In this SailorFanTalk special, we have guest writer Tan Chin Heng contributing yet another article! Chin Heng joined The Crew and SailorFanTalk in away trips for the ACL last season, and is an avid traveller, taking in football and rugby matches far and wide. Taking lessons from places he has travelled to, here he writes about his wishlist as a supporter for the season ahead!
With the first two games of preseason gone, it feels like the SPL is well and truly back! Okay not really, since our first pre-season game featured exactly zero first-team regulars, and a smattering of first-team players got some minutes in the second game. Nonetheless, it was still some minutes for our younger players, and it was also good to see familiar faces back in Bishan stadium after a few months.
As we countdown to an exciting new season with (possibly) 10 teams in the SPL, as well as our first foray into ACL2, I thought it would be a good time to take stock of how the club did last season off the pitch, and also come up with a wishlist of some improvements that I would love to see in the coming season. Our Sailors are always at the forefront of new initiatives on and off the pitch to elevate the scene in Singapore, so I am hopeful some of these changes will happen.
What the Sailors Did Well Last Season
Our 2023 season can be described as solid, with our first Singapore Cup title as well as credible performances in the ACL against some of the best teams in Asia. Off the pitch, Sailors have also done well in a number of areas:
Communication with Fans
Over the past season, I think the club has done a commendable job at communicating with fans in general, as we receive frequent updates and content through email newsletters and social media. Every matchday we are inundated with matchday content, pre-match videos and interviews before the game, live updates during the game, and match recaps post-game.
We also enjoyed quality content in other areas, as we got to see players and staff not just in a football context. Things like Mothers’ Day videos and articles, the International Womens’ day articles (one of which won Story of the Year at the FAS Awards Night), fun and games on tiktok etc. clearly took plenty of effort to put together, so kudos to the team for bringing such a wide variety of content to us and I would love to see more of the same in the coming season.
Matchday Experience
A lot of work has also gone into crafting an enjoyable matchday experience for fans last season. There were several F&B options available at the stadium (beer, nachos, burgers, pizza) and we also saw a decent selection of merchandise on matchday (jerseys, training kits, t-shirts, keychains, tote bags etc.). The variety of halftime entertainment also brought some additional buzz into the stadium – contests for fans and performances (and T-SHIRT MAN) were good ways to bring some excitement into an otherwise boring 15-minute interval.
Fan Engagement and Giveaways
Throughout the season, we saw many contests and giveaways organized by the club, from match tickets and merchandise to fully sponsored away trips to ACL games.
I was fortunate enough to be a recipient of a sponsored trip for the ACL away game in Hong Kong (paid for the other two away trips myself), and the experience certainly made me feel appreciated as a Sailors fan. All of these giveaways were not only fun to participate in but also presented an opportunity for the club to ‘pull’ more fans in. I could certainly see a casual follower being converted into a die hard fan if they won, say, a match ball signed by the whole first team.
While plenty of good work has been done for fan engagement and the matchday experience, it would be great to see further improvements in these areas (just like how the team strives to improve on the pitch to compete against the best in Asia), which brings us to the next topic.
Wishlist for Next Season
Without knowing the inner workings of the club, I would make a reasonable assumption that the goals / objectives of the club off the pitch include building a strong fan community (increasing overall numbers of fans attending games as well as building a core group of highly engaged fans). With that in mind, there are a list of things that I would love to see in the upcoming season, based on anecdotal experience from talking to fellow fans and also experiencing league games in other countries.
Greater Variety of Merchandise
While the club has provided a decent selection of merchandise last season, I think there is still some demand for a greater variety of Sailors’ merchandise. It would be great to see a greater variety of apparel (polo tees, jackets, shorts) as well as smaller items that are easy to use in our daily lives (shoe bags, phone/airpod casing, pouches, luggage tags etc.). Perhaps even some novelty items such as trading cards or jigsaw puzzles? Most importantly, I hope to see a jersey printing/customization service made available on matchday as fans currently need to jump through quite a few hoops if they want to get any printing done for their jersey.
