SINGAPORE: The date was Apr 20, 1996. At Toa Payoh Stadium, Balestier Central were about to face Police FC in the opening round of Singapore's first professional football league, the S-League.
“There were long queues to enter the stadium,” recalled local football blogger Ko Po Hui, one of the 2,400 in attendance.
The buzz had been building for days. A curtain-raiser at the National Stadium drew about 50,000 fans to watch the Thai national team take on an S-League all-star selection.
Three decades on, much has changed. Teams have come and gone, stadiums are shared and crowds have thinned. The league has been rocked by match-fixing scandals and mass brawls. It is now known as the Singapore Premier League (SPL).
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Can it survive another 30 years? CNA looks at the state of play – and what needs to happen.
Even before the first ball was kicked, there was significant hype, fuelled by pre-existing fan interest in the semi-professional league and Singapore's exploits in the Malaysia Cup.
Thousands turned up at friendly matches, with one game between Geylang United and Johor SEDC drawing 6,500 fans, some sitting on the track. To meet demand, several matches in the inaugural season were played at the National Stadium and neighbourhood stadiums installed portable seats.
"The crowd was on a different level," said former Balestier Central attacker Marko Kraljevic. "And when you eat at the coffee shop, they would ask you about the game. Now, nobody asks you about the game."
What drew the crowds was star power, said Geylang International coach Noor Ali, who had just signed his first professional contract with Tampines Rovers.
'It was so big because we had the Malaysia Cup heroes playing in our own league," he said. "Fans came to watch their favourite players play."
Ko Po Hui holds a ticket from the 1996 match between Police FC and Balestier Khalsa. (Photo: CNA/Matthew Mohan)
Intriguing storylines helped too, said Ko. There was the uniformed derby between Police FC and SAFFC, and the clash between the old establishment – Geylang United headlined by Fandi Ahmad – and the newer kids on the block, Woodlands Wellington, starring V Sundramoorthy.
Not every match drew big crowds, with the second half of the season, the Pioneer Series, seeing noticeably smaller turnouts. But those who spoke to CNA said sustained interest largely held through the late 2000s.
"The first year was fantastic, and I think it went on quite successfully in the next 10 years," said Noor Ali.
"The first six, eight years of the league in my mind was far more competitive," said Balestier Khalsa chairman S Thavaneson. "Then it plateaued off for a while, but it still remained exciting. Now, we have the SPL, with a lot of changes with the structure."
The numbers tell a sobering story. Average attendance at regional stadiums was 2,050 in 2009, according to a TODAY report. By the 2013 season, that had dropped to around 1,200. By 2022, it had fallen further to 832.
Ko pointed to the Lions' lack of international success as a contributing factor. "When we first won the (AFF Championship) title in 1998, the S.League was still in its infancy. The victory served as a strong testament to the league, with the squad made up of players entirely from the domestic league," he said.
"Barring the recent qualification for next January's Asian Cup, the Lions have been in doldrums after we last won the AFF championship back in 2012."
The proliferation of European football across streaming platforms has also made it harder for the local game to compete for attention, Ko added. Constant changes to foreigner and young player quotas over the years did not help clubs plan ahead, said Noor Ali.
Today, matches involving Lion City Sailors, BG Tampines Rovers and Albirex Niigata are the more well-attended.
The Singapore Cup final between the Sailors and Tampines in January attracted 3,767 fans, and a more recent 3-3 league draw between Albirex and Sailors also pulled in a decent turnout.
Relics from the 1996 S.League season collected by Balestier Khalsa general manager Cheng Tim Nee. (Photo: CNA/Matthew Mohan)
For clubs like Geylang and Tanjong Pagar United, the same diehard regulars keep showing up.
"I still see the same abang, same uncles still in the stands," said Noor Ali, using the Malay term for a brother.
Youth coach and former striker Indra Sahdan, now at Tanjong Pagar, said loyal supporters remain. But attracting new ones is the challenge, added Noor Ali.
"It's very hard (for the new fans) to buy in right now. A lot of effort has been put in but even if you give free tickets, they still don't come."
Football Association of Singapore (FAS) general secretary Badri Ghent said the league must adapt to "global consumption trends".
