Football clubs need to pay more attention to their fan clubs

The newly formed Lightning Tigers – a Balestier Khalsa FC fan group – leads the way in the Fan Club Futsal League in Singapore.

The Lightning Tigers has thus far, secured four wins out of four matches – scoring 28 goals and conceding only four.

The team is not only the league leader, but is also strengthening the parent-fan club relationship.

A staff member and footballer from Balestier Khalsa FC, a team that plays in the Singapore Premier League, have turned up to support the Lightning Tigers on three occasions this season.

Also, Balestier Khalsa FC has crafted social media posts to create awareness of what the fan club is doing. In fact, its footballers have also regularly spoken about the importance of supporting fans in activities such as this.

The next best club to enjoy such a bond with its fans is Geylang International. This is largely due to the strong relationship the fan club – the Ultras Eagles – has with the coaching staff and players, rather than an initiative from the club itself to show its support for one of the most vocal supporters in the Singapore Premier League.

On two occasions, a member of the Geylang International team turned up for the Ultras Eagles’ matches in the futsal league.

One team that has been left dejected by the lack of support from its parent club’s players, coaching staff, and management, is the Hougang Hools. It is the fan club of Hougang United.

The Hougang Hools brighten up the league with the display of banners and flags, as well as the singing and bantering among themselves. They have also shown exemplary sportsmanship, but for one episode, where things got ugly during a grudge match against Ultras Eagles.

Hougang Hools is known for singing in appreciation of their opponents at the end of matches.

Looking at the support that other local fan clubs have received from their parent clubs, members of Hougang Hools have privately, and subtly, expressed their disappointment.

The Crew, the official fan club of Premier League reigning champions Lion City Sailors, had a high-profile spectator for their match on Monday night. It was none other than the club’s chief executive officer, Chew Chun Liang, who visited them, minus the fanfare.

He sat on the floor, mixing with the players before the kickoff, just like a member of the team.

The foreign fan clubs representing AC Milan, Olympique Lyon, Paris Saint-Germain and Newcastle United are located miles away, and have so far, not received any form of support or acknowledgment from the respective parent clubs.

But that is to be expected, as in the eyes of these internationally renowned football clubs, the Fan Club Futsal League is, perhaps, considered “a very small affair”.

Perhaps, if these foreign clubs were in town for a pre-season friendly, they could make an appearance.

In this part of the world, European clubs get fervent support, and I am one of those who would forgo my sleep and wake up in the wee hours to watch my favourite teams play.

But due to the distance and the size of the parent club, fan clubs in this region generally get little interaction with their parent club. Some clubs have interacted with their fans through a social media posting or two, but that’s about it.

I appreciate and salute the passionate fans of European clubs, but it would also be nice for the fans to be noticed by those who they support. One way of doing that is by getting behind a local club.

The local clubs have also got to do more by acknowledging the activities that their fans do – big or small – on matchday or during the off-season.

This is the personal opinion of the writer and does not necessarily represent the views of Twentytwo13.

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