New format for S-League next year
The Great Eastern-Yeo's S-League will kick off on Feb 12 next year with a familiar feel provided by the same 13 teams that competed in this year's edition of the tournament. However, it will have an unconventional twist near the end.
After all the teams face one another other home and away, the league will be split into two competitions.
One of them will feature the top seven sides who will face off in a mini-league to determine the S-League champions. The other mini-league will see the bottom six sides jostling among themselves for final standing.
S-League chief executive Lim Chin confirmed the amendments to the format after speaking at a two-hour S-League club chairmen's meeting on Monday night.
He said: "S-League 2013 is starting to take shape, the league format has been decided … and the fitness test is also more or less decided.
"We will be making formal announcements in two weeks when we get final approval for subsidies for clubs to sign marquee players next year. But there is some good news: The funding (request) is already being processed."
Details on the marquee player scheme, however, were still unavailable. Nor was the S-League able to confirm the fact that it will allow clubs to sign five other foreign players up from the current four.
However, Lim has confirmed that, in place of the mandatory Beep Test, footballers will now have to pass a 2.4km running test to be able to play in the league.
TODAY understands that there will be various passing grades for outfield S-League players (10 minutes 15 seconds), Prime League players (10:45) and goalkeepers (12:00), Lim revealed that there will be a monetary incentive offered to those who surpass expectations but declined to give more details.
The S-League has seen crowd numbers dwindle in recent years.
Average attendance also hit an all-time low of 932 at the half-way mark of the season this year. These changes are aimed at breathing life back into the 17-year-old league.
The format modifications will see clubs now play either 28 or 29 games in the S-League season, up from 24 this year. And while the longer season is a change welcomed by many club officials TODAY spoke to, there were some who took issue with the unconventional league format.
A club official, who declined to be named, summed up reservations about the changes when he said: "Part of the beauty of football is having the possibility of smaller teams beating the bigger teams who are gunning for the title. This format removes that part of the excitement in the run-in to the title. Also, who would want to go watch the bottom few teams play against one another in their own mini-league?"
While some feel the marquee player scheme could help to draw the fans, TODAY understands that the football authorities are discussing the possibility of bringing in younger players - those who have fallen out of the top leagues, for example - instead of bigger names who are past their prime, in a bid to ensure higher quality football and, with that, bigger crowds at S-League stadiums. - TODAY
The Great Eastern-Yeo's S-League will kick off on Feb 12 next year with a familiar feel provided by the same 13 teams that competed in this year's edition of the tournament. However, it will have an unconventional twist near the end.
After all the teams face one another other home and away, the league will be split into two competitions.
One of them will feature the top seven sides who will face off in a mini-league to determine the S-League champions. The other mini-league will see the bottom six sides jostling among themselves for final standing.
S-League chief executive Lim Chin confirmed the amendments to the format after speaking at a two-hour S-League club chairmen's meeting on Monday night.
He said: "S-League 2013 is starting to take shape, the league format has been decided … and the fitness test is also more or less decided.
"We will be making formal announcements in two weeks when we get final approval for subsidies for clubs to sign marquee players next year. But there is some good news: The funding (request) is already being processed."
Details on the marquee player scheme, however, were still unavailable. Nor was the S-League able to confirm the fact that it will allow clubs to sign five other foreign players up from the current four.
However, Lim has confirmed that, in place of the mandatory Beep Test, footballers will now have to pass a 2.4km running test to be able to play in the league.
TODAY understands that there will be various passing grades for outfield S-League players (10 minutes 15 seconds), Prime League players (10:45) and goalkeepers (12:00), Lim revealed that there will be a monetary incentive offered to those who surpass expectations but declined to give more details.
The S-League has seen crowd numbers dwindle in recent years.
Average attendance also hit an all-time low of 932 at the half-way mark of the season this year. These changes are aimed at breathing life back into the 17-year-old league.
The format modifications will see clubs now play either 28 or 29 games in the S-League season, up from 24 this year. And while the longer season is a change welcomed by many club officials TODAY spoke to, there were some who took issue with the unconventional league format.
A club official, who declined to be named, summed up reservations about the changes when he said: "Part of the beauty of football is having the possibility of smaller teams beating the bigger teams who are gunning for the title. This format removes that part of the excitement in the run-in to the title. Also, who would want to go watch the bottom few teams play against one another in their own mini-league?"
While some feel the marquee player scheme could help to draw the fans, TODAY understands that the football authorities are discussing the possibility of bringing in younger players - those who have fallen out of the top leagues, for example - instead of bigger names who are past their prime, in a bid to ensure higher quality football and, with that, bigger crowds at S-League stadiums. - TODAY
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