Hougang Hools, playing in the Fan Club Futsal League organised and facilitated by D2D Sports in Singapore, are by far, the most vibrant team in the league.
On many occasions, they have also been a good sport to vocally salute and serenade their opponents.
Hougang Hools was formed in 2011 to support Hougang United in the S-League as it was known back then. They were formed by a group of football lovers who wanted to bring the English style of support to Singapore football.
Of the handful of founding members, the ones that remain are Merv, Sal, and Shawn, as they are known in the Singapore football fraternity. The rest have since moved on from being a part of the Hools.
The founding members felt the support in Singaporean stadiums could be more fun by incorporating the English style of continuous support throughout the match.
Furthermore, they felt that by providing such support, the players would be able to perform better on the pitch, thus the inspiration behind the formation of Hougang Hools.
If you are wondering, ‘Hool’ is an abbreviation for Hougang Only, One Love.
Light-heartedly, they regard all Singapore Premier League (SPL) clubs as their rivals, but you do get the feeling that three points over certain clubs mean more to the fans. On SPL match days, they are known as one of the most vocal fan clubs, and take references from popular chants and beats from the region, and input their lyrics into it.
They have some original chants composed by fellow members of the Hools, too.
Behind the light-hearted and fun demeanour the fan club portrays, it believes in setting the standards at the stands and is determined to stand up to anything, or anyone against Singapore football and Hougang United.
Anyone passionate about Singaporean football and Hougang United is welcome to join them in Gate 3 of the Hougang Stadium. They can join and sing with them anytime and there is no membership fee required to be a Hool. Just bring your heart (and voice) and don’t be a glory hunter.
They would like to see more fans coming to the stadiums to watch the SPL weekly and to stop bashing the players and teams when the results are not positive. This is especially so during the national team matches.
That being said, they feel the clubs should be more active in engaging the fans through innovative ways, instead of the tried and tested methods from aeons ago.
This is the personal opinion of the writer and does not necessarily represent the views of Twentytwo13.