I also noticed that not all the merchandise available on matchday was available on the Shopee store, so ideally we can see the full catalogue of merch available on Shopee in the coming season.
In an era of rampant consumerism there are probably a good number of fans who are willing to spend on anything with a Sailors logo on it, so please Sailors, take my money.
Wider Engagement of Fans and More Benefits for Season Pass Holders
Season ticket holders are typically the most loyal supporters of any football club, turning up to almost every game rain or shine. It is thus essential to keep this group of fans engaged, and also try to convert as many casual fans as possible into season ticket holders.
Last season we saw a sharp increase in season ticket prices ($48 for membership +$148 for season pass). While this was still an affordable price point for some fans, we did not see any obvious increase in benefits compared to the previous season, especially considering the significant increase in price ($20+$80 in 2022).
In fact, in 2022, away tickets were offered for free to season ticket holders which was no longer the case in 2023, so we actually saw a reduction in benefits despite the price almost doubling.
For the 2024/25 season, it would be exciting to see some events organized exclusively for season ticket holders. Something similar was done in 2022 when fans went on a tour of the newly opened training centre, and ACL match screening at an external venue was offered to members/season ticket holders. Perhaps something like a player Meet-&-Greet, or open training sessions where fans can just come in to watch.
There can also be additional matchday perks for season ticket holders – ideally things that involve minimal incremental costs to the club (e.g. matchday contests for season ticket holders, priority lane at merch booth/stadium gates/food stalls). These are low-hanging fruit that are easy to implement with minimal/no cost and can go a long way towards making season ticket holders feel appreciated – for example, a priority lane to enter the stadium is simply a case of setting up signage and briefing security staff on how to recognize the season pass card.
For the sake of wider engagement of fans in general, it would also be great to see some sort of bigger scale event open to all fans. Perhaps a Carnival day at the training centre, where fans have the opportunity to get to know other fans and also interact with club staff, which indirectly also creates a feedback channel for fans to share their thoughts.
Improving the Matchday Experience
We saw last season that plenty of work has gone into creating a pleasant matchday experience for fans, and I think there are more areas we can look into to create a more exciting matchday atmosphere and drive match attendances up.
Peripheral Activities
On SPL matchdays, we often see fans reaching the stadium just before kickoff or even slowly streaming in after the game has started. I think introducing more pre-game activities could encourage more fans to turn up at the stadium early, creating a festival atmosphere at the stadium.
One of the most important components of this is to have better/more food and beverage options on matchday. In the past seasons we saw tigafolks, pizza, and Old Chang Kee being offered as F&B options. Expanding the options this season with more food trucks/stalls would give fans the incentive to turn up early to get food and settle down at their seats ahead of kickoff.
There can also be other activities to engage fans before kickoff – access to the futsal pitch across the road for kids to have a kickabout, sponsors’ booths outside the stadiums, or opportunities for interactions with players who are not in the matchday squad. While the current players are already obliging in terms of post-match photos with fans, a more structured approach would be good for even the shier fans to be able to get a photo or an autograph from their favourite players.
Atmosphere During the Game
As efforts continue to increase attendance at SPL games which further improves the atmosphere, some measures can also be taken to encourage cheering during games. Taking reference from other leagues, I think it would be feasible to have a dedicated cheering section at the stadium where all fans who want to sing/cheer can sit together.
With some coordination with the crew, lyrics of the cheers can also be displayed on the big screen across the pitch so that newer fans who are less familiar with the cheers find it easier to join in when the cheering starts.
Conclusion
We are still two months away from the league season proper, and I am sure the club is working very hard behind the scenes to make sure that the fans have an enjoyable season ahead. Hopefully at least a few of the ideas above come to fruition when the SPL kicks off in May. Until then, see you at the next pre-season game!
Written by Tan Chin Heng
Edited by Eddy Hirono
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