FAS working to lower ticket prices for Singapore football matches after fan outcry

SINGAPORE: The Football Association of Singapore (FAS) is taking action after fans said that ticket prices for recent international friendlies were “too high”.
In response to queries from CNA, an FAS spokesperson said that it is working on lowering the pricing for Singapore’s upcoming Mitsubishi Electric Cup matches, and will announce them shortly.
The next edition of the tournament – also known as the ASEAN Championship and previously the AFF Championship – will be held from Dec 8 to Jan 5.
Tsutomu Ogura’s Lions will kick off their campaign at the National Stadium against Cambodia on Dec 11 and also play a group stage match against Thailand there on Dec 17.
“We have a responsibility to balance ticket pricing against the costs which we incur at each match. This is to remain fiscally prudent and financially sound,” the spokesperson told CNA.
“But our fans’ support is absolutely critical and invaluable, and their presence at the National Stadium, supporting our Lions through thick and thin, cheering their hearts out, means everything to us.
“We have heard our fans, who say that the recent ticket (prices), for friendly matches, were too high. We will therefore find a way to make it work.” 
CNA also reached out to Kallang Alive Sport Management (KASM) for comment, but was directed to FAS.
KASM was incorporated by Sport Singapore and was established to manage the Singapore Sports Hub, where the National Stadium is located.
Ticket prices for international friendlies on Nov 14 and Nov 18 at the National Stadium ranged from S$12 (US$8.90) to S$40 for seats in three categories, before ticketing fees. Hospitality tickets cost S$150 before fees.
Category 3 seats were those in the west zone of the stadium which were located behind one goal. Category 1 tickets were for seats along one of the touchlines.
This price range was largely the same as that for Singapore’s World Cup qualifier against South Korea earlier in the year, also held at the stadium. Ticket prices for the match, which was attended by 49,097, ranged from S$10 to S$40 across five categories before ticketing fees.
The last time the Lions played international friendlies at the venue was in June last year against Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. Then, ticket prices ranged from S$9 for fans aged 16 and below to S$18 for adults.
Speaking to CNA, some said they decided against attending the matches given the amount they had to fork out.
A Singapore supporter who only wanted to be known as Mr Nizam said that prices were “very steep”, considering that the games were friendlies.
“We all complain about the team a lot but if it comes to supporting them, I think I would have gone (if prices were cheaper),” said Mr Nizam, who attended the home match against South Korea earlier this year.
Local football fan Mr Hilmi Samsol paid S$88 for two tickets for the Myanmar friendly on Nov 14, but told CNA he had opted against attending the next game against Chinese Taipei given the cost.
“I don’t think it’s acceptable. It’s just a friendly,” said Mr Hilmi, who has attended Singapore’s World Cup qualifiers in the past.
“I’m here to support my country so I just close one eye, but I feel that they should lower the price for future matches.”
Mr Hilmi, who had attended the match with his younger brother, said that ticket prices below S$30 would be reasonable for friendlies, and concession prices for younger fans such as his brother are ideal.
“If they set this kind of prices, I don’t think a lot of people will want to come,” he added.
The Lions’ match against Myanmar was attended by 6,061, while the game against Chinese Taipei had 6,764 in the stands. Singapore beat Myanmar 3-2 but lost 2-3 to Chinese Taipei.
One of the fans who attended both games was 15-year-old Ian Chan, who got tickets from a friend of his father’s.
He would have considered buying tickets in the cheapest tier if he had not received them for free, but added that charging S$44 for a friendly against a team ranked 165th in the world was “diabolical”.
In a post that saw over 2,000 likes on TikTok, user Justaway Garnett questioned how ticket prices for the friendlies and the game with South Korea could be the same.
“You’ll always have die-hard football fans who will attend these games at any price,” he said.
“The issue missing with Singapore football is the management isn’t doing what they are supposed to do to get to people like us to watch Singapore football and that S$44 isn’t going to cut it.”
He added the S$44 and S$154 tickets were “ridiculous” for a friendly and that the prices were a “disrespect” to “every football fan in Singapore”.
Some fans such as Mr Ang Shao Heng, who paid for a S$44 ticket, said that the prices were justified, however.
“It’s a game at the National Stadium, it should be the normal price,” said the 25-year-old. “It makes sense to pay a bit more (to attend games) in the Sports Hub because the facilities are a lot better.”
However, Mr Ang added that for Mitsubishi Electric Cup matches that could be held at other home venues should the Lions progress past the group stages, he hoped FAS would lower prices.
Another Lions fan, Mr Mohammad Khair, said that the price point for Category 3 tickets was “perfectly fine”, but that the Category 1 ticket prices were on the “high side”.
“For me, (the view) was okay … But for the average fan, they may not like the view from behind … the goal,” said Mr Khair who bought four Category 3 tickets.