement, LCSFC already made known their ambition by making some high-profile recruitments both on and off the field, as reported in the media.

"Apart from the club’s on-field ambitions on the domestic and continental fronts, we aim to lead the way in raising the level of football in Singapore, with the senior team right through to the grassroots level." said Badri Ghent, the general manager of LCSFC.

"We will endeavour to build upon the robust foundations laid by HUFC and establish ourselves as the foremost club in Singapore in terms of operations, governance, and community engagement." added Ghent in a statement issued alongside the aforementioned press release.

The change of the name, however, did not go down too well with some fans and according to a report by Yahoo News Singapore, Home United "will be dissolved within the year".

LCS' IDENTITY CRISIS?

While acknowledging the move is with good intent, a soccer fan expressed his sadness to see the fate of the Protectors following the privatization.

"Just saddens me to see the history of Home United being wiped off in an instance." shared Rk Roland in a comment posted on this platform's Facebook Page of the announcement.

Some other concerns he mentioned included how LCSFC is able to shape its identity and related itself with the community, supposedly with the Bishan residents and if the club will change its name back to "Home United" if Sea decided to relinquish the ownership of the club in the future.

The privatization move was first mentioned last October (file)
The privatization move was first mentioned last October (file)

Community engagement is always a tricky business for most SGPL clubs and even after more than two decades of professionalism, many clubs are still struggling to fuse themselves into the community fabrics of the vicinities they are located in despite being one of the key emphases.

By opting for a name that is usually synonymous with Singapore, would that mean LCSFC is going widen its fan base to four corners of the island rather than staying put in its perceived catchment area of Bishan?

PRIVATIZATION WAS FIRST MENTIONED LAST OCTOBER
Only time will tell besides how this privatization move will alter the landscape of the local scene like what Football Association of Singapore (FAS) president Lim Kia Tong said in his opening speech during the last October's "FAS Nite".

"... Such development and initiatives, we believe, will bring positive change to the professional football landscape in particular and the Singapore’s football landscape in general." said the FAS supremo at the year-end gala event last October when he first mentioned the possible fruition of this game changing move.

Comments

  1. I think SPL needs to do more to bond the teams with the local community. I would suggest that Lions City Sailors to include the word 'Bishan' or 'Ang Mo Kio' on their team name so as to further bond with the local community. Likewise for teams like Albirex Niigata Singapore, while they have made a improvement by signing local players, it would be better if they can further localise by removing the word 'Niigata' on their team name and changed to names like 'Jurong Albirex', 'Jurong East Albirex' etc so as to further bond with the local community. Furthermore there is no this place called Niigata in Singapore.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Point taken and what we all know is Albirex Niigata (Singapore) has a strong link with the Yuhua GRO and perhaps "Yuhua Albirex" be one option too?

      Delete

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