Future of S-League

It's coming. Oh wait... it has already started? Amazing... more publicity has to be done.

This season should be an improvement from the last at the very least. As for title contenders, don't expect much changes at all. SAFFC is of course favourite, but this is the season Richard Bok will be judged on more than any other following the release of veteran Warriors Aleksander Duric (now at Tampines) and Therdsak Chaiman. Most newspaper writers say Home United and Tampines follow behind, and then Gombak and Geylang. And Young Lions is in as a dark dark horse.

Well, anyone can say that. And they aren't wrong. The S-League cannot get more predictable than the past few seasons. Thus, I will back a plan for a promotion-relegation system in Singapore, a system which I had thought about since about 7 years ago. The problems would be infrastructural and financial. How do we ensure each team is sufficiently sponsored and can draw fans? After all, fan turnout is the biggest problem the previous season. The promotion/relegation system cannot materialise until there are solid match attendances and a solid level of interest in the S-League. Only then will the sponsors become more willing to invest in soccer clubs. And then can we be more assured that the lower division clubs can still survive.

With Singapore, despite soccer being our number 1 sport, it's glaring how our match turnouts fare against our regional rivals. Indonesia is famous for its atmosphere, but it isn't a good comparison because theirs is a very big country whose clubs represent big regions and is a symbol of loyalty. Ours is a small land, and allegiances can be easily switched. It isn't anywhere as easy to support our 'hometown' club. But nonetheless, we can do way better. Our stadiums can fit thousands. The comparatively bigger ones like Bishan Stadium can fit around 7000 spectators. But our average turnout last year was only slightly in excess of 2000. There is much space to be filled, clearly.

The fundamental problem here is the pace of life. Ours is a fast-moving society where every minute, if not second, counts. Many of us are simply unconvinced of travelling to the stadiums, even if its within walking distance, just to spend up to 2 hours watching a match with barely any atmosphere except for the beating of the drums. The quality of the football is also in question.

Steps have been done for this season, and hopefully, our footballers can deliver better soccer for us. There, however, remains no strong initiative to attract the fans. Currently, our league boasts 12 teams which compete 3 times with each other each season. The 12-team system is similar to that of the Scottish league. And the Scottish league has at least 3 divisions. So a promotion/relegation system isn't that difficult.

If each team has 30 players in the first team, there are 360 footballers required. It's not like there are only so few footballers out there. Other than quality of football, we Singaporeans are also concerned about our local footballers. With more foreign footballers, we really do expect more of our local-born footballers. And the standard must improve. Both local and foreign.

What I suggest is to use the Prime League and convert it into Division 2. It needs lots of work, of course, but in a way, it's like raising the profile of Prime League. No potential footballer's eyes will light at the thought of playing in the Prime League. Barely anyone knows about the existence of the Prime League or any of the Prime League players. So why not convert it into a Division 2?

But the problem is, the Prime League consists of the very same teams playing in the S-League. The Prime League is essentially a reserve league for the local teams at the moment. So if it is just converted to Division Two, it will not work out at all. The current match attendances for Prime League matches are 2-digits. So why don't we open up more slots?

Currently, all existing local clubs are hogging the local players. Apart from their first team, they possess 15-20 players, their reserves, to play in the Prime League. England has this system of a Reserve League as well. But playing in the Prime League doesn't provide much experience. Matches are played between reserve players in front of barely any spectators. So these players can be released and taken up by new clubs. There must be more people standing up willing to form professional management teams. And this could even be part of a government initiative by the MCYS, to promote soccer and soccer management as a career, and setting up these management courses in the universities and polytechnics. We must be able to convince people that soccer is in fact, really a feasible career path that provides solid income. And then parents will be more willing to let their children play soccer, more talents will be spotted and developed and in turn the fans will come and income will rise from match tickets and sponsorship, leading to greater wages and thus fuel the feasibility of soccer as a career. It works in a loop, and it has to start somewhere.

If our top footballers cannot warrant a monthly pay of $10000, with the S-League average wage at around $3000, then Prime League players who play in front of crowds of perhaps 50 probably get wages in just hundreds. Compared to all other sectors, soccer is currently not a choice at all for many people. It's education or nothing. Non-education sectors like soccer is severely underdeveloped to attract people as players, managers, coaches as well as spectators.

Thus, I will suggest only allowing some of the clubs to keep their reserve team. These clubs should be the one with no financial problems. These teams could start by playing in Division 2. For example SAFFC B. Clubs like the Yishun Super Reds should not just vapourise just because they missed out. They should retain their rights to exist. With the Division 2 in place, these clubs get to work out and potentially work their way up to the top of Singapore football. A Division 1 of 12 teams and a Division 2 of 12 teams.

Our current S-League lineup is made of 9 local and 3 foreign teams. If foreign teams finish in the bottom 2 or 3 of the league, they either get relegated or they can remove their team from our league, freeing up space for new teams. It could work on a 2 promoted/2 relegated system like the Scottish Premier League.

Foreign clubs must meet certain expectations because they are here to boost our standards and not make up the numbers. When they fail to meet expectations they will have to give way naturally. Help must be given to the clubs in terms of the scouting network and trials, etc. to allow sufficient players to fill the clubs.

When there are more clubs there can be room for more competition and with the pressure of an up/down sustem will allow for clubs to take things more seriously and for non-title contenders to feel more enthusiasm and excitement for the seasons. It's a thought too complex for me but I believe it can be worked out by FAS in the near future.

The foreign clubs in the league must always be limited to 25%, meaning 3 clubs out of 12, as it has been these few seasons. The persisting problem remains to be match attendance, and it must be improved to an average of 3000+ before any such plans can be considered. This is a pre-requisite, a condition for the expansion of the S-League into a more exciting and more competitive brand. Even then, management must be properly done.

If such a plan materialises and proves to be a hit, I will look back with a smile and really be happy that S-League has really bounced back from poor football with a bang. And we could really be sending our best players to Europe. That will make us proud.

To change public opinion, we must start now and develop a long-term plan and concrete goals to iron out all problems and counter them. There are plenty of possible solutions to every problem.