EPL TALK: Pre-season tours must always add Singapore spice

NO ONE gave them a chance. The Lion City Sailors were last-minute replacements, on hand to provide nothing more than cannon fodder and comic relief. They were going to be the local gift that kept on giving, a football joke, the latest national embarrassment, as we watched through the cracks of sweaty fingers as the horror unfolded at the National Stadium.

But it didn’t happen, did it?

Something rather wonderful happened instead. The Lion City Sailors at the Singapore Festival of Football turned into Denmark at Euro 1992. A bit of a stretch, perhaps, but a romantic one well worth indulging. The Danes only took part in 1992 because Yugoslavia fell apart, geopolitically speaking. The Sailors only turned out at Kallang because AS Roma’s tour fell apart, financially speaking. And they both won their respective tournaments.

Not in a literal sense, obviously. The Lion City Sailors didn’t win the actual trophy on offer against Tottenham Hotspur – the name of which currently escapes me, but I did catch a glimpse of it being carried like a gym bag onto the Spurs coach – but Singapore Premier League’s representatives did walk off with heads held high at the Singapore Festival of Football.

Their unexpected presence added a native grittiness, a local attachment that was lacking at the Liverpool-Leicester City game, through no fault of the participants, obviously, but an unavoidable reality of these occasions. Luckily, the Sailors added a dash of visceral urgency.

Just consider the atmosphere before kick-off. When the Sailors took to the field, their superb fanbase pummelled the drums and pulled out their greatest hits. In the cavernous arena, the blue and white corner of the ground seemed small, but the noise generated was something far greater. It was authentic and vital, the reassuring sound of stadium regulars.

In considerable contrast, when Liverpool and Leicester took to the field, there was a strange inertia. Other writers have correctly commented on the subdued tone of the crowd, particularly before kick-off, and suggested the 5pm kick-off added to the lazy Sunday afternoon feel, but there was something else, too.

The Sailors were greeted by enthusiastic drumming. The Reds were greeted by phone cameras. One was a familiar football welcome. The other was an Instagram opportunity. In the rush to get the best shots of Mo Salah and Virgil van Dijk, the Liverpool contingent momentarily forgot to cheer. The instinctive roar that signals the arrival of any team, from Anfield to Bishan, was inadvertently overlooked.

Only when the stadium DJ played You’ll Never Walk Alone did the volume rise and that’s fine. This isn’t a churlish polemic lamenting the dominance of the English Premier League and the decline of Singapore football. The Reds’ community engagement remains exemplary – still the template for other EPL clubs to follow – and their fan interactions were reciprocated with a loyal devotion that is the envy of all clubs outside of Liverpool and Manchester.

But the Sailors brought the spice, the bite, the organic volatility that only comes from watching stadium football every week, making a 25,095-strong crowd sound louder than the 28,597 who turned up for Liverpool’s stroll past Leicester. They conducted the atmosphere in a subtle and uplifting way, despite Tottenham’s superior support.

No ridiculing of the local boys

No one was ridiculing the local boys on the Sailors’ watch. There was no condescending mockery. No booing. The days of Singaporean supporters laughing at Singaporean footballers as Manchester United goalkeeper Fabien Barthez took liberties on the wing, as he did at Kallang in 2001, are way behind us. The Sailors’ presence ensured there was no pantomime-like antics, just respectful applause on both sides.

Indeed, Shawal Anuar’s goal against Tottenham triggered a deeper reaction. Initial disbelief quickly gave way to a collective shuffling. Supporters of all colours rose to their feet. The ovation was instinctive. Just for a moment, there was a collective, unexpected surge of pride. One of ours had given one of theirs a bloody nose. And it was bloody marvellous.

Suddenly, we had a football match, not a corporate exercise or a training session, but a sporting occasion with vested interests and a sense of jeopardy. The Singaporeans had taken the lead against the English Premier League giants. It didn’t last, but it didn’t matter. For several, glorious minutes, 25,095 spectators were witnessing a potential "what-if" moment, a long shot at history. Singaporean history. Now, that’s a football match.

So we’d like more of the same, please, a local interest in every future festival. The logistics and the personnel can be settled later. A Singapore selection side or the reigning Singapore Premier League champions would guarantee at least one pocket full of noise inside the National Stadium and raise awareness of the local game (see the Google hits for the Sailors).

A Singaporean side may not put bums on every seat, sure, but nor did Tottenham or Leicester. And at least one seat will be filled by the woman with the grey tudung, who sat high in the stand with the Sailors’ contingent. She screamed encouragement from first minute to last. She was utterly captivating.

She didn’t come for the festival. She came for the football match. And in return, she gave us one, along with a template for future events.

The Lion City Sailors reminded us that a genuine Singapore festival of football should ideally include those who keep the local flame burning throughout the season, on and off the pitch.

Neil Humphreys is an award-winning football writer and a best-selling author, who has covered the English Premier League since 2000 and has written 28 books.

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