I know, I know. You are a little angry about the underwhelming kit launch, especially for the white kit. First thing I’ll say is there will be a video and article dealing with that in due course, but not yet, I need to talk about membership first because the club hasn’t announced full details yet, and I am hoping somehow that this article will give them some food for thought.
Also – don’t buy the shirts yet, if you were planning to. Let’s wait and see if membership brings with it any other discounts. If you wanna buy a shirt and you can’t wait, may I suggest you just buy last season’s kit instead. It’s so similar – and it is a whole S$15 cheaper. Do the smart thing haha.
The Deck
Some weeks back, the club announced that they are doing away with season passes, and instead would be launching a whole new membership program. Four main features of the new membership program are that 1) it’s free to join, 2) the first match ticket for a home game is free, 3) tickets thereafter are permanently 50% off, and 4) you scale up the membership tiers as you attend more and more home games – in the process “unlocking a treasure trove of rewards“.
There has been no release of details on what these rewards may be, or what other stuff this membership program entails. The club has said that come May, they will be revealing more details.
Crucially, and back on the topic of jerseys – the kit launch has happened but we still do not know if there will be discounts on the shirts. Hopefully this is addressed quickly, but my advice is don’t buy first, adopt a wait-and-see approach.
The Benefits of this Radical New Approach
When I first heard of this new approach, I thought it was certainly a bold one. It does a few things –
- Reduces the price of games. With an immediate 50% off, prices should come down, even if the home ticket prices are increased. Kinda forces you to be a member.
- Even neutrals are likely to sign up to be an LCS member, because it’s completely free, and without it, they don’t get the 50% discount on tickets.
- Incentivises fans to come more often, because they get the “shiok” feeling of chasing tiers.
- With more people in the stadium, the atmosphere automatically feels better, thus improving the product.
- Allows the club to accurately pinpoint who are the hardcore fans, and tailor benefits and perks accordingly.
Allow me to elaborate.
More People in the Stadium
Last season, games cost S$16 including the Sistic charge for non-members, and S$13 for members. Assuming ticket prices do not go above S$22 (it is rumoured to be S$20), then we are looking at a saving for all members. Given that membership is free, it would be somewhat odd that you wouldn’t sign up for membership, so I think we can assume there will be a lot of “members” who are actually neutral, or even support other clubs.
(Kinda like the time I signed up to be a Spurs member just so I could watch the Champions League game between FC Barcelona and Spurs, and witness first-hand Messi destroying the team I hate so much. All while sat in their stands pretending to be their fan. Oh, memories.)
But therein lies a chance to convert these people. Assuming that the away fans are gonna prefer to sit on the away end, what we might end up having is neutrals curious to watch a game, especially with the first ticket being absolutely free.
What is key now is thus the matchday experience for these fans. Is the club confident that these fans will like what they see? Not just on the pitch but off it as well? I hope the Crew can do its part to create an atmosphere that everyone can be proud of. If you are reading this and you’d like to be part of the Crew, roaring on our boys week in week out, do drop me a DM on Instagram or Twitter, and we’d love to have you on board!
More Targetted Benefits and Perks
Fans have said that they feel the Sailors can do more for their fans. If you haven’t read it yet, please read Chin Heng’s wishlist for this season, and he perfectly encapsulates the thoughts of some fans – basically better fan engagement, and more peripheral activities for fans.
However, for this to happen, I agree with the way the club has done it – it needs an accurate way to identify who are the hardcore fans. It is easy to point to people like myself and Joseph as “hardcore fans”, because we are loud, we set up a fan media channel, and we are always front and centre – interviewing players, interviewing fans, shouting our lungs out week in week out.
But that’s not all the hardcore fans. Some fans prefer to support the club in a more understated way. Currently, it is harder to identify people like that, because they might come every week, but they might be tucked away in the corners of the ground, sitting near the back. Unless they come forward and make friends with the Crew, or with club staff, they might feel a bit neglected when it comes to club-organised events.
So with the new structure, there will be objective proof of how “hardcore” you are. If the club wants to organise an intimate BBQ party featuring some players and some fans, but they only have 50 slots, the club will then have a list on their hands, and sort out who may be most “deserving” of a slot in the party.
This is not foolproof by the way. If it comes down to a drummer for the Crew who has attended 15 games that season, and drummed non-stop for 90min on each occasion, but missed some games due to work, and someone who quietly sits in a corner with his family but has attended 16 games that season, who is more deserving of a slot at the BBQ party? There is no correct answer here I guess.
