August 23,
2004
In a most
shocking & surprising move (More like stupidity & idiotic) the S-league
has decided to review the policy of not providing any financial support to
foreign clubs
Currently,
the foreign clubs are not entitled to any seed money while
S-League
administration and finance director Tan Bong Him when asked if foreign clubs
will receive funding next season, reply it is part of the practice to
conduct annual reviews on clubs' performances & gather feedback on their
requirements, after which, the S-league will allocate the available resources
in areas of strategic importance.
When
contacted, Sinchi vice-chairman Wang Jinhui said that it would be a boost if the S-League could
help the foreign club as he claimed it is not cheap to run the S-League &
the Prime League teams, and they are always looking for ways to reduce the
cost.
Also he
added it would be most unfair to the chairman to continue pumping money into
the club every year.
He said
that 1 way the S-League could assist them would be in waiving the charges for
the annual insurance coverage for his 2 squads & also to have the cost of
hiring the stadium facilities waived or subsidised.
With the
extra help he feel it would allow them to get better
players into the squad next year.
While Sinchi state out their wishes, Albirex
Niigata is keep mum about the matter as club manager Bogdan
Brasoveanu declined comment when asked whether Albirex would welcome any financial assistance.
However
reactions from local club officials was 1 of anger with 3 out of the 5
interviewed feeling that the foreign clubs should not be getting any help while
the other 2 refused comment.
1 chairman,
who asked that he not be named, said it appear a catch-22 situation for the
S-League as the foreign clubs finding it hard to sustain themselves here would
leave & if they do leave, the stability of the S-League is compromised.
But another
club chairman summed up the feelings of most said the foreign clubs had come
into the S-League with their eyes wide open so if they feel that it is too
costly to operate here, then, they should just pack up & leave.
Also he
laughed off Sinchi vice-chairman Wang Jinhui rebut about the unfairness of their chairman dipping
into his pocket as local club chairmen, they themselves constantly dip into
their own pockets to keep our clubs afloat. Therefore in his view, instead of giving the foreign clubs any kind
of help, the S-League should instead use that money to help local clubs like
Jurong, Sengkang Marine & Sembawang Rangers to solve their financial woes
and return to the S-League sooner.
That way he
feel the S-league would be a truly Singaporean league.