Hopes for Singapore resurgence as partnership with M'sia ends
Published on: Saturday, November 28, 2015
Kuala Lumpur: Fifty years ago Malaysian and Singapore parted ways to form two separate countries, a decision that helped to kick start the economic miracle that subsequently took place in the Lion City.In the early hours of Wednesday morning, the nations' football associations made a similar decision but it remains to be seen if Singapore soccer can follow in the footsteps of its economy.In 2011, the Football Association of Malaysia and the Football Association of Singapore signed a memorandum of understanding that saw them each send a development team, made up of talented young players, to the other's domestic league.
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In Malaysia, there was never much interest in how its Harimau Muda side performed in a struggling S-League, but Singapore fans did get behind the LionsXII and their exploits in the bigger and more successful Malaysian Super League.The Lions quickly become a force in Malaysia, finishing second in 2012 and winning the championship the following year. In 2015, the club defeated Kelantan to win the Malaysia FA Cup in front of 50,000 fans in Kuala Lumpur.Earlier this week, the FAM decided to end the arrangement between the two rivals. The decision has been largely welcomed in Malaysia but it came as a shock in Singapore. With the domestic S-League struggling with falling attendances that were sometimes in three figures, the LionsXII enjoyed an average attendance of around six thousand in 2014.
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English-born Steve Darby has coached professional clubs in both countries and believes that the Lions took much-needed attention away from Singapore's domestic scene."To have the LionsXII in the Malaysia Super League was certainly good for the Singapore national team programme, but I think the decision killed the S-League," Darby told Associated Press.
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"The rejection of the LionsXII earlier this week may now save the league."Others agree, including Richard Bok, the most successful coach in S-League history with four league championships."It's about time we focus more on our own league because it still has plenty of potential despite the slump in the last few years," Bok said. "Without the distraction of Malaysian competitions, fans may choose to get their football fix at S-League stadiums and this can only be positive for local football."The FAS released a statement Wednesday talking up the success of the former arrangement and the urgent need to find new clubs for the LionsXII players."Our immediate priority is to assist the LionsXII players and backroom staff and we will be meeting them over the next few days," the statement said.Much of the reaction in Malaysia has been positive amid a feeling that the Singapore benefited more from the arrangement with the Lions winning trophies and providing the foundation for an improving Singapore national team.Malaysian clubs also complained of the costs involved in traveling across the border and accommodation once there, heightened after the recent fall in value of the Malaysian ringgit. The artificial grass on in the Lions' Jelan Besar stadium was also not popular."It was so expensive to play the Singapore away game," said Darby who took Kelantan, one of Malaysia's top teams, to play the Lions across the causeway."There were the flights plus huge hotel bills. Plus they only brought a few, though genuine, fans with them when they came to Malaysia. "There was no special feeling among the players for the games except most hated the artificial pitch."While the Malaysian national team has been struggling, the league is not. Champion Johor Darul Takzim won the Asian Football Confederation Cup in October, the first from Southeast Asia to lift the trophy of Asia's second-tier tournament.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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