Shed some light, please

Source

S-League clubs seek clearer funding guidelines to get programmes running

by Shamir Osman
04:46 AM Mar 22, 2011 SINGAPORE - It has been a month since Football Association of Singapore (FAS) president Zainudin Nordin promised a 40 per cent increase in club subsidies. That would translate to some S$200,000 more for each of the nine local clubs -minus the Courts Young Lions and foreign clubs Etoile FC and Albirex Niigata.

The league proper has been under way since Feb 12 and it has already been revealed in Parliament that the subsidy will be upped from S$6.2 million to S$8.7 million but the clubs still do not know exactly how much they will each receive, and what conditions they have to fulfil in order to get the full amount.

On Friday, MediaCorp reported that the Singapore Sports Council (SSC) are studying the possibility of revising rental rates on stadium facilities utilised by S-League clubs by as much as threefold.

But with the clubs in the dark over their actual budget, for they are highly dependent on the FAS subsidy, they do not know how badly they will be affected by the increase in rentals.

The FAS had initially said a shift in focus to youth development will see all local clubs adopt centres of excellence (COEs) this year but to date, only five clubs - Geylang United, Home United, SAFFC, Tampines Rovers and Woodlands Wellington - have them.

The remaining four clubs are waiting for information on the exact funding they will receive before making any decision. Gombak United are among those without a COE and chairman John Yap said: "We are seriously considering participating in the COE programme but we are still waiting for financial directives from FAS."

Local clubs received a subsidy of about S$500,000 last year, with S$310,000 in cash, and the rest based on clubs meeting key performance indicators (KPIs).

On average, each club needs about S$1.2 million yearly to run their programmes.

The squeeze on clubs' finances were made public last year after the respective chairmen pleaded to the FAS for more money. To date, they are still unsure if the 40 per cent promised will be enough.

The FAS declined to reveal exactly how much the clubs will receive but told MediaCorp: "The increase in funding comprises both cash subsidies and KPI-based subsidies. The cash subsidy is disbursed every month and the KPI-based subsidies are paid upon achieving the agreed outcome.

"For this year, we have increased our cash subsidy by 40 per cent and the first tranche was distributed to the clubs in February. Subsequent cash subsidies to the clubs will be paid every month upon the clubs' submission of their accounts."

Said Balestier Khalsa vice-chairman S Thavaneson: "The subsidy we received in February had indeed increased by about 40 per cent over last year but once the FAS are able to give us details on how the rest of the additional subsidy will be disbursed, it'll be easier for us to plan our finances.

"With the possible increase in rent, some clubs will end up at square one again - like there was no increase in subsidy at all."

The SSC subsidised S$3.5 million of the S$4.7 million in total rental cost for all S-League stadia in 2009. MediaCorp understands that clubs that do not lease large spaces in their stadiums from the SSC pay about S$40,000 in rent per year and if rental rates do treble, they will pay S$80,000 more. Clubs that lease bigger spaces will pay a more hefty sum.