Man denies accusation of profiteering from organising futsal matches at Sengkang CC, says he's 'building a thriving community'

H M Son, Fat Messi and a 'Ronaldo' who wears glasses. These are not characters from a parody football film.

They are the stars of SKCC Champions League, and are joined by 500 other futsal enthusiasts who compete for glory at Sengkang Community Club's futsal court every Tuesday, Saturday and Sunday evenings.

Since their inception in June, highlight reels of the amateur street football league matches have raked in thousands of views on TikTok, with social media users in awe at the players' silky footwork and eye-catching goals.

But participating in the league comes with a caveat. Each team of five players who want to join their kickabouts have to pay $40 to the league's organiser to secure their place for two hours. 

This pay-to-play policy has raised concerns among some on whether individuals should be allowed to book affordable community facilities, such as Sengkang CC's futsal court which is run by the People's Association (PA), and in turn charge others to use them. 

Sengkang CC allows individuals to book the futsal pitch for up to two hours a day at $20 an hour.

In comparison, it would cost at least $50 an hour to book a futsal court in a facility in Kovan, and $70 an hour for a field in the CBD area.

Futsal enthusiast's woes of not being able to use Sengkang CC court

One futsal enthusiast, who only wanted to be known as Lim, told AsiaOne on Tuesday (Nov 21) that he and his football 'kakis' used to book the court in Sengkang CC for their weekly Sunday kickabout sessions.

For this group of friends who first met during their junior college and army days some 20 years ago, the recreational sport is an opportunity to bond and keep fit at the same time.

"Most of us have family and work commitments, so Sunday evenings are the best timing for us," 41-year-old Lim said, adding that they chose to play there as it is near to their homes.

But since October this year, they have not been able to use the futsal court at the community club.

Lim said that his friend, who is a Sengkang resident, would head to the CC to book the court for their preferred two-hour time slot.

Only to be beaten by an elderly man who turned up earlier in the morning.

Unfair profiteering?

"Shortly after that, I noticed several videos on TikTok showing some teams playing at Sengkang CC," Lim said. "The videos were quite well done."

"My friends and I then realised that a futsal league organiser is collecting payment for others to use the court and is making these videos."

According to a registration form created by the SKCC Champions League organiser, it states that there is a $40 fee per team and a maximum of three teams a day.

Angered by what he felt is "unfair profiteering", Lim complained to the PA on Nov 12, while questioning if the futsal court can be leased out for "commercial purpose".

In a reply to Lim two days later, Sengkang CC said that they are not affiliated to the organiser of SKCC Champions League.

"You may like to note that Sengkang CC does not allow payment collection for private tournaments in our community facilities," they added. "Our team will investigate and engage them accordingly."

'We're not a commercial league': SKCC League organiser 

"Inviting" amateur futsal teams to play in their league is not a profitable business venture, the organiser of SKCC Champions League told AsiaOne.

Vince Ng, who also is a regular futsal player at Sengkang CC, said that he implemented the "affordable" pay-to-play policy to account for the costs of booking the futsal court.

The 39-year-old added that he also pays "bookers" - fellow futsal players from the ‘Champions League’ who queued at the community club to book the court - to "reward their efforts to make the games happen".

"We are upfront about the fees, but that's not our purpose," Ng said. "I built this community for teams to challenge each other, and for individuals to find 'kakis' using our WhatsApp Group."

This is the reason why Ng is adamant that he has not breached Sengkang CC's rules of using their community facilities.

"We don't have a tournament. We just invite different teams to play. It's not a commercial league or system. Anyone can join our league," he said. "I'm building a thriving community."

No need to focus on the negatives: Ng

Ng shared that he and his futsal 'kakis' have been playing the game for over 10 years, and only started posting their highlights on social media four months ago.

That gained plenty of traction, he said, adding that he created SKCC Champions League after other futsal enthusiasts wanted to challenge his team.

While there is that $40 fee to join the league at Sengkang CC, Ng said he is not stopping the players from arranging their own games.

Ng said: "They can organise their own games, which many of them are doing using our WhatApp group. That's one of the benefits I have brought to the community.

"I don't see the need to focus on the negatives, especially if they are the ones who are not involved in the league. They can book the futsal court for themselves."

Lim now pays $190 to use another futsal pitch 

Ng welcomes other futsal enthusiasts to join his 'Champions League', but Lim has no intention of taking up the offer.

Pointing to an "absurd video" which showed a player bleeding after being on the receiving end of a tackle, Lim said that he and his friends are not interested to play in "rough and competitive" futsal matches.

"Most of my friends are in our late thirties and forties and we just want to have a friendly game, but seems like we have to sign up with the league organiser in order to play at Sengkang CC," he added.

Lim said that he and his friends for over two decades now play futsal every Sunday evening at rental pitches in Kovan, adding that they pay $190 to use for two hours.

Lim said: "Some of my friends, who stay in Sengkang, end up not playing at Kovan as the distance is further from their homes.

"I feel quite upset and unjust that community facilities that are heavily subsidised by PA are abused by profit-minded people."

Responding to AsiaOne's queries, the PA said that they are aware of feedback about the use of their futsal court.

Augustine Low, deputy constituency director of Sengkang North Constituency Office, added that they are "actively engaging" participants of the futsal league.

"As of this moment, we have been to the futsal court and visited these players. "We are still looking into the matter," he said, adding that he has not spoken to the league organiser.

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chingshijie@asiaone.com