The sentimentalists wanted it. The football officials debated it. And now – after a 17-year divorce – we finally have it: Singapore’s reunion with the Malaysia Cup.
Tuesday’s announcement, which took place in the press room at the Football Association of Malaysia’s (FAM) headquarters in Selangor, is as bone-shaking as one of Samad Allapitchay’s famous tackles for the Lions in the 1970s.
First, there is the possible return of the mighty Kallang Roar. It will sound less delirious at the 6,000-seater Jalan Besar Stadium, at least until the Sports Hub is ready. But it might just get a nation on its feet and give us a sporting banner that we can rally behind.
Second, a new generation of footballers, with nothing but the S-League to aim for, can once again aspire to be household heroes. They know now, that they can be Fandi Ahmads, Quah Kim Songs and Dollah Kassims – revered and, perhaps, rewarded financially in equal measure.
The sponsors, too, may finally play ball. For too long, Singaporean football has been a venture deemed too risky and too unpopular to be worth a punt. With full-house attendances and top-rated TV broadcasts, the money could flow again.
The good times are set to return, and we can thank officials from both sides of the Causeway for it. The question is, what took them so long?
For almost two decades, fans pining for the Lions to play in the Malaysia Cup were rebuffed time and again, with the standard excuse that it was for the long-term good of Singaporean football.
There were whispers of a comeback in 2004, when officials from both sides met, but little came out of that meeting.
Seven years on, football officials have finally understood what many of us felt all along: that Singapore and Malaysia cannot do without each other.
When the Lions cut the cord in 1995, the ostensible reason was to kick-start the S-League, and lay the foundations for a viable Singaporean football industry.
This industry – worth a reported US$200mil a year – is very much alive. The S-League, however, is gasping for breath.
Now into its 16th year, the league has seen its average attendances dive to an all-time low this year, with thuggish behaviour from some players doing no favours to its reputation.
Turned off and tuned out, a whole new generation of fans has grown to become strangers with Singaporean football.
Despite the best efforts of marketing gurus, the league is close to rock-bottom. The national team is almost as unloved, with fans jilting them after early exits in the Suzuki Cup, Asian Cup and Asian Games. Things can hardly get any worse, and the Malaysia Cup – which drew 60,000 fans to Kallang at its height – is surely Singapore’s last throw of the dice.
For Malaysia, this is also an admission that their product is better with Singapore, and not without.
Nationalistic fervour and geographical rivalries – vital ingredients in football – have been missing from the Malaysian league since the Lions’ departure. From their point of view, nothing beats the thrill of playing Singapore, even if you are just a state side from Perlis or Pahang.
Ditto for Singapore, because any state team is Malaysia in proxy.
Such rivalry makes for good entertainment, but it also made for an uneasy marriage. Back in 1995, the Lions were forced to bid selamat tinggal to the Malaysia Cup – not just because they wanted to go – but also because they had outstayed their welcome.
Match-fixing was used as the stick to beat Singapore, with Malaysia claiming the Republic had not done enough to stamp out corruption. The FAM wanted more money too, nearly doubling the gate levy from 20% to 35% .
The late Datuk Ahmad Basri Akil of Kedah, one of the key instigators of the ‘kick Singapore out’ campaign, said then that ‘it is in Singapore’s long-term interests not to play (in the Malaysia Cup)’.
Those interests have clearly changed. And Tuesday’s handshake between FAM deputy president Tengku Abdullah Ahmad Shah and Football Association of Singapore (FAS) president Zainudin Nordin appeared to signal that all is forgiven.
But history can be instructive. Singapore has left the Malaysia Cup three times, each split more acrimonious than the last. For this latest re-marriage to work, the issues which brought about the separation have to be examined.
Match-fixing, a beast which has re-surfaced in recent months, must not be allowed to prey on footballers from both countries. Lose that war, and you will lose the fans again.
Money talks as well, and one can only hope that Singapore and Malaysia have a sound financial model that makes it fair and sustainable for their teams to make costly jaunts up and down the peninsula.
There are new fears too.
Nearly 20 years have elapsed since Fandi lifted the Malaysia Cup in front of 60,000 fans at the Shah Alam stadium, and some of those devotees may have moved on. For them, the Malaysia Cup is a fond, but faded memory that can never be revived. Their children, too, have grown used to an easy diet of the English Premier League. These younger fans – once the backbone of the Lions’ following – may pick video games and shopping malls over steamy stadiums and long waits to use the bathroom at half-time.
And what about the S-League, which is already starved of support, sponsors and star players?
The FAS have upped the seed money for S-League clubs this season, and claim the Malaysia Cup will have a spillover effect that can aid their domestic game.
But it is hard to see how fans can embrace both competitions, especially if they take place on the same weekend.
Is the arrival of Malaysia’s youth team enough to regenerate interest? Can Singaporean clubs survive in the shadow of the Malaysia Cup? Too many questions remain, questions which will get louder as the football community spends the next few days digesting the news.
