Thursday, July 23, 2009
Asian football benefits how exactly?
With the Manchester United circus flying its merry way to South Korea and Liverpool landing in Singapore we can look back on some high profile friendlies, a high profile non event and plenty of new snaps on Flickr.
But long term will Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore football be the better for their one night stands with England's most popular?
How many Kop wannabes who braved Bangkok's trafic the other night and who will fill the National Stadium in Singapore soon will be converted to the local game? How many will savour their experience enough to want to start following the fortunes of their local sides be it BEC Tero or Nakhorn Pathom?
Or will they still look down their noses at the local product?
How many people will have seen Sir Alesx Ferguson's comments after the first Manchester United game in KL that Malaysians need to look to South Korea and Japan for football development and head to the airport on the next available flight to check out how the north east Asian nations run the game.
How many Chinese kids in Singapore will want to take up playing football professionally, risking parental wrath that they don't become doctors or engineers, because they were inspired by Mascherano's all action performance.
Liverpool are cool, Tampines Rovers aren't. Fernando Torres is cool, Noh Alam Shah isn't. Why exactly?
One reason why colonialism is such a dirty word is because all a countries energies were directed towards providing wealth and comforts to the mother country far across the sea, neglecting their own. Independance was supposed to have changed that. Instead we now have globalisation where people choose to provide wealth and comforts to a distant country far across the sea, neglecting their own.
But long term will Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore football be the better for their one night stands with England's most popular?
How many Kop wannabes who braved Bangkok's trafic the other night and who will fill the National Stadium in Singapore soon will be converted to the local game? How many will savour their experience enough to want to start following the fortunes of their local sides be it BEC Tero or Nakhorn Pathom?
Or will they still look down their noses at the local product?
How many people will have seen Sir Alesx Ferguson's comments after the first Manchester United game in KL that Malaysians need to look to South Korea and Japan for football development and head to the airport on the next available flight to check out how the north east Asian nations run the game.
How many Chinese kids in Singapore will want to take up playing football professionally, risking parental wrath that they don't become doctors or engineers, because they were inspired by Mascherano's all action performance.
Liverpool are cool, Tampines Rovers aren't. Fernando Torres is cool, Noh Alam Shah isn't. Why exactly?
One reason why colonialism is such a dirty word is because all a countries energies were directed towards providing wealth and comforts to the mother country far across the sea, neglecting their own. Independance was supposed to have changed that. Instead we now have globalisation where people choose to provide wealth and comforts to a distant country far across the sea, neglecting their own.
# posted by Me @ 1:38 PM 
Comments:
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AFC should pass a rule, similar to what the JFA has done, where a visiting European club can only play matches against local CLUBs. That way the friendly will help lift the profile of the domestic game. I never liked the Euro Club vs. Asian National Team format.
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