S.League fixture list may be revised
The S.League fixture list will likely have to be revised before the season kicks off on Feb 26.
This is because some of the fixtures are lined up very close to Singapore's opening Asian Cup qualifier against Bahrain on March 28.
The Lions are likely to return on March 30 after the Group E clash at Bahrain's National Stadium.
But, with several S.League matches set to be played on March 31 (Home v Albirex, Young Lions v Balestier) and April 1 (Tampines v Warriors, DPMM v Hougang), some clubs have told The New Paper that they will be asking for a postponement.
Tampines Rovers' general manager Desmund Khusnin, who had 14 players called up to the recent national squad, said: "We will definitely inform the FAS (Football Association of Singapore) about this, because players must return from national duty at least 48 hours before a league game.
"We are hoping to push the game to one or two days later, and we are confident that they will help, because in the past they have helped make the changes," he added.
Khusnin revealed that they will study their AFC Cup fixtures too to see if they need longer breaks between continental and domestic commitments.
The other Singapore team in the AFC Cup, Home United, are also checking their schedule.
Said Home's chief executive Azrulnizam Shah: "HUFC will review the fixtures and will correspond with the FAS with respect to any proposed changes that can be made..."
S.League's director of operations, Kok Wai Leong, said league authorities have done their best to put together an issue-free schedule, and added that no official requests have been made so far.
"There will always be teams who look at the fixtures and feel that there should be changes,"
"We will be open and see if they are fair requests, and we will see if it's possible to make any adjustments. However this does not mean they will get whatever they ask for," he said. - SHAMIR OSMAN, ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY DAVID LEE
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