Other Cons of this New Approach
As for the cons – I immediately thought of one when I first assessed this new initiative. I can be quite busy at work sometimes, and the last thing I want to worry about is whether or not I am assured a seat at the game. Last season, having a season pass meant that I never needed to worry about this. With free tickets and discounted tickets, and open memberships to think about, there is a slight worry that if I don’t act fast, I may not have a seat. That scares me.
I looked through a lot of comments from fans as well, to see what other complaints there are – and I think this comment from Ishaq and Ismail sums most of these concerns up, so I’ll allow them to take the stage here.
“We find it unfair for those who have been supporting LCS by purchasing season passes for the past few seasons that their perks start back from zero, the same with other membership holders. LCS should at least give some loyalty points, for example, an auto-upgrade to a few ranks higher with the start of the new system.
There should also be a season pass this year; whoever purchases it will be automatically upgraded to the full season’s number of matches, whether they attend or not, as it has already been paid for. For working adults, purchasing a season pass has secured tickets, especially if last minute they cannot make it for a match. Now there are worries that they will be unable to get tickets for big matches as there is no more season pass.
Not all working adults in Singapore work office hours; I find it unfair to gauge loyalty just by the number of matches a person attended. With a season pass, these working adults who have work and family commitments and are unable to attend all matches can still be loyal to LCS and enjoy the perks of a person who attended all the matches. Although the price of a season pass is not a significant amount, we feel that at least we did help to contribute to the club by purchasing a season pass.”
– Ismail and Ishaq
Couldn’t have put it better myself.
Conclusion and my Suggestions
Overall, I think there are more positives than negatives. I refer you to the graphic below. Attendances are down, and we are nowhere near capacity for most games. If we are to create a rocking atmosphere, we will need more numbers through the gates. As clubs grow larger, it is “normal” that some fans like myself, Ismail, Ishaq, can feel a little left behind. I think it’s a necessary step though, for our club to grow!
https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/young-superfans-keep-ball-rolling-despite-dwindling-attendances-singapores-football-league-games-2215461 (do read this excellent article)
Tiny Head-Start for Legacy Fans
However, it doesn’t have to be that way. I trust and hope that the club will figure out a way to keep everyone onboard happy. One of my suggestions is the same as Ishaq and Ismail’s – recognise legacy fans by giving them a small headstart in the tier-climbing exercise. Perhaps season pass holders for the past 2 seasons can receive an auto 5-match headstart? Not likely to leave a dent on the balance sheets of the club, but just a little nod to say “thank you” for their years of support prior to the Deck being introduced.
Sick Rewards
Another suggestion I have would be that once fans hit “superfan” category or “Hall of Fame” in the current tier system, I believe that the rewards must be SICK AF. Like, I’m talking stuff that can go viral on Tiktok/IG, etc. As the first club to introduce this bold new initiative in Singapore, I would also hope that we can be the first club to push boundaries when it comes to rewarding fans for their loyal support. It shouldn’t just be stuff like a free autographed jersey. It must be something like a tackling tutorial from Lionel Tan or something, lol. Dream big!
Reward for WPL Attendance
A slightly left-field suggestion from me would be to ask the club to consider if they can “reward” fans for showing their support at WPL games. This may be tricky to implement given that there are no gate controls at WPL games, and no tickets need to be bought as well. It also doesn’t directly financially benefit the club if there is a higher attendance at WPL games. However, if the Sailors can use numbers-based evidence to show to corporates that there is a significant and growing number of attendees at WPL games, it may aid the women’s team in getting better commercial deals. This would undoubtedly be good for their development, and would also be a strong signal to the rest of Singapore that the Sailors take women’s football seriously.
Tie Tiers to Spending as Well
My last suggestion may seem very practical and very money-minded, but hear me out. I am wondering if the club would also want to allow superfans to gain tiers by spending on club merchandise as well. So perhaps they can have promotion periods where spending a certain amount allows them to hop up one tier. I think this is a win-win. Hardcore fandom is sometimes tied to how much someone is willing to spend on their favourite team as well.
This may alienate some people – so perhaps a measure to be used sparingly.
What do you Think?
Most importantly, what do you think? Get in touch with us over in Instagram or our Telegram chat group!
And remember, if you wanna save some money and get last season’s jersey instead, here you go.
Written by Eddy Hirono
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