The Ultras Eagles, the fan club of Geylang International FC, is known as one of the most vocal in the Singapore Premier League (SPL).
The fan club is also arguably one of the pioneers of such support in the league, with Hougang Hools, the fan club of Hougang United.
Geylang is one of the oldest football clubs in the republic and won the first S-League title in 1996.
However, the Ultras Eagles was formed only in 2012 by Muhammad Firdaus Ismail and another fan known only as Joey.
Firdaus created the club as he felt the crowd had dwindled, and the atmosphere from its inception to the early 2000s was somewhat muted.
He decided to revive the terrace culture to cheer the team. Thus, Ultras Eagles was born.
Despite expectations that they will bring their vocal support to the Fan Club Futsal League, the Ultras Eagles team has been rather quiet as most of its members miss the matches due to work and school commitments.
As for those who are playing in the league, they prefer to conserve their energy for the match.
The inspiration behind their chants hails from clubs around the region and in Europe. They feel football is a universal language and tweaked the original verses to make it their own. They do have some original chants as well.
In the SPL, their club’s biggest rival is Tampines Rovers. The rest of the teams in the SPL are viewed as competitors.
Geylang International FC has, to date, won seven of 21 matches and is sixth in the league.
The Ultras Eagles fan club truly hopes to see more fans at the stands to watch their beloved team in action in the SPL.
However, they do understand that people are results driven.
This is the personal opinion of the writer and does not necessarily represent the views of Twentytwo13.