Home Ground Review: Watching A Lion City Sailors Match At Jalan Besar Stadium

As a huge football fan, I’ve been hooked on the beautiful game ever since I saw Eric Cantona play with his collar turned up in 1996.

Whenever I travel, I make it a point (after convincing my wife) to visit football stadiums and catch a match. I’m also a massive jersey collector, so football tends to find its way into almost every holiday.

I’ve visited Bayern Munich’s Allianz Arena and PSG’s Parc des Princes, and recently watched Inter Milan play their final match of the 2025/26 season at the legendary San Siro. I also make an annual pilgrimage to Japan to support my favourite Japanese club, Urawa Red Diamonds. Maybe someday, I'll get to watch Manchester United at Old Trafford.

But despite travelling around the world for football, I’ve never immersed myself in the full matchday experience across all the stadiums in Singapore. Whenever I ask people about local football, I usually get one of two answers: either the football game is terrible and I shouldn’t waste my money, or watching the Singapore Premier League is a genuinely enjoyable experience.

So, I decided it was time to see it for myself. For the 2026/27 season, I'll be checking out football grounds in Singapore for their matchday experience: four stadiums, one local league, what happens on the pitch and beyond. 

My first stop: Jalan Besar Stadium. Getting there is easy with a few nearby MRT stations: Bendemeer on the Downtown Line, Lavender on the East-West Line, and Farrer Park on the North-East Line. Bendemeer is the closest, although it's still a bit of a walk.

I arrived slightly more than an hour before kick-off for Lion City Sailors (LCS) versus BG Pathum United of Thailand – the Sailors’ opening match of their Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League Two campaign.

Here’s how I rated the night.

Star players Ilhan Fandi (middle) and Bart Ramselaar (bottom left) up close! | IMAGE: NICHOLAS YONG

How much are Lion City Sailors match tickets?

Tickets for the match were $40, or $36 for seats at the far end of the stadium. But if you sign up for a free LCS membership online, you can get 50% off your ticket, which works out to only $20.

To enjoy the discount, sign up a few days in advance for the system to process your membership. Don’t do it while standing outside the stadium and expect the discount to appear immediately.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
(1⭐ = Too expensive; 5⭐ = Excellent value)

I was very tempted to spend on football merch. | IMAGES: NICHOLAS YONG

What merchandise can you buy at a Lion City Sailors match?

As a football jersey collector, I naturally wanted to look at the selection of shirts and souvenirs for sale. For this match, the current LCS home and away jerseys were available in all sizes for $109, with AFC Champions League Two patches ready to be applied. Last season’s kit was also available for $64.

Besides jerseys, the stall sold keychains, scarves and fan tees. LCS members can also receive discounts based on the number of matches they’ve attended, starting from 5% and going all the way up to 20%.

The booth was well stocked, but I would've loved to see jerseys with player names already printed on them. Just print Ilhan Fandi 17, I’m sure those will sell.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
(1⭐ = Nothing to buy; 5⭐ = Spoilt for choice)

As you can see, my view was blocked. | IMAGE: NICHOLAS YONG

Where should you sit at Jalan Besar Stadium?

I chose a seat as close to the pitch and as near to the halfway line as possible: Level 2, Section D, Row 4.

What I failed to account for was the LCS substitutes’ bench sitting directly in my line of sight. It blocked my view whenever the action moved to the near side of the pitch which, unfortunately, happened quite often. Lesson learnt.

If I want to sit that close again, I’ll choose Section C. However, the LCS die-hard supporters, The Crew, stand and cheer in front of that section, so that may come with a different kind of obstructed view (and loud noise, if you’re sensitive to that). Maybe sitting higher up isn’t such a bad idea after all.

The legroom was okay, thankfully. After half-time, the people sitting beside me decided to watch the match from the top of the stand, so I no longer had to keep getting up whenever they wanted to return to their seats.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
(1⭐ = Uncomfortable, poor view; 5⭐= Comfortable, great view)

Long queues for snacks, but luckily I found this matcha booth. | IMAGES: NICHOLAS YONG

What food and drinks are available at Jalan Besar Stadium?

I don’t normally buy food or drinks during a football match, but this time, I went to investigate the concession stand.

The menu included hot dogs for $4 to $5, nuggets for $6, onion rings for $8 and cheese fries for $10. Drinks such as lemon spritzer, apple juice and Milo cost $4 each, while bottled water and isotonic drinks were available at $3, and draft beer at $7. The queue, however, was insane. I didn't want to wait. 

There was also a smaller, separate booth serving coffee for $3 to $5 and matcha for $6 to $8. Now, that caught my attention. I’ve never had matcha while watching a football match, so of course I had to try it. It was actually pretty good, at least to me.

Still, I was hoping for a wider and more interesting selection of food. 

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
(1⭐ = Too expensive, barely any choice; 5⭐ = Great selection, affordable prices)

They never stopped singing and chanting throughout the evening. | IMAGE: NICHOLAS YONG

What is the atmosphere like at a Lion City Sailors match?

This was easily the best part of the evening. The Crew cheered the team on non-stop, leading a variety of chants and songs throughout the match. Other supporters around the stadium gradually joined in, including me, but not at full volume because I didn’t want to lose my voice.

The part that stood out to me was hearing the crowd yell “b*toh” whenever they disagreed with the referee. Yes, it’s offensive. But it somehow also feels uniquely Singaporean. I’ve never heard it anywhere else.

The atmosphere might not have had the scale of the San Siro or the intensity of Urawa’s supporters, but it felt passionate and refreshingly local.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
(1⭐ = Quiet; 5⭐ = Excited crowd)

I snapped a photo with LCS mascot Helix (left), and my favourite player, Shawal Anuar. | IMAGES: NICHOLAS YONG

Is watching Lion City Sailors at Jalan Besar Stadium worth it?

Watching football at Jalan Besar Stadium is obviously different from attending a match in Europe or Japan’s J.League.

But that’s part of its charm. You’re much closer to the pitch and the players, without having to spend hundreds of dollars. You may even get to meet them after the match. I was delighted to take a photo with my favourite player, Shawal Anuar. But I forgot to bring his trading card for him to sign. I’ll have to remember it next time.

It was also heartening to see more than 1,800 fans turn up to support a local club taking on a Thai powerhouse; on a weekday night, no less. The whole experience felt more intimate and less intimidating. There were chants and plenty of noise, of course, but it didn’t feel like anyone was trying to recreate the English Premier League or Serie A. Singapore football has its own personality.

We’re often quick to dismiss Singapore football or compare it with what we watch overseas. But in person, it reminded me that local football doesn’t need to imitate anyone else. 

More importantly, which Singapore football ground should I review next?

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