Where are the players? Free football hard courts mostly vacant as noise complaints, hot weather drive users to paid artificial turfs

SINGAPORE — Walking by some of the outdoor street football hard courts in housing estates, one cannot help but wonder if they are falling out of favour with recreational football players and the young. 

Quite a few look like they have seen better days and in need of a spruce-up. 

Student Lee Kok Jun, 24, who has lived at least two decades in a public housing block located next to a football hard court, observed that in contrast to 10 years ago where people of all ages were using the facility, only a few children are seen playing there now and then these days.

On weekdays, it is rare to see anyone using the court near Block 339 Clementi Avenue 5. On weekends, mostly children of primary school-going age would show up to kick around with a ball, Mr Lee said.

A check with some residents, players and operators providing alternative pitches showed that there may be some factors contributing to the lack of use.

They are:

• Singapore's hot weather conditions that have only been getting hotter in the past years
• The demographic profile of residents living near the hard courts
• Possible noise complaints
• The effects of the Covid-19 pandemic
• The unfavourable conditions of the courts
• The provision of artificial pitches by private operators

When TODAY visited the hard court near Mr Lee’s home on Clementi Avenue 5 on a weekday morning, it was empty and the flooring did not seem to be in the best condition.

Retiree Patanannadan Aspatraja, 73, who lives in the same neighbourhood, agreed with Mr Lee, saying that he normally sees the hard court being used for kickabouts only during the weekends, and occasionally on weekday evenings.

“Unless it is a school holiday, generally the usage rate on a weekday is really low,” Mr Aspatraja added.

“This could possibly be caused by the noise complaints from the residents. The noise level is normally boisterous when there are people playing and may travel up to high-rise floors.”

However, Madam Puteh Ahmad, 72, a housewife who has lived in the same neighbourhood for 45 years, said that there are usually sounds of balls being kicked and bouncing off the surrounding fence, but to her, it was not so bad that they warranted complaints.

She noted that the number of people playing at the Clementi court has halved since the recent pandemic, adding that it is now mainly used by children having kickabouts about once a week.

When contacted by TODAY, Jurong-Clementi Town Council said that this court has not been fully utilised primarily due to the demographic profile of residents in the area, which comprises mostly middle-aged and older residents.

"Recognising the importance of maintaining functional and safe communal spaces, the town council is committed to refurbishing the soccer court floor.

“With the refurbishment, we hope to enhance its appeal and attract more users, fostering social engagement and inter-generational connections,” it added.

The town council did not comment further when asked to elaborate on when the low utilisation began, what kind of social and inter-generational activities it is looking at, as well as the frequency and costs of refurbishing the court.

At the end of last year, the public use of a hard court was in the news. Some residents in Bedok North approved of a short-term closing of a football hard court not just because of the noise but because of inconsiderate users who dirty the place and occupy it for other purposes.

Member of Parliament Tan Kiat How, who is also Senior Minister of State for National Development, said at the time that residents’ profiles change, so their needs may be different and may prefer wanting inter-generational public space for them and their grandchildren.

IS COVID-19 PANDEMIC TO BLAME?

Over at another hard court in Aljunied Crescent, retail employee Nur Aisyah Afandy, 32, said that there were roughly at least two to three times more people using it about four years ago, before the pandemic struck.

Another Aljunied Crescent resident who gave her name as just Mrs Chong, 52, said that the younger generation might have gotten used to staying indoors since the pandemic.

This made the young turn more to playing with electronic gadgets, the housewife reckoned.

When contacted, Marine Parade Town Council said that it does not keep any specific data on the use of the five street football courts under its purview — including the one at Aljunied Crescent — since they are open to the public for use without any charge.

There are no plans to repurpose any of these courts for other uses.

"In recent years, the town council has also not received any feedback or complaints from residents regarding the use of the street soccer courts in our town," it added.

In the North Bridge Road area, a resident living close to a hard court said that before the pandemic, there used to be street football competitions held there, but these slowly died down.

