September 10, 2004
FROM www.todayonline.com
It bewildered me to learn that one of
the most sensitive changes implemented for the 2005 S-League is the 10 per cent
reduction of seed money.
To add salt to the wound, the
participating foreign clubs will receive some funding.
From the start, it was viewed that
foreign clubs' presence in the S-League was mainly to add a new dimension to
the local scene and to produce talent worth considering for the Foreign Talent
Scheme, for the benefit of the
S-League officials then stressed that
foreign clubs would not operate financially at the expense of our local clubs.
One could argue that our local clubs
are not as well managed. But the S-League is our professional league.
If support is given to foreign clubs
at a time when local clubs are struggling, we might as well rename the league
the C-League, as in the Cosmopolitan League, whereby one club from each Asian
country takes part in a Singapore-based league.
Changes in our S-League are inevitable
for the long-term interest of the local football scene.
But if changes are made merely to
attract more foreign clubs, at the expense of local clubs, then football
officials here have certainly lost the plot.
Singaporean clubs need the money
badly, as sponsorships are difficult to come by. To take away some to provide
for outsiders doesn't seem right.
No disrespect to Sinchi
and Albirex Niigata, as their inclusion did give fans
something to cheer about, but since they were the ones who expressed interest
in joining our league, they should be humble enough to turn down the funding
offer.
Losing $60,000 per club next season is
too much to digest.
To then give Sinchi
$120,000 and Albirex $100,000 makes no sense.
We should either leave the $600,000
per club allocation in place or use any additional money to fund the return of
local clubs, such as Gombak United or Sembawang Rangers.
One of them could return at the
expense of Sinchi, who have been underperforming for
two years now.
In fairness, football betting, which
involves all S-League clubs including the two foreign sides, does play a part
in providing a source for seed money for the clubs. But to depend on SCORE alone
is just not enough.
With the growing number of people
betting on other football leagues, shouldn't
Should it make any difference what
football league a punter chooses to bet on? Can
Finally, with the announcement that
both S-League CEO Chan King Fook and director of
projects Ronnie Teo would be leaving, I question the
commitment and professionalism of appointing people who are in this game for
only the short term and have implemented some strange changes.
According to a report yesterday, the
foreign clubs will receive money from a "different budget".
If funding for foreign clubs comes
from a different source, why wasn't this source tapped for local clubs in the
first place?
The S-League should implement changes
that will benefit, and not harm, the survival of local clubs.
There may not be enough local players
for the clubs, but these clubs need all the available money to ensure their
survival.
Otherwise, our eight-year-old S-League
will become meaningless.
Winston Yap
Wee Soon