"Match day attendance is just one factor that we look at, and it's always something that we want to improve. But at the same time, when you look at consumption trends ... some just
"The responsibility is on the FAS and on the club not just to serve the existing community and the existing audience, but to expand that base as well."
The association is working with clubs to improve the match day experience, and is investing in broadcast, Badri added.
FAS said stadium attendance has remained stable while total league consumption has expanded significantly – driven by a 28 per cent rise in average YouTube viewership for SPL and Singapore Cup matches, and a 24 per cent increase on meWATCH from the 2023 to the 2024/25 season.
"Fan engagement with the Singapore Premier League is increasingly happening off-site, reflecting broader shifts toward flexible, on-demand viewing," FAS said.
Lion City Sailors celebrate winning the latest edition of the Singapore Cup. (Photo: Singapore Premier League)
A widening gap between the top and bottom sides has produced a string of lopsided scorelines in recent years.
"It fails to project the image of a truly competitive environment, whereas fans crave the giant-killing acts that make a competition unpredictable and inject genuine excitement," said Ko.
Badri said the disparity is not unique to Singapore.
"There will always be a spectrum," he said. "From a league perspective, as a football association ... we will always want to have all of our teams being competitive and performing at a high level on a weekly basis."
Former Singapore international goalkeeper Yazid Yasin, who played for Sembawang Rangers in the inaugural season, said there are still players and teams of good quality today – but the gap between the top and bottom few clubs needs to narrow.
While clubs each had their own stadium three decades ago, ground-sharing has been the reality in the last few years.
This season, matches are played across four venues – Jurong East Stadium, Bishan Stadium, Jalan Besar Stadium and Our Tampines Hub – with training venues shared as well.
The arrangement has made it harder for clubs to put down roots in their communities and created logistical headaches.
Geylang plays home games at Our Tampines Hub, while its youth teams train at various venues including Bedok Stadium. Balestier, which calls Bishan Stadium home, has moved from venue to venue for training, incurring extra expenses in an arrangement which Thavaneson called unsustainable.
"Every club needs their own identity. Where we started, the identity was so strong," said Noor Ali, who won a league title as a player with the Eagles in 2001. "Bedok ... is Geylang."
Yazid, who grew up in Yishun and played for Sembawang Rangers, recalled the pride of representing a hometown club. "(The fans) know you and you know them. That kind of thing is lacking now."
Clubs moving away from their "ancestral homes" makes it difficult for them to connect with their communities, added Ko.
"It's like being refugees," said Kraljevic, who is now the head coach of Balestier Khalsa.
Tampines Rovers fans cheer for their side at Our Tampines Hub. (Photo: Facebook/Tampines Rovers)
Badri said FAS remains in dialogue with the authorities and understands the "aspirational challenges" the league faces.
"There's a scarcity of land in Singapore and with that comes limited facilities and infrastructure. But at the same time, we will not use that as a reason not to perform," he said.
"Facilities and infrastructure to football are foundational. A team can have the best ambitions and the best intentions in the world, but if you don't have a suitable training ground, it's always going to be a difficult conversation."
The league no longer has the marquee foreign names of old. The early S-League years drew stars such as the Iranian trio of Mohammad Khakpour, Mohsen Garousi and Hamid Reza Estili at Geylang, Egmar Goncalves at Police and Jure Eres at SAFFC.
Later came the likes of Therdsak Chaiman, Peres De Oliveira and Sutee Suksomkit.
"The quality of foreigners was very good ... These were players that attracted the fans to come and watch," recalled Noor Ali. "We were very, very lucky back then as young boys, not only to watch them, but be able to play with them or against them."
Lions supporters welcome the footballers home at Singapore’s Changi Airport on Nov 19, 2025. (Photo: CNA/Jeremy Long)
Indra recalled learning from Brazilian midfielder Peres and striker Egmar at Home United. "The foreigners that came in were quite good, and that's where the youngsters learn a lot, and learnt a bit faster with them around."
With clubs largely dependent on annual subsidies – reported to exceed S$2 million per club, though most need close to a million more to cover all costs – signing top players remains a pipe dream.
"Star power will always be extremely beneficial for us, especially from a marketing pull perspective. But for us also, it's about attaining a balance, about being competitive," said Badri.
