The International Break

Whenever there is a break in the domestic schedule for international fixtures the same debate is held throughout the UK. Which is more important/interesting international or domestic football?? Club or country? Fans of the bigger domestic teams are often loudest in their criticism. You hear that "the standard of international football is far below the domestic game", that "England will never win anything" EPL fans are frustrated by the break and left wondering what they will do on Saturday afternoon without the weekly pilgrimage to the local stadium and what they will talk about all week. But once the national team steps out onto the Wembley turf the vast majority of fans get as excited about international football as they do domestic. These arguments against international football are harder to make in Singapore. Few can claim that Singaporean domestic football is a higher standard than international football, the Lions have won the Suzuki cup 4 times in the last 20 years, making them the second most successful team in the region, no EPL to distract fans for the week should only highten interest in the Lions. This is what I thought. Turns out I was wrong.

I've always looked forward to the international break and I was looking forward to this one. One of the things I love about international football is that it isn't just for the select few who are fortunate (unfortunate?) enough to have chosen a team fighting at the top of the pyramid. Fan's whose teams don't get the same level of coverage as the 'big boys' get a taste of what it's like to be the centre of attention for a few days. Just one look at the teams written on the flags unfurled by fans at an England game illustrates my point. International football also provides a chance for fans to be part of something bigger. Supporters used to being part of a tight knit group of only a few hundred are suddenly part of a much larger football community. The highs and lows of international football seem so much higher and lower because of this. When the national team do well the whole country is lifted, when they do badly we feel united in our grief. The only times I have cried over a football game has been when England have been playing. International football unites more than just football fans. For many they are the only games they will watch, the two or three times a year that everyone is a football fan. The whole family gets excited about international football, the friend who doesn't get involved in football chats for the rest of the year, will be screaming at the TV when England play. The first games I can remember watching were England games at Italia 90, the first stickers I collected were England players, I cried when we failed to get all of the commemorative coins from the petrol station, I remember being laughed at when an adult asked me which team I supported and I answered England. The international game was my way into football and my window on the rest of the world, it was England that got me hooked. I assumed it would be the same here, that international football was a way of introducing new fans to the local game. A way of tempting EPL to watch some of their local players.

I'm new to Singapore and its football culture and there are many things that I will never understand and always find surprising. But I must admit that my biggest surprise so far has been the apathy that I have witnessed during the recent international break. I was prepared for low crowds and a lack of interest in the Singapore Premier league. In some ways being part of such a small community of loyal local fans was what got me interested in the SPL. But I was convinced that this football mad nation would unite behind the Lions when the international break came, even more so when it was announced that the opponents would be Malaysia and the game would be played only a few hours drive away. I was looking forward to seeing a few thousand Singaporeans making the trip to KL to add their voice to a hostile crowd, to drive the Lions forward. I was expecting to see a few flags appear on balconies during the build up to the game, to feel some of the same patriotic energy that is built up around the annual national day celebrations. I was expecting bars and hawker centres to be packed with fans watching the game, mimicking the excitement of the World Cup when even the late kick-off times could not damper the enthusiasm of the fans. I was looking forward to finally talking about Singaporean football with taxi drivers who are usually eager to move the conversation onto the EPL, after all, there was no EPL to distract us. I felt lucky to be in the country to witness the atmosphere when such huge rivals meet on the pitch, I was expecting to learn so much about the local football culture. I feel like I did learn a lot.

Taxi drivers expertly debated the merits of England's various goalkeepers and the formation that Southgate should employ but looked at me blankly when I asked them who should replace Hassan Sunny, if Faritz can be trusted at full back and who they thought should partner Faris up front. The game wasn't on any free to view TV channels, there were no communal viewings in hawker centres or community centres, bars preferred to show EPL re-runs. I asked the kids in my classes who they thought would win, the same kids who had recently written essays about Ronaldo vs Messi and would regularly dissect the weekend's EPL games with me. Not one of them even knew the game with Malaysia was taking place. When I saw the empty stadium for the game I realised that I had completely misread the football culture in Singapore.

I can understand why the vast majority of fans choose to follow EPL teams rather than local teams but I cannot get my head around the lack of interest in the national team. I thought perhaps it was a one off or perhaps it was because the game was being held abroad (a few hours away) so I went and checked what the crowds were like for Singapore games in the national stadium. I wasn't prepared for what I saw. I found what looked like a decent crowd for a friendly with Argentina, but most of the Singaporeans in the crowd seemed to wearing Argentina tops and supporting the other team! Do local kids dream of playing for Argentina when they grow up? I admit it. I don't understand football culture in Singapore.