S.League looking at new measures to attract fans to matches: FAS

From sexy cheerleaders to possibly serving beer, the S.League really wants to entice fans to come to the stadiums.

These are some suggestions to address the declining attendance rates at matches over the years.

The S.League wants a refreshing change for the 2012 season to attract more fans.

And with the Lions XII's entry into the Malaysian Super League distracting local fans, the situation has become more pressing.

S.League's CEO Lim Chin said: "After the first three months, we are averaging about 1,500 people, compared to last season, this is about the same amount of people or fan attendance. We can do better, in this area and we are finding all new initiatives and other new ideas to encourage more fans to the S.League."

The slew of initiatives to improve the lack of support range from a shorter season of two rounds to a revamped and more interactive website.

The latest attraction includes cheerleaders called the S.League SuperGals, to spice things up at the stadiums.

But football is still the main product and the CEO said the inclusion of two new teams - Harimau Muda and Brunei DPMM - has helped to raise the level of play on the field.

As a result, there is a new set of fans from Malaysia.

A fan said: "I hope all the Singaporeans come to stadium and enjoy your S.League. Because your team needs your support and we from Malaysia come here to support our team."

This season, both the S.League and the clubs are making more efforts to reach out to the community in a bigger way, to connect with fans.

Chairman of the Tanjong Pagar United Football Club Edward Liu said: "Hold our own so called roadshows. We have done one at the Queensway Shopping Centre two months ago. I intend to do this every two to three months."

Mr Lim said the S.League is looking at introducing new measures for the rest of the season.

"We are talking about maybe even having beer at the stadiums. We are trying to work with the tertiary institutions, to maybe work a bit more with them, ITE, Polytechnics to have maybe mini football tournaments prior to games where we can get something going," he shared.

S. Thavaneson, vice chairman of Balestier Khalsa FC feels that a more radical approach should be taken to solve the fan affiliation problem.

"Eventually if clubs can be linked by GRCs or constituency boundaries, a number of constituencies and GRCs forming one, then I think people living within that area can say that this is my club."

Mr Lim said more time is needed to allow the measures to kick-in, and is setting a target of about 2,000 or 2,500 fans on average.

ORIGINAL SOURCE
Content used in this not-for-profit blog remain the property of their respective owners.