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| LCS did their lap of honour after their ACLTwo Final defeat at Bishan |
You have to give credit to Lion City Sailors (LCS) for what they have achieved so far.
Some may say they have the resources that other Singapore Premier League (SPL) clubs can only dream of, but let us not forget how difficult it has been for LCS to juggle so many matches in the current season (having to feature in four different tournaments in the ongoing season).
Singapore football badly needs a catalyst to lift itself out of the doldrums, and let's hope what LCS have done so far is something the game here can build on.
AGONY ON THE CONTINENTAL STAGE
While the result ended in agony for the republic's sole privatised football club in the recently concluded AFC Champions League Two (ACLTwo) final, in which they lost to UAE's Sharjah FC at the "new-look" Bishan Stadium. |
| The 2025 ACLTwo Final saw the biggest crowd at Bishan Stadium since its opening |
The sheer determination and the hurdles they overcame had won the hearts of the 9,737, which included luminaries like the President of Singapore, Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, who penned his thoughts on social media, lauded the performance of the team who ironically reclaimed the SPL title merely days before.
A MOMENT THAT FELT FAMILIAR
When I saw the LCS players sink to the ground after the final whistle was blown, it was no different from the ambience we witnessed when the Singapore national team lost to Indonesia in the 2020 AFF Suzuki Cup semi-final on Christmas Day in 2021 at the National Stadium.BUILDING ON BELIEF
So the key is how can LCS and Singapore football on the whole build on this belief that the team showed against some of the top clubs in Asia?England's heartbreaking exit from the 1990 World Cup was seen as a catalyst that fuelled the formation of the English Premier League, which has since become the world's most-watched football competition.
TIME FOR OTHERS TO STEP UP
How can this inspire the rest of the SPL clubs to also follow suit? |
| The efforts should be made to see the same turning out at local games on regular basis |
After all, LCS pocketed US$1 million for their efforts in finishing as runners up of ACLTwo should be one push factor to spur the rest on, shouldn't it?
The ball is now in your court, and you know who you are.
📊 𝐁𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞, 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐲 ➡️ 𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄, 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐬.
This is almost like the "Europa League" of Asia. I also agree the momentum must be built on from here while it is fresh on everyone's mind. But how? And how can the rest of the teams catch up? That is the key question. One of the participating team from Brunei is also exiting the league at the same time. Can a fresh new comer into the league inject some excitement as well? Or will there even be a replacement? Perhaps this is a good time to re-organise the league and the infrastructure and funding supporting it. If not now, when?
ReplyDeleteWe need two to three more local club. So that more youth player can play and good quality import player to raise our standard. Learn from Japan, get big local company to sponsor and pls dun move the game to jalan besar or Tampines hub. Each club must have own ground and own neighborhood fans...
ReplyDeleteWe just need better players coming in to play in the SPL, indirectly our local players would up a few levels collectively. Yes, currently for LCS, the foreign players are the ones that spear head this team, ditto with the other SPL teams
ReplyDeleteBy sharing field , no home ground identity, North and West region no clubs at all ...SPL is in a slump . Do not see Ministers coming out to speak and seek support from large local companies soccer at all ...so where do we have the money to bring in quality players like LCS ...read Balestier coach commented on Singapore issue ...he was very right . The previous management team all screw up ...now can only leave it to Forrest and team to repair the decades long screw up which we need to support local football ...
ReplyDeleteFAS needs to get more sponsors n fund the clubs with more money just like last time ..Remember Md khackpour… Hamid reza estili .. Kimmo tarkio , Sixteen Bostrom n etc that was once when fans looks forward for the s league match….Maybe clubs got higher fund that time but not now
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ReplyDeleteUnpopular view here, but simply put, the spine of LCS is the foreigner. Shawal Anuar scored a brilliant counter-attack goal against Hiroshima in the match that Hiroshima eventually forfeited. But in the build-up to that counter, Ramselaar and Lestienne were both involved.
Who can then replace the two and click with Shawal for the national team? Will it be a catalyst? It depends on how we see revival. If it's like what LCS does in ACL2, then it's easy: more money, more and better imports, more success. Singapore fans like success, and they will go behind a team with success, no doubt about it.
But other parts, like national team and youth development, are not so simple. Of course, it's better and easier to solve problems with a bigger budget rather than having no money, and LCS is doing their part with the academy programs. However, can one club save the entire country's football? Well, if you look at other countries, most of the time, I think it's no.
Years ago, I remembered exchanging with you about how continental club football is another avenue to expose our players internationally. But now, things have changed. The competition rules have changed, and big-money teams can now play eleven imports if they want to, disregarding local players. Now the question is: is this what we want?
Who are "we"? The management, administration, and most importantly, the fans of local football. People will say European football is not different, but I will say, look at the history and structure of football in both continents. And also, it boils down to one question: why pay and watch a team of foreign players in the stadium when higher-standard teams and players are now easily available to watch online and on mobile?
How many locals were in the starting line up in that match ? In spite of having so many foreign players, they still lost. If Singapore football is to improve, more locals must be exposed to high level matches.
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