"It's really about what we can do to achieve a high level of competitiveness across the teams, and not just rely or be based on one particular person or one particular individual."
Noor Ali said sourcing sponsors is also harder than it used to be.
"Nobody's going to pump in money and gamble for you to go fight for AFC," he said, referring to the top Asian club football competitions. "Everybody wants you to go for AFC, and then they put the money."
Many talented youngsters still dream of playing professional football, but the question is whether the SPL represents a viable career path, said those who spoke to CNA.
"It's every player's dream to play for the national team. But can
A match between Albirex Niigata and BG Tampines Rovers at the Jurong East Stadium earlier this year. (Photo: Singapore Premier League)
With some clubs unable to match the salaries that players might earn elsewhere, attrition is a constant challenge.
Promising footballers see that their longer-term future is a full-time job outside football, said Thavaneson. "I think the league will exist. Whether in its current form, I cannot say."
Badri maintained that the SPL remains the "single most important platform" for the national team, pointing out that 19 of the 27 players called up for Singapore's most recent Asian Cup qualifier against Bangladesh play in the domestic league.
He also noted that local clubs have performed creditably in continental competitions, with Singapore moving up in the AFC club rankings.
Ko, however, said clubs must also address recent administrative failings – including the resignation of BG Tampines Rovers coach Katsuhito Kinoshi less than two weeks after his appointment, and Hougang United fielding a foreign player whose work pass had not been approved.
"The recent administration blunders involving several clubs caused quite an embarrassment which shouldn't happen after decades of professionalism of football in Singapore," said Ko.
"It's only fair for people to draw parallels or draw comparisons with what was achieved in the past," said Badri. "If anything, that gives us a very strong impetus and motivation to work hard towards a brighter and better future for Singapore football."
For Yazid, the journey has come full circle. Thirty years on, he coaches at Singapore Sports School, and both his sons now play in the SPL.
His advice to them: set your own timeline, give yourself a few years, see how far you can go.
"I'm very proud that they are playing in the league, and they did that with their own hard work," he said. "It is their life, their dream. They should pursue their dream and we need to support them."
Continue reading...
“There were long queues to enter the stadium,” recalled local football blogger Ko Po Hui, one of the 2,400 in attendance.
The buzz had been building for days. A curtain-raiser at the National Stadium drew about 50,000 fans to watch the Thai national team take on an S-League all-star selection.
Three decades on, much has changed. Teams have come and gone, stadiums are shared and crowds have thinned. The league has been rocked by match-fixing scandals and mass brawls. It is now known as the Singapore Premier League (SPL).
CNA Games
Show More Show Less
Can it survive another 30 years? CNA looks at the state of play – and what needs to happen.
A DIFFERENT ERA
Even before the first ball was kicked, there was significant hype, fuelled by pre-existing fan interest in the semi-professional league and Singapore's exploits in the Malaysia Cup.
Thousands turned up at friendly matches, with one game between Geylang United and Johor SEDC drawing 6,500 fans, some sitting on the track. To meet demand, several matches in the inaugural season were played at the National Stadium and neighbourhood stadiums installed portable seats.
"The crowd was on a different level," said former Balestier Central attacker Marko Kraljevic. "And when you eat at the coffee shop, they would ask you about the game. Now, nobody asks you about the game."
What drew the crowds was star power, said Geylang International coach Noor Ali, who had just signed his first professional contract with Tampines Rovers.
'It was so big because we had the Malaysia Cup heroes playing in our own league," he said. "Fans came to watch their favourite players play."
Ko Po Hui holds a ticket from the 1996 match between Police FC and Balestier Khalsa. (Photo: CNA/Matthew Mohan)
Intriguing storylines helped too, said Ko. There was the uniformed derby between Police FC and SAFFC, and the clash between the old establishment – Geylang United headlined by Fandi Ahmad – and the newer kids on the block, Woodlands Wellington, starring V Sundramoorthy.
Not every match drew big crowds, with the second half of the season, the Pioneer Series, seeing noticeably smaller turnouts. But those who spoke to CNA said sustained interest largely held through the late 2000s.
"The first year was fantastic, and I think it went on quite successfully in the next 10 years," said Noor Ali.
