Point of View – Weekday crowds myth
Unless
one was living in a cave, one would have learnt by now that AFC had harsh words
for the leadership in FAS for their running of the S-league and it was not
pretty as unlike past AFC would have never openly come out to state S-league cannot
become a top 10 Asian league under FAS guidance as it dealt a blow to FAS boast
2 years ago to turn S-league into ASEAN top league.
Still
the response of FAS to AFC criticisms showed the leadership in FAS have no intentions of changing their ways.
However
before any decision is make for next season, it may indeed be time for FAS to
review their policy of no S-league matches on weekend no matter the
circumstances as the one coming out the loser may be the S-league and the
clubs.
The
thinking that if no S-league matches are played on weekends when the EPL is
playing would ensure a packed crowds for the clubs in the stadium on weekdays
have no ground to stand if one was to look at facts that have surfaced.
Last
season when Tampines Rovers met Home United, 2 of the
most exciting teams at that time, in the championship decider at Tampines Stadium, it was played on Thursday, a weekday, and
were the clubs and FAS to be shocked as the expected capacity crowd never
arrived and the final figure for the match was just 3161.
For
this season when Tampines Rovers met SAFFC in a clash
that was billed as a championship decider, it was on a weekend as the Stags had
commitments in
It was
despite having to face up against Manchester United popularity in the Republic
as the English club had a game on at the same time and not helping the S-league
any further was that it was opening day for the EPL and many places had
scheduled events for it.
If one
game cannot be the litmus test FAS need to be confident about scheduling
matches on weekend, then FAS should look at another titanic clash on a weekend
when the crowds attendances was more impressive than one can hoped for with
S-league up against EPL as Tampines Rovers clashed
with Woodlands Wellington a week earlier with the EPL Asian Cup ongoing.
A final
attendance of 3633 was present and it showed S-league do have its own appeal
and if the match was big enough there will be crowds at the stadium even on a
weekend when EPL was showing on television.
So it
is almost a myth that an S-league match is better on a weekday, no matter the
significance of the match, as certain games involving gigantic S-league clubs,
who would be playing the type of game that would be the billboards for the
S-league, is best played on weekend when adults and students would not be
rushing to work and school the next day so enjoying their night out.
A game
for the remaining of this season to test such intention is coming and one need
not look further than the clash of Woodlands
Therefore
the leadership in FAS must seriously show, not just AFC, but the fans in the
Republic that they do have confident in the S-league and be prepared to play
certain matches on the weekend.