S-League's overseas broadcasts a good thing Gombak United and Harimau Muda coaches say the broadcasts will help football in the region

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SINGAPORE - A strong turnout is expected for tonight's opening 2012 Great Eastern-Yeo's S-League clash between Gombak United and Malaysia's Harimau Muda at the 7,500-seat Jalan Besar Stadium.

Also, the match will be watched by many more on TV in Malaysia and Brunei as well, the first time that the S-League will be broadcast overseas.

Yesterday, the S-League announced a one-year partnership with official broadcaster StarHub and official production partner ESPN STAR Sports to broadcast 30 "live" matches, as well as a weekly highlights show on ESPN STAR Sports across 12 countries, and StarHub.

And the occasion is not lost on Harimau Muda head coach Ong Kim Swee and his Gombak counterpart K Balagumaran.

Speaking to Today, both recognised the significance of being part of that milestone.

"It's definitely good for football in this region, not just Singapore and Malaysia," said Ong, who was also briefed about the proposed pre-match shows by S-League CEO Lim Chin yesterday.

"It shows both countries (Singapore and Malaysia) are working together for the development of the game. The 'live' telecasts will bring more demands which is good. These boys are used to live matches and it will raise their confidence levels."

Balagumaran added: "It's a good thing for the S-League. I know my players, especially the younger ones, are very excited about it as people in Malaysia and Brunei will now get to see them.

"It's given them that extra lift, even in training, and they have been pushing the senior players very hard for places which is good."

The tie-up is expected to see about 545,000 households and almost 2.2 million mobile subscribers here with StarHub following this season's S-League matches on TV, mobile and online platforms.

And Jalan Besar stadium is expected to be crowded tonight given the reputation of the Harimau Muda team which has nine players from their successful Indonesia SEA Games outing last year.

Harimau Muda captain Mahali Jasuli added: "It will give us added motivation to do well, because now fans back home in Malaysia can see how we're performing, and we can show them what we're capable of."

But making a winning start to the season is what Ong and Balagumaran really want.

However, Gombak United will be without forward Hafiz Rahim who is out with a broken metatarsal while the visitors will be missing defender Shahrul Saad and forward Izzat Faris Ramlan through injury.

On Sunday, Harimau Muda saw their hopes of reaching this year's London Olympics disappear after a 2-1 loss to Bahrain's under-23 side in Manama. But Ong remained unperturbed.

"Frankly, I'm not really familiar with the clubs here. I only know Gombak by their name, and checked out their website and heard they have a new coach," he said.

"All teams look to start on a good note, I'm looking at three points but it will be tough because we're the only team without any foreign players.

"It takes a few matches to see who's more consistent. For me, the most important thing is to try and work hard and get used to teams in the competition."