http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/...pore-league-may-be-axed-from-asian-tournament
The Malaysian Insider, 22 Dec 2009
Singapore league may be axed from Asian tournament
SINGAPORE, Dec 22 — Singapore's S-League could be dropped from Asian club football's most prestigious tournament, the AFC Champions League (ACL).
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has revealed new entry criteria that will take effect in 2012.
Two of the criteria require a participating league to have a system of promotion and relegation, and an average attendance of 5,000, up from 2,000, for games.
The S-League does not meet either.
This is the latest blow to hit the 12-club league, which could find itself playing in the second-tiered AFC Cup should it not meet the ACL's requirements.
In September, Lions striker Noh Alam Shah signed for Indonesia Super League (ISL) club Arema Malang, sparking an outflow of talent as national players Ridhuan Muhamad (Arema), Precious Emuejeraye (Sriwijaya), Mustafic Fahrudin and Baihakki Khaizan (both Persija) snapped up offers of better pay and playing in front of bigger crowds from ISL clubs.
Average gates are estimated to have dipped to below 2,000 this year, compared to 2,500 last year.
In the inaugural season in 1996, the S-League drew average gates of 4,177, with 23,600 watching the Geylang United-Woodlands Wellington match.
“There is still a lot of work ahead of us, particularly in the area of attendances,” said Football Association of Singapore (FAS) spokesman Eric Ong yesterday.
“We will continue to work together with the clubs by bringing in better foreign players to improve the quality and level of entertainment.”
The FAS also revealed it will introduce a promotion/relegation system, as early as next year.
Ong said: “The S-League has come a long way since its launch in 1996. Clubs are financially more stable.
“The league is still growing and our fulfilment of the majority of the AFC's stringent list of 63 criteria shows that we are on the right track in our development.”
Another criteria the S-League has to meet for the 2012 ACL is to be free from corruption. However, seven players from the now-defunct Chinese club Liaoning Guangyuan were jailed for match-fixing only last year.
Ong said the FAS' efforts to stamp out match-fixing had been praised by football's world governing body, Fifa.
S-League champions Singapore Armed Forces FC have a chance to qualify for next season's ACL. But they need to beat Indonesia's Sriwijaya, then either Vietnam's Da Nang, or Thailand's Muang Thong United. Only then will SAFFC be placed in Group G alongside China's Henan Jianye, Japan's Gamba Osaka and South Korea's Suwon Bluewings.
The ACL has a total of US$14 million (RM47.6 million) in prize money.
The Warriors are taking next year's competition so seriously that they have signed Swedish international midfielder Niklas Sandberg, whom they will unveil on Thursday.
But coach Richard Bok says the FAS needs to brainstorm with clubs to make sure SAFFC and other S-League clubs continue to have a place in the ACL.
“On the part of the club, we have to try our best to play attractive football to bring back the fans,” he added.
The S-League is not the only one affected by the AFC's new requirements. The UAE league's average gates are just 2,120, while Australia's A-League, Korea's K-League and Qatar's Stars League do not have promotion/relegation.
The Malaysian Insider, 22 Dec 2009
Singapore league may be axed from Asian tournament
SINGAPORE, Dec 22 — Singapore's S-League could be dropped from Asian club football's most prestigious tournament, the AFC Champions League (ACL).
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has revealed new entry criteria that will take effect in 2012.
Two of the criteria require a participating league to have a system of promotion and relegation, and an average attendance of 5,000, up from 2,000, for games.
The S-League does not meet either.
This is the latest blow to hit the 12-club league, which could find itself playing in the second-tiered AFC Cup should it not meet the ACL's requirements.
In September, Lions striker Noh Alam Shah signed for Indonesia Super League (ISL) club Arema Malang, sparking an outflow of talent as national players Ridhuan Muhamad (Arema), Precious Emuejeraye (Sriwijaya), Mustafic Fahrudin and Baihakki Khaizan (both Persija) snapped up offers of better pay and playing in front of bigger crowds from ISL clubs.
Average gates are estimated to have dipped to below 2,000 this year, compared to 2,500 last year.
In the inaugural season in 1996, the S-League drew average gates of 4,177, with 23,600 watching the Geylang United-Woodlands Wellington match.
“There is still a lot of work ahead of us, particularly in the area of attendances,” said Football Association of Singapore (FAS) spokesman Eric Ong yesterday.
“We will continue to work together with the clubs by bringing in better foreign players to improve the quality and level of entertainment.”
The FAS also revealed it will introduce a promotion/relegation system, as early as next year.
Ong said: “The S-League has come a long way since its launch in 1996. Clubs are financially more stable.
“The league is still growing and our fulfilment of the majority of the AFC's stringent list of 63 criteria shows that we are on the right track in our development.”
Another criteria the S-League has to meet for the 2012 ACL is to be free from corruption. However, seven players from the now-defunct Chinese club Liaoning Guangyuan were jailed for match-fixing only last year.
Ong said the FAS' efforts to stamp out match-fixing had been praised by football's world governing body, Fifa.
S-League champions Singapore Armed Forces FC have a chance to qualify for next season's ACL. But they need to beat Indonesia's Sriwijaya, then either Vietnam's Da Nang, or Thailand's Muang Thong United. Only then will SAFFC be placed in Group G alongside China's Henan Jianye, Japan's Gamba Osaka and South Korea's Suwon Bluewings.
The ACL has a total of US$14 million (RM47.6 million) in prize money.
The Warriors are taking next year's competition so seriously that they have signed Swedish international midfielder Niklas Sandberg, whom they will unveil on Thursday.
But coach Richard Bok says the FAS needs to brainstorm with clubs to make sure SAFFC and other S-League clubs continue to have a place in the ACL.
“On the part of the club, we have to try our best to play attractive football to bring back the fans,” he added.
The S-League is not the only one affected by the AFC's new requirements. The UAE league's average gates are just 2,120, while Australia's A-League, Korea's K-League and Qatar's Stars League do not have promotion/relegation.
