I read with interest the letters “Local football needs new direction” (April 30) and “FAS always looking to improve local football” (May 7). Much as we would love to have a successful domestic league, we must face reality.
As past efforts have shown, no matter how much glitter is thrown at the S-League to make it more appealing, it cannot hope to draw the crowds as the LionsXII can in the Malaysian Super League (MSL).
Nor can slick marketing entice fans to come in droves to watch teams in which they have no vested interest.
I plan my schedule to fit in the LionsXII games on weekends and in the occasional midweek. I have yet to miss one, and I doubt I will ever do that for S-League matches.
Perhaps, rather than try to force an unpopular league down fans’ throats, it is wiser not to fool ourselves into thinking it possible to have a highly popular league, comparable to the English and Spanish leagues or even the MSL. To put money and effort into that wishful thinking is a waste of valuable resources, however little.
We should concentrate those resources on building one or a few strong teams that can compete effectively on the international stage, rather than spread ourselves thin and get caught in a situation where we are neither here nor there.
Singapore has proven its ingenuity and enterprise to compete with bigger and more richly endowed nations despite our size and inherent limitations. I have no doubt we can do the same in sports, specifically in football.
It is one sport that can rally the masses behind a singular cause without much effort needed to get them out of their homes to support their team, more so if it were their beloved national team.
To withdraw from the MSL and bet all our chips on hopes of a great domestic league would set us back and kill off the interest and energy of passionate fans — the lifeblood of any sport.
I hope to see a framework that will take our football scene to the next level in an effort to produce a great national team, while not alienating loyal fans.
On our part, we will do the rest come match day.
