S.League: RHB Bank and FAS tie the knot

Not just a partnership, but a "marriage".

That is the relationship RHB Bank Berhad believes they have with the Football Association of Singapore (FAS), after they penned a new three-year deal as title sponsors of the Singapore Cup last Saturday.

This will be the 10th year of the bank's sponsorship of Singapore club football's biggest knockout competition.

The New Paper spoke to RHB Singapore country head Jason Wong (JW) at the signing ceremony last week. He has been such an unwavering supporter of local football.

RHB Bank's partnership with FAS is one of the longest in local sports right now. How significant is the milestone and why have RHB decided to stay on after all these years?

JW: I mentioned how our sponsorship journey with the FAS has been like a "marriage".

Indeed, not even genuine marriages can last 10 years!

There certainly were ups and downs, but, we have a great partner in the FAS who worked very closely with us to resolve the challenges that came our way, and jointly we have continued to ensure the vibrancy of the RHB Singapore Cup year-on-year.

The decision to renew our sponsorship for another three-year term was a logical one for us because of two reasons.

Firstly, supporting the development of local football is our long-term commitment to the community. Our ultimate goal is to revive the interest in Singapore football, and first we must work towards developing quality players and matches.

Secondly, the RHB Singapore Cup is one of the premier football tournaments in the region and it allows us to reach out to the ASEAN countries where RHB Bank has a presence in or is interested to venture into, such as Cambodia, Laos, Brunei and the Philippines.

Five foreign teams have been invited to this year's competition and it includes three clubs who will make their debut in the RHB Singapore Cup. What will they bring to the competition?

JW: Cambodia's Svay Rieng and Nagacorp, and (Laos side) Champasak are consistently among the top in their respective domestic leagues and their participation makes the tournament even more challenging for the S.League clubs, who might not be so familiar with their strengths.

It adds a little bit of uncertainty and is very exciting, especially with the grouping of fixtures so far.

Global FC and Loyola Meralco Sparks (from the Philippines) performed well in last year's RHB Singapore Cup and I believe they will come back stronger.

It is an excellent opportunity for both the S.League and regional clubs to learn from one another and I hope the fans, both local and from abroad, will show their utmost support to the clubs.

What would you like to see in this year's RHB Singapore Cup?

JW: We are expecting the World Cup to take some shine away from the initial stages of the Singapore Cup but I am confident that the quality of our own regional tournament will succeed in catching the attention of local football fans.

It will be great to have a regional showdown in the final this year to heighten the excitement of the tournament and boost match attendance.

Last year, we had a near full house turn-out for the final (between Home United and Tanjong Pagar United) and the atmosphere was amazing.

Being able to play in front of a full house again will most certainly spur the players to give of their best and play at a high level for the fans.

What has been your most memorable RHB Singapore Cup moment?

JW: One of my most memorable was celebrating the Cup win at the National Stadium in 2006 (when Tampines Rovers beat Thai side Chonburi 3-2 after being 2-0 down).

It was the last year that the Singapore Cup final was held there before the stadium was closed and about 20,000 or more fans were in the stands.

It will be great if we can achieve that... again by playing at the new National Stadium at the Singapore Sports Hub.

This article was published on May 7 in The New Paper.

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