SINGAPORE: The date was Apr 20, 1996. At Toa Payoh Stadium, Balestier Central were about to face Police FC in the opening round of Singapore's first professional football league, the S-League.

“There were long queues to enter the stadium,” recalled local football blogger Ko Po Hui, one of the 2,400 in attendance. 

The buzz had been building for days. A curtain-raiser at the National Stadium drew about 50,000 fans to watch the Thai national team take on an S-League all-star selection.

Three decades on, much has changed. Teams have come and gone, stadiums are shared and crowds have thinned. The league has been rocked by match-fixing scandals and mass brawls. It is now known as the Singapore Premier League (SPL).

Can it survive another 30 years? CNA looks at the state of play – and what needs to happen.

A DIFFERENT ERA

Even before the first ball was kicked, there was significant hype, fuelled by pre-existing fan interest in the semi-professional league and Singapore's exploits in the Malaysia Cup.

Thousands turned up at friendly matches, with one game between Geylang United and Johor SEDC drawing 6,500 fans, some sitting on the track. To meet demand, several matches in the inaugural season were played at the National Stadium and neighbourhood stadiums installed portable seats.

"The crowd was on a different level," said former Balestier Central attacker Marko Kraljevic. "And when you eat at the coffee shop, they would ask you about the game. Now, nobody asks you about the game."

What drew the crowds was star power, said Geylang International coach Noor Ali, who had just signed his first professional contract with Tampines Rovers.

'It was so big because we had the Malaysia Cup heroes playing in our own league," he said. "Fans came to watch their favourite players play."