Why S'pore vs Vietnam AFC football semi-final held at Jalan Besar Stadium & not National Stadium?

Long queues were seen outside Jalan Besar Stadium after the surprise announcement that it would host the first leg of the Asean Football Championship semi-final match between Vietnam and Singapore on Dec. 26, 2024.

Questions were raised on social media as to why the 55,000 seater National Stadium was not prioritised as the venue for the match, leaving local fans to settle for the 6,000 seater Jalan Besar Stadium instead.

This was due to a schedule change by the organiser, ASEAN Football Federation (AFF), after the National Stadium had been booked for the original tournament dates, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong Chun Fai said in a written parliamentary reply on Jan. 8.

Other events confirmed after AFF changed tournament dates

Tong was responding to a question from Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC Member of Parliament (MP) Saktiandi Supaat about why the National Stadium was allowed to be booked for concerts during the period when the Singapore national football team was playing in the semi-finals.

Notably, Singaporean singer-songwriter JJ Lin held a two-night concert at the National Stadium to kick off his world tour, from Dec. 28 to 29, 2024.

Tong explained that the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) and its venue partner, Kallang Alive Sport Management (KASM), ensured the National Stadium was booked and made available for the Singapore national football team for the full duration of the Asean Football Federation (AFF) Mitsubishi Electric Cup 2024.

Tong said this was based on the original dates of the competition from Nov. 23, 2024, to Dec. 21, 2024, which had been announced in February 2024.

"Had this schedule been kept to, the Singapore national football team would have been able to play at the National Stadium at every home game."

However, Tong disclosed that in August 2024, shortly before the start of the tournament, AFF changed the tournament schedule.

Not 'logistically possible' to accommodate matches

By then, two other major events had already been confirmed at the National Stadium to be held in late December 2024 and early January 2025.

"Contractual commitments had been made, and tickets for one of them had gone on sale since July 2024. These are large scale events, and time is needed to prepare the venue ahead of the event," Tong said.

Tong shared that KASM checked if it would still be possible to accommodate the football matches at the National Stadium alongside these two events.

"This is due to the time required for pitch preparation and event set-up. However, it was assessed to be not logistically possible."

Consequently, FAS chose Jalan Besar Stadium as an alternative venue for Singapore's semi-final home match on Dec. 26, 2024, Tong noted.

Tong said that to enable more Singaporeans to support the Lions, the semi-final matches were broadcast live at 14 community clubs and centres, as well as HomeTeamNS venues.

Fans also watched these matches live on MediaCorp’s free-to-air Channel 5, he added.

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Top photo from FAS/Instagram