"The first six, eight years of the league in my mind was far more competitive," said Balestier Khalsa chairman S Thavaneson. "Then it plateaued off for a while, but it still remained exciting. Now, we have the SPL, with a lot of changes with the structure."
The numbers tell a sobering story. Average attendance at regional stadiums was 2,050 in 2009, according to a TODAY report. By the 2013 season, that had dropped to around 1,200. By 2022, it had fallen further to 832.
Ko pointed to the Lions' lack of international success as a contributing factor. "When we first won the (AFF Championship) title in 1998, the S.League was still in its infancy. The victory served as a strong testament to the league, with the squad made up of players entirely from the domestic league," he said.
"Barring the recent qualification for next January's Asian Cup, the Lions have been in doldrums after we last won the AFF championship back in 2012."
The proliferation of European football across streaming platforms has also made it harder for the local game to compete for attention, Ko added. Constant changes to foreigner and young player quotas over the years did not help clubs plan ahead, said Noor Ali.
"SAME ABANG, SAME UNCLES"
Today, matches involving Lion City Sailors, BG Tampines Rovers and Albirex Niigata are the more well-attended.
The Singapore Cup final between the Sailors and Tampines in January attracted 3,767 fans, and a more recent 3-3 league draw between Albirex and Sailors also pulled in a decent turnout.
Relics from the 1996 S.League season collected by Balestier Khalsa general manager Cheng Tim Nee. (Photo: CNA/Matthew Mohan)
For clubs like Geylang and Tanjong Pagar United, the same diehard regulars keep showing up.
"I still see the same abang, same uncles still in the stands," said Noor Ali, using the Malay term for a brother.
Youth coach and former striker Indra Sahdan, now at Tanjong Pagar, said loyal supporters remain. But attracting new ones is the challenge, added Noor Ali.
"It's very hard (for the new fans) to buy in right now. A lot of effort has been put in but even if you give free tickets, they still don't come."
Football Association of Singapore (FAS) general secretary Badri Ghent said the league must adapt to "global consumption trends".
"Match day attendance is just one factor that we look at, and it's always something that we want to improve. But at the same time, when you look at consumption trends ... some just
"The responsibility is on the FAS and on the club not just to serve the existing community and the existing audience, but to expand that base as well."
The association is working with clubs to improve the match day experience, and is investing in broadcast, Badri added.
FAS said stadium attendance has remained stable while total league consumption has expanded significantly – driven by a 28 per cent rise in average YouTube viewership for SPL and Singapore Cup matches, and a 24 per cent increase on meWATCH from the 2023 to the 2024/25 season.
"Fan engagement with the Singapore Premier League is increasingly happening off-site, reflecting broader shifts toward flexible, on-demand viewing," FAS said.
Lion City Sailors celebrate winning the latest edition of the Singapore Cup. (Photo: Singapore Premier League)
A widening gap between the top and bottom sides has produced a string of lopsided scorelines in recent years.
"It fails to project the image of a truly competitive environment, whereas fans crave the giant-killing acts that make a competition unpredictable and inject genuine excitement," said Ko.
Badri said the disparity is not unique to Singapore.
"There will always be a spectrum," he said. "From a league perspective, as a football association ... we will always want to have all of our teams being competitive and performing at a high level on a weekly basis."
Former Singapore international goalkeeper Yazid Yasin, who played for Sembawang Rangers in the inaugural season, said there are still players and teams of good quality today – but the gap between the top and bottom few clubs needs to narrow.
Related:
NO PLACE TO CALL HOME
While clubs each had their own stadium three decades ago, ground-sharing has been the reality in the last few years.
This season, matches are played across four venues – Jurong East Stadium, Bishan Stadium, Jalan Besar Stadium and Our Tampines Hub – with training venues shared as well.
The arrangement has made it harder for clubs to put down roots in their communities and created logistical headaches.
Geylang plays home games at Our Tampines Hub, while its youth teams train at various venues including Bedok Stadium. Balestier, which calls Bishan Stadium home, has moved from venue to venue for training, incurring extra expenses in an arrangement which Thavaneson called unsustainable.
"Every club needs their own identity. Where we started, the identity was so strong," said Noor Ali, who won a league title as a player with the Eagles in 2001. "Bedok ... is Geylang."
