IT JUST did not happen for Singapore - not on the field, nor in the stands.
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| NO SUPPORT: A S'porean player tussles with a Thai athlete for the ball at the Singapore-Thailand game. |
Our young footballers lost to Thailand 1-4 and were eliminated from the Asian Youth Games (AYG) soccer competition yesterday.
But the players can exit the tournament with their heads held high.
They were beaten narrowly by one of the competition's favourites, Iran, 1-2 last Saturday, before going down to Thailand yesterday.
So no shame. They lost to better teams.
But where were the fans?
Yesterday, at three in the afternoon, when the stakes were high, the fans let the players down.
They did not show up.
At Jalan Besar stadium which can hold up to 6,000 people, there were fewer than 500 yesterday, going by The New Paper's count.
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| THERE'S STILL TIME TO JOIN THE FUN: Dancers dazzle at the AYG opening ceremony last night at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. The Games will continue till 7 Jul. |
Despite the low ticket prices, at just $2 per person, the fans failed to show up.
This was a stark contrast to the Republic's opener against Iran which reportedly drew 2,500 spectators - almost five times more than yesterday.
Could it have been the timing of the match - played at 3pm on a working day? The Iran match had a Saturday 5pm kick-off.
If that's a reason, then it may be worrying for the rest of The Asian Youth Games - which was officially opened yesterday and will continue until 7 Jul - since the majority of the events start between 9am and 7pm.
Or could it have been the H1N1(A) Influenza - with schools and parents telling their kids to stay away from crowded places?
Perhaps it was due to the match being broadcast 'live' on television. However, the Singapore-Iran match was televised as well.
Time or, more accurately, the lack of it, seems to have been one of the main reasons for the poor turnout.
Mr Danny Nah, a 21-year-old full time national service man, said: 'I finish work only at six in the evening. Since the match was played at three in the afternoon there is no way I could have caught it.
'If they were to play at a later time, say perhaps at seven, I would have rushed down straight after work just to support our boys.'
But what about the school students? Why were they not at Jalan Besar to support their peers?
Exams coming up
Some, Daryl Aw Yeong, a 17-year-old student, said that they were too busy studying for upcoming examinations to even consider watching the match.
He said: 'I have my mid-year examinations coming up soon. They start next week. I will probably be giving the entire Asian Youth Games a miss.'
Most junior colleges and schools with integrated programmes hold their mid-year examinations immediately after the June holidays.
Others had remedial lessons.
A secondary school student who wanted to be known only as Shaan said: 'I couldn't go to the match as I had to attend remedial classes after school.'
Then there is the H1N1 fear.
Dylan Nah, 16, summed it up when he said: 'I didn't go because my school advises us to avoid going to crowded places. So avoiding a soccer match makes perfect sense.
'I would have liked to have been there to support Singapore especially since the athletes are my age. But with my 'N' levels drawing closer, I can't afford to risk getting ill.'
Secondary school and JC students were not the only ones who didn't manage to find time to watch yesterday's match.
Polytechnic student Mr Brandon Era said: 'School just re-opened. The match was on a school day.
'With my schedule, I wouldn't have been able to catch the match especially since it started at three in the afternoon.
'I'm a soccer enthusiast, but seeing how my school wouldn't take it lightly if I skipped classes I decided it would be better to just give it a miss.'
Even then there were some students who found their way into the stadium, regardless of curriculum time, remedial classes or the H1N1 scare.
These were the diehard fans of some of the players.
Said a group of five boys from a school in the east: 'We came to support our friend who is playing in the tournament, and, of course, the Singapore team.
'We came on our own accord. There have yet to be any announcement on this tournament, or the AYG, in our school.'
Not told about match
Similarly, another group of four students from a school in the west, also came in support of their teammate from their school.
Their school had banners saying that it has three athletes taking part in the AYG.
Said Nicholas de Silva, 15: 'We were not even told that one of our friends is playing today. It was only when we read The New Paper that we found out that he had a match today.
'It would help if the school is to make the announcements.'
Adults who turned up yesterday believe that the match would have attracted more fans if it had been scheduled at a more convenient time.
Mr Rohmat Hussein, 53, who works in the hotel industry, said: 'I am lucky, I had a day off. Others, who are working, really have no choice.
'Most adults would have still been working and students from the upper secondary would probably still be in class. It would have helped if the match was played in the evening.'
Another fan, engineer Gabris Chua, 39, added: 'The games should be held in the evening so that after work people can still make it down in time for the match.'
One of the players from the team said that when he walked out on the pitch and saw the dismal crowd, he asked himself why there were so few people.
His spirits were dampened when he realised the crowd was made out of mainly just friends and family.
He said: 'I heard some of the players discussing the possible reason for the low crowd turnout.
'They feel that because we lost the match against Iran nobody wants to support us.
'When we were playing against Iran the crowd's cheers spurred us on but today with the lack of support we thought we were doing badly.'
Sounding disheartened, he said: 'Who wants to support a losing team?'
Naveen Kanagalingam and Shannon Rezel, newsroom interns
For TNP's AYG updates, pictures and videos, visit twitter.com/thenewpaper or tnppostman.com
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