By Suresh Nair
A DESPERATE race against time, with three days to go before the 22nd season of the S-League starts, and Hyundai Motors have come to the rescue.
What a last-gasp diving gesture to save Singapore’s only professional domestic sports league, which has been in a pitiful quick-sand scenario, unable to attract fans and corporate support in the last few years.
This saving-grace gesture from the South Korean conglomerate must surely be seen as a God-send sponsorship shot in the arm, just as the media went wild earlier this week that current title co-sponsor, food and beverage giant Yeo Hiap Seng was set to end its 13-year partnership with the S-League.
Much of the credit for this desperate save must go to Komoco Motors, the sole distributor of Hyundai cars in Singapore, where managing director Teo Hock Seng, widely regarded as one of the region’s football icons, played a major role in giving the S-League the life-line.
It is learnt that he signed a two-year deal worth around S$1 million, which is similar to the value of the two-year deal that homegrown insurance company Great Eastern Singapore signed with the S-League earlier this month to renew its title co-sponsorship of the league.
The breath of fresh air is that this move not only means that the S-League title sponsorship is now worth more than S$1 million a year, but also that the 2017 and 2018 campaigns will now be known the Hyundai-Great Eastern S.League.
Thanks to Teo, it also makes the S-League the only other professional league in Asia to be sponsored by Hyundai besides Australia’s A-League.
“I have always believed in the S-League since the start in 1996,” says Teo, 70, widely regarded as one of the “Godfathers of Singapore football”. “I enjoyed the challenges of being chairman of Tampines Rovers, it was gratifying to do my part for Singapore football through the club, but that’s one phase and I’ve moved on.”
BRAND AWARENESS
“Hyundai feels that its sponsorship of the A-League has provided it with very good publicity, and a few weeks ago, the president of Hyundai told me to see what more we can do more for brand awareness and sports marketing in this region.”
Teo is sacredly known for helping umpteen footballers to find post-playing careers at Komoco, when he was the chairman of Tampines Rovers for 15 years (2000 to 2015), before handing over the reins to lawyer Krishna Ramachandran.
During his reign, Tampines, which was sponsored by Hyundai, shot to sizzling heights, winning five S-League titles and three Singapore Cups. It remains the only club to have won the now-defunct Asean Club Championships in 2005.
Earlier this week, Teo also announced that Harley-Davidson, which also comes under this motor-giant’s stable, was shaking hands with Rugby Singapore for the upcoming HSBC Singapore Rugby Sevens on April 15 and 16.
“Our brand has championed the passion and openness of our riders, regardless of age, gender, culture and race – and the universal language of a sport like rugby makes us proud to be a new partner of the HSBC Singapore Rugby Sevens,” he says. The tie-up allows Komoco to provide the grand prize of the lucky draw at the HSBC Singapore Rugby Sevens – a Harley-Davidson Roadster.
Teo has always been known to dig deep into his personal pockets to help ailing sportsmen. He calls it “national service” and much as he doesn’t gloat about this, I know that he’s ultra-passionate in lending a helping hand to those who have sacrificed for the six-letter word: Sports.
“Even if the company didn’t pay, I would have paid for it from my own pocket to somehow help Singapore football,” says Teo. “Jokes aside, S-League is the backbone of Singapore football and we will do what we can to draw our connections from world football for the betterment of Singapore football.”
Aleksandar Duric, a Lions icon and now principal of the ActiveSG string of football academies, hails Teo as “more than an iconic kingpin of Singapore and Tampines Rovers”.
‘BIG BOSS’
“The man is nearly irreplaceable and there is no one like him around at the moment. It will be a tough act for anyone trying to fill his shoes as an advisor, much less the club’s chairman,” he says. “I’ve seldom met a footballing gentleman with such a very big heart.”
Teo is also regarded as the “big boss” by former Lions as he spearheads the Singapore Ex-Internationals in the annual fiery match against their Malaysian counterparts in the Sultan of Selangor’s Cup.
But Teo has had his fair share of poor publicity, too, as he was given many nicknames, including the not-so-flattering Teo Hock ‘Sack’, after he wielded the axe on a succession of coaches from 2010 to 2014.
But his heart of gold for football is legendary. He once said: “In football, as in life, you come in with nothing, you leave with nothing. If I can help someone along the way, why not? Of course, I have to be prudent and make sure I know the background of the player before offering him a job. But I’ve always held the thought that sportsmen have high values. They know the meaning of hard work.”
Back to Teo’s latest saviour move: It must be noted that Hyundai’s sponsorship comes at a time when the S-League has significantly lost the confidence of the football fans, with a distinct decline in competitive standards, limited sponsorships, and falling match attendances. The league was also left without Singapore’s top national players for four years, from 2012 to 2015, as a result of the Football Association of Singapore’s decision to form the LionsXII to compete in the Malaysian Super League.
NATIONAL TEAM
Teo emphasised that he offered a “national helping hand” for the sake of the Lions. He adds: “I’m a very firm believer that if there is no S-League, then there can be no national team. You cannot go out in the streets and just pick 11 players.
“The S.League may have suffered the last few years but it is our league. And it is a league we should be proud of. And so, instead of backing away from it, we need to find ways to sustain it and make it successful.”
FAS caretaker President Lim Kia Tong hailed Hyundai and Teo Hock Seng.
“The fact that a leading and world renowned multinational company like Hyundai is willing to back the S-League strongly and wants to be part of Singapore football shows the strength of and the belief in the S.League and we are truly fortunate and extremely blessed to have their support,” he says.
“Teo Hock Seng, the man of Komoco and the Godfather of Singapore football, is the pillar of and is instrumental in getting the unreserved support of Hyundai.”
A big pat-on-the-back was reserved for FAS assistant marketing director Rikram Jit Singh, who was a key member during the negotiations. He was pleased to see the new collaboration take flight and urged more Singapore companies to support the S-League.
“Hyundai Motors have long been part of the international football family since 1999 and their commitment to helping the sport develop saw them renew their sponsorship deal as FIFA’s official automotive partner for the World Cup till 2022, while also putting the A-League on the world football map as their main league sponsor,” says Mr Singh.
This season’s S-League will start on Sunday with the Great Eastern Charity Shield game between reigning champions Alibrex Niigata and Tampines, which finished second to the Japanese satellite side in both the League and the Cup.
Significantly, the game, which will also double up as a S-League fixture, be a nostalgic occasion as it will be the first S-League match to be played at the National Stadium at the Sports Hub, and Teo whas been invited as one of the Guests of Honour.
HURRAY FOR HYUNDAI
Miserably, the S-League will be without a Chief Executive Officer for a while as current CEO Lim Chin is leaving on March 31 after five years at the helm. Strangely, there is no search for a new chief executive until after the FAS elections, which is expected to be held late next month.
For the moment, it’s a huge hurray for Hyundai with its last-gasp diving gesture to save Singapore’s only professional domestic sports league, which is, sad to say, going down the drain.
I view Teo Hock Seng’s personal hand, through this Hyundai sponsorship, as a God-send sponsorship shot in the arm. The FAS and the S-League must not take him for granted and start bucking up to get their Jalan Besar Stadium headquarters back in good order.
For the moment, ask any man-on-the-street, football really needs a kick in the butt, with a much-delayed election of new office-bearers, despite its status as the No 1 sport in town.
- Suresh Nair is a Singapore-based journalist, who sat on the board of Tampines Rovers, with Teo Hock Seng, in 1996 when the S-League started in 1996