Yazid, who grew up in Yishun and played for Sembawang Rangers, recalled the pride of representing a hometown club. "(The fans) know you and you know them. That kind of thing is lacking now."
Clubs moving away from their "ancestral homes" makes it difficult for them to connect with their communities, added Ko.
"It's like being refugees," said Kraljevic, who is now the head coach of Balestier Khalsa.
Tampines Rovers fans cheer for their side at Our Tampines Hub. (Photo: Facebook/Tampines Rovers)
Badri said FAS remains in dialogue with the authorities and understands the "aspirational challenges" the league faces.
"There's a scarcity of land in Singapore and with that comes limited facilities and infrastructure. But at the same time, we will not use that as a reason not to perform," he said.
"Facilities and infrastructure to football are foundational. A team can have the best ambitions and the best intentions in the world, but if you don't have a suitable training ground, it's always going to be a difficult conversation."
STAR POWER
The league no longer has the marquee foreign names of old. The early S-League years drew stars such as the Iranian trio of Mohammad Khakpour, Mohsen Garousi and Hamid Reza Estili at Geylang, Egmar Goncalves at Police and Jure Eres at SAFFC.
Later came the likes of Therdsak Chaiman, Peres De Oliveira and Sutee Suksomkit.
"The quality of foreigners was very good ... These were players that attracted the fans to come and watch," recalled Noor Ali. "We were very, very lucky back then as young boys, not only to watch them, but be able to play with them or against them."
Lions supporters welcome the footballers home at Singapore’s Changi Airport on Nov 19, 2025. (Photo: CNA/Jeremy Long)
Indra recalled learning from Brazilian midfielder Peres and striker Egmar at Home United. "The foreigners that came in were quite good, and that's where the youngsters learn a lot, and learnt a bit faster with them around."
With clubs largely dependent on annual subsidies – reported to exceed S$2 million per club, though most need close to a million more to cover all costs – signing top players remains a pipe dream.
"Star power will always be extremely beneficial for us, especially from a marketing pull perspective. But for us also, it's about attaining a balance, about being competitive," said Badri.
"It's really about what we can do to achieve a high level of competitiveness across the teams, and not just rely or be based on one particular person or one particular individual."
Noor Ali said sourcing sponsors is also harder than it used to be.
"Nobody's going to pump in money and gamble for you to go fight for AFC," he said, referring to the top Asian club football competitions. "Everybody wants you to go for AFC, and then they put the money."
IS THERE A FUTURE?
Many talented youngsters still dream of playing professional football, but the question is whether the SPL represents a viable career path, said those who spoke to CNA.
"It's every player's dream to play for the national team. But can
A match between Albirex Niigata and BG Tampines Rovers at the Jurong East Stadium earlier this year. (Photo: Singapore Premier League)
With some clubs unable to match the salaries that players might earn elsewhere, attrition is a constant challenge.
Promising footballers see that their longer-term future is a full-time job outside football, said Thavaneson. "I think the league will exist. Whether in its current form, I cannot say."
Badri maintained that the SPL remains the "single most important platform" for the national team, pointing out that 19 of the 27 players called up for Singapore's most recent Asian Cup qualifier against Bangladesh play in the domestic league.
He also noted that local clubs have performed creditably in continental competitions, with Singapore moving up in the AFC club rankings.
Ko, however, said clubs must also address recent administrative failings – including the resignation of BG Tampines Rovers coach Katsuhito Kinoshi less than two weeks after his appointment, and Hougang United fielding a foreign player whose work pass had not been approved.
"The recent administration blunders involving several clubs caused quite an embarrassment which shouldn't happen after decades of professionalism of football in Singapore," said Ko.
"It's only fair for people to draw parallels or draw comparisons with what was achieved in the past," said Badri. "If anything, that gives us a very strong impetus and motivation to work hard towards a brighter and better future for Singapore football."
For Yazid, the journey has come full circle. Thirty years on, he coaches at Singapore Sports School, and both his sons now play in the SPL.
His advice to them: set your own timeline, give yourself a few years, see how far you can go.
"I'm very proud that they are playing in the league, and they did that with their own hard work," he said. "It is their life, their dream. They should pursue their dream and we need to support them."
Continue reading...