A Lions fan advises Singaporean followers to be cautious and respectful when attending a soccer match out of the country
SINGAPORE – Singapore soccer had been within the doldrums for a lot of 2024.
After ending 156th within the FIFA World Rankings in 2023, the Lions slumped to an excellent decrease place of 162 by October 2024 after enduring heavy losses, reminiscent of a 7-0 thrashing by South Korea in a World Cup qualifier match.
However that didn’t deter Joycelyn Chua and her household from making a visit throughout worldwide borders simply to catch the Lions in motion.
“I used to be a giant fan of the Lions within the Nineties and vividly bear in mind the group of 1994,” she mentioned, referring to the Singapore group who famously received the M-League and Malaysia Cup double.
Through the years, she had attended numerous matches within the ASEAN championship, a soccer match held each two years amongst Southeast Asian nations.
The 2024 model is called the ASEAN Mitsubishi Electrical Cup, and it’s on this match that the Singapore group lastly confirmed some indicators of life. A nervy 2-1 victory over Cambodia was adopted by a 3-0 thumping of Timor Leste.
Outcomes elsewhere meant the mouthwatering conflict between the previous rivals of Singapore and Malaysia would decide who would qualify from Group A along with powerhouse Thailand.
To beat the crowds, Chua, her husband, and their two sons drove to Kuala Lumpur on December 19 forward of the match at Bukit Jalil Stadium the subsequent day. It was their first time attending a match in Malaysia.
“We didn’t wish to put on our nationwide colours initially however determined to take action when FAS (Soccer Affiliation of Singapore) introduced that there have been eight buses going to KL,” she mentioned.
The Singapore authorities had introduced a scheme whereby soccer followers in Singapore would get to journey to Bukit Jalil free of charge in a bunch of buses, after which return residence. However because of visitors congestion, these followers have been late in reaching the stadium.
This left the early birds like Chua and her household, who have been seated fairly close to to the Malaysian followers, as simple targets for his or her chants.
“Issues have been higher when Singaporeans arrived of their buses. There was somebody who took cost of the chants from Singapore, after which issues have been extra balanced,” she recalled with some amusement.
The match resulted in a gritty 0-0 draw. Not getting the victory meant that Malaysia completed in third spot in Group A, behind Singapore and Thailand, and wouldn’t be persevering with additional within the match.
Minority play
This left the Singaporean followers in considerably of a clumsy place as they have been now in a stadium with Malaysian followers, most of whom have been understandably upset about Malaysia crashing out of the ASEAN Mitsubishi Electrical Cup.
In search of “security in numbers,” Chua and her household headed to Gate E of the stadium, the place many of the Singaporean followers have been ready for his or her buses, and she or he may anticipate her Seize experience.
Nevertheless, whereas they have been ready, a “man in blue” got here up behind them and pulled away the Singapore flag, which her older son had round his shoulders.
Chua mentioned it was fortunate that the flag was not tied; in any other case, he may have been pulled right down to the bottom and damage.
“I did shout at him. However he walked away shortly. Being the minority, we simply must chunk the bullet,” Chua mentioned, though there was no solution to inform if the aggressive fan was a supporter of the Malaysian group.
Chua’s husband additionally recalled an incident the place somebody “tapped his hand” and instructed him “good sport.”
Inside 5 minutes, some cops and marshals confirmed up on the gate, and the household didn’t have any additional encounters.
Nevertheless, Chua had an finally constructive view of her night time.
“I really feel that regardless of the incident, it was a fantastic expertise as a complete. The unity of Singaporeans was nice. We met fellow Singaporeans again at our resort earlier than and after the match, and all of us have been excited.”
She additionally had an recommendation for different followers, saying, “We should always all the time stay cautious and be respectful once we are out of the country.” – Rappler.com
Sulaiman Daud is a 2024 #FactsMatter fellow of Rappler. He’s a author and editor at Mothership, Singapore’s youth-focused digital information platform.
