Tourist calls Our Tampines Hub 'world's weirdest stadium' after flying to Singapore to watch football match

How far would you travel to watch a football game? For Sam North, he'd go 10,000km. 

The football enthusiast recently flew from the UK to Singapore to watch a local game between Geylang International and Hougang United at Our Tampines Hub on July 12. 

He documented the experience in a YouTube video uploaded on July 13 and revealed that this would be the first football match he has ever watched in Singapore. 

Sam wasn't just intrigued by the game — he was also fascinated by Our Tampines Hub and even called it "the world's weirdest stadium".

En route to Our Tampines Hub from Tampines MRT station, he shared his first impressions of the building. 

"This looks like no stadium I have ever seen in my life," he exclaimed.

"It's so built up, so modern, so clean and nice. [It] doesn't really have the feel of somewhere that should have a football stadium." 

Sam didn't share exactly why he had flown all the way down to Singapore to watch a game. 

But just before he stepped into the stadium, he checked into the game on an app called Futbology, which suggests that he has a bucket list of football games in various countries that he'd like to tick off. 

As of now, he has seen football matches in 17 countries, including Singapore. 

A running track, eco-garden and lots of eateries 

Finding the football field was not as straightforward as Sam had anticipated. 

Upon stepping into Our Tampines Hub, he found himself lost amongst rows of shops and eateries. 

"Where on earth is the football stadium in here?" he said out loud. 

He only managed to locate it after finding the floor directory. 

"This is the most Singaporean thing I think I've ever seen. Completely modern, all for the community," an impressed Sam said, adding that there were other "community sports things" that were ongoing in the stadium as well. 

After grabbing some dinner and procuring his tickets to the game, Sam explored the stadium. 

While doing so, he came across a running track, which he found "bizarre". 

"Look! There are people running around here inside," he documented excitedly. 

That wasn't all he found — he also discovered an eco-community garden. 

"Can't be too many stadiums with an eco-community garden on the roof," Sam said. 

While walking around the garden, he also shared how he wasn't expecting his experience to turn out like this. 

"I just came here knowing that this game was on, planning on making a video just going 10,000km to watch a football match. 

"But I didn't realise how bizarre and fascinating the stadium would actually be," he said. 

Watching the match 

While waiting for the game to start, Sam spoke with some locals. 

He managed to chat with one of the players from Geylang International, Azri Suhaili, who shared that one good thing about football in Singapore is how competitive it is. 

"Geylang has the best fans," Azri added with a smile. 

Mid-match, Sam noted that while he paid $15 to watch the match inside the stadium itself, people can still peep in from outside of the stadium to view it for free. 

After the first half of the match, he shared that the atmosphere here was "a little bit better" than he had anticipated. 

"Good to be here! Interesting little stadium," he remarked. 

The match ended with Hougang United winning.

As Sam was leaving the stadium afterwards, he remarked: "This is one of the weirdest football experiences of my life." 

"I've made almost 630 odd videos [of football], but nothing really compares to this in terms of strange stadiums." 

Excited locals flooded the video's comments section and thanked Sam for visiting Singapore and Our Tampines Hub to watch the game. 

One agreed that the Hub is a "pretty impressive community centre" thanks to its variety of facilities like a bowling alley, indoor sports halls, and variety of food. 

Another told him that while Singapore still has a long way to go to compete professionally, he still comes down on matchday to support his team. 

"I hope Singaporean football fans can be more supportive of their own league, as it does have the potential to grow," he added. 

ALSO READ: This tourist thinks Singaporeans only dress formally after seeing 'everyone walking around in suit and tie'

melissateo@asiaone.com