At long last though, Singapore football is brave enough to step back into the past to rewrite its future. There is no guarantee this formula will work, but we know for sure the last one did not.
Tuesday’s announcement, which took place in the press room at the Football Association of Malaysia’s (FAM) headquarters in Selangor, is as bone-shaking as one of Samad Allapitchay’s famous tackles for the Lions in the 1970s.
First, there is the possible return of the mighty Kallang Roar. It will sound less delirious at the 6,000-seater Jalan Besar Stadium, at least until the Sports Hub is ready. But it might just get a nation on its feet and give us a sporting banner that we can rally behind.
Second, a new generation of footballers, with nothing but the S-League to aim for, can once again aspire to be household heroes. They know now, that they can be Fandi Ahmads, Quah Kim Songs and Dollah Kassims – revered and, perhaps, rewarded financially in equal measure.
The sponsors, too, may finally play ball. For too long, Singaporean football has been a venture deemed too risky and too unpopular to be worth a punt. With full-house attendances and top-rated TV broadcasts, the money could flow again.
The good times are set to return, and we can thank officials from both sides of the Causeway for it. The question is, what took them so long?
For almost two decades, fans pining for the Lions to play in the Malaysia Cup were rebuffed time and again, with the standard excuse that it was for the long-term good of Singaporean football.
There were whispers of a comeback in 2004, when officials from both sides met, but little came out of that meeting.
Seven years on, football officials have finally understood what many of us felt all along: that Singapore and Malaysia cannot do without each other.
When the Lions cut the cord in 1995, the ostensible reason was to kick-start the S-League, and lay the foundations for a viable Singaporean football industry.
This industry – worth a reported US$200mil a year – is very much alive. The S-League, however, is gasping for breath.
Now into its 16th year, the league has seen its average attendances dive to an all-time low this year, with thuggish behaviour from some players doing no favours to its reputation.
Turned off and tuned out, a whole new generation of fans has grown to become strangers with Singaporean football.
Despite the best efforts of marketing gurus, the league is close to rock-bottom. The national team is almost as unloved, with fans jilting them after early exits in the Suzuki Cup, Asian Cup and Asian Games. Things can hardly get any worse, and the Malaysia Cup – which drew 60,000 fans to Kallang at its height – is surely Singapore’s last throw of the dice.
For Malaysia, this is also an admission that their product is better with Singapore, and not without.
Nationalistic fervour and geographical rivalries – vital ingredients in football – have been missing from the Malaysian league since the Lions’ departure. From their point of view, nothing beats the thrill of playing Singapore, even if you are just a state side from Perlis or Pahang.
Ditto for Singapore, because any state team is Malaysia in proxy.
Such rivalry makes for good entertainment, but it also made for an uneasy marriage. Back in 1995, the Lions were forced to bid selamat tinggal to the Malaysia Cup – not just because they wanted to go – but also because they had outstayed their welcome.
Match-fixing was used as the stick to beat Singapore, with Malaysia claiming the Republic had not done enough to stamp out corruption. The FAM wanted more money too, nearly doubling the gate levy from 20% to 35% .
The late Datuk Ahmad Basri Akil of Kedah, one of the key instigators of the ‘kick Singapore out’ campaign, said then that ‘it is in Singapore’s long-term interests not to play (in the Malaysia Cup)’.
Those interests have clearly changed. And Tuesday’s handshake between FAM deputy president Tengku Abdullah Ahmad Shah and Football Association of Singapore (FAS) president Zainudin Nordin appeared to signal that all is forgiven.
But history can be instructive. Singapore has left the Malaysia Cup three times, each split more acrimonious than the last. For this latest re-marriage to work, the issues which brought about the separation have to be examined.
Match-fixing, a beast which has re-surfaced in recent months, must not be allowed to prey on footballers from both countries. Lose that war, and you will lose the fans again.
Money talks as well, and one can only hope that Singapore and Malaysia have a sound financial model that makes it fair and sustainable for their teams to make costly jaunts up and down the peninsula.
There are new fears too.
Nearly 20 years have elapsed since Fandi lifted the Malaysia Cup in front of 60,000 fans at the Shah Alam stadium, and some of those devotees may have moved on. For them, the Malaysia Cup is a fond, but faded memory that can never be revived. Their children, too, have grown used to an easy diet of the English Premier League. These younger fans – once the backbone of the Lions’ following – may pick video games and shopping malls over steamy stadiums and long waits to use the bathroom at half-time.
And what about the S-League, which is already starved of support, sponsors and star players?
The FAS have upped the seed money for S-League clubs this season, and claim the Malaysia Cup will have a spillover effect that can aid their domestic game.
But it is hard to see how fans can embrace both competitions, especially if they take place on the same weekend.
Is the arrival of Malaysia’s youth team enough to regenerate interest? Can Singaporean clubs survive in the shadow of the Malaysia Cup? Too many questions remain, questions which will get louder as the football community spends the next few days digesting the news.
At long last though, Singapore football is brave enough to step back into the past to rewrite its future. There is no guarantee this formula will work, but we know for sure the last one did not.
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