Ms Suhaily Sohdi, a 47-year-old caregiver to her father and who has been in the estate for around 16 years, added: "Sometimes, I see preschool teachers taking the school kids out there to play, but it is not for football, just free play or other type of games led by the teachers.”

Mr Guntmar Kerbl, 41, who came from Austria and has lived in Singapore since 2001, said that the poor design and choices of material has led to the low usage of the court on North Bridge Road.

The semi-retiree and former info-technology professional suggested that artificial grass or outdoor carpeting, instead of poorly painted concrete, would reduce risk of injury and noise.

“Ultraviolet-resistant goal netting would last longer, a higher cross bar on the goal would also reduce injury.” 

When TODAY visited the site, the court had cracked flooring and torn goalpost nets.

Mr Kerbl added that from what he had seen in the past, shortly after repair works for the court were done, it would start looking worn out again.

Jalan Besar Town Council, which oversees this hard court, has not responded to queries by publication time.

THE DRAW OF ARTIFICIAL FOOTBALL PITCHES

Separately, the needs of some segments of football enthusiasts are being served elsewhere.

The emergence of artificial football pitches by providers has been drawing people who want some form of privacy and exclusivity to play in their own groups.

When TODAY visited some artificial football pitches in Kovan on a weekday morning in May, there were two groups of players having a kickabout there.

The eight pitches are managed by futsal venue operator Kick Off!. It charges an hourly rate of S$55 during off-peak hours and S$105 at peak hours. Off-peak hours are weekdays before 6pm. Peak hours include weekends and public holidays.

Mr Jubilant Chew, a 22-year-old undergraduate, said that he goes to these "astro turf" pitches because they have a more “professional feel”.

He has been playing football since he was around six years old, he added, but he has never played at an outdoor street football court before. He now plays with a group of close friends about once a week.

“With the (artificial) grass surface, I think the risk of injury is lower as well. I do not mind paying for the additional cost as we are able to split the cost among 10 to 15 players.”

He added: “Generally, the football scene in Singapore is becoming quite developed with grassroots football and academies being more accessible, so I think there has been a shift from casual, leisure play to a lot more organised football such as this.”

Marketing manager and boxing coach Grace Ke, 33, who plays futsal regularly about two to three times a week, said that street football courts are hard to find and difficult to secure.

She stopped playing at such hard courts since secondary school and has since played the sport on paid artificial pitches.

“As adults, time is precious and we don’t really have hours to spend waiting around for a court to be empty,” Ms Ke added.

For student Dhia Sufi Suhaimi, 19, who has also stopped playing at these hard courts since secondary school, he prefers to play football at artificial pitches to prevent blisters and injuries.

“I think the courts are not in good condition and players can potentially injure themselves, especially for younger kids playing.” 

Another student Daiyan Rizqi, 15, who plays futsal about twice a week, has shifted from playing at hard courts to artificial pitches.

"Playing on an artificial turf allows me to put on my football boots and there is a better feeling due to the softer surface."

However, he lamented about the high prices of renting such facilities.

"As a teenager, I think the prices of artificial turf are not really affordable, even after splitting it among the players."

Mr Huang Jiaming, 34, director of Kick Off!, told TODAY that the growth of venues providing artificial turfs can be attributed to the advancement in technology.

“Although the set-up cost might be higher, but in the long term, it is cheaper as it requires a lot less maintenance. This is why more companies are coming into this business to invest in artificial turf.”

Being a fully sheltered facility, Mr Huang said that people would also rather pay money to reduce the risk of calling off a game due to the bad weather, such as when they have to play outdoors at the hard courts.

“In terms of safety, as parents, I would definitely want my kid to be playing on the (padded) astro turf as compared to a hard soccer court.”

When it comes to safety, investing in the right footwear for football games is important, but that can also mean that parents have to spend more to satiate their children's roving eyes. 

The range can be mind-boggling with new boots being launched frequently. They run the gamut from those made for soft ground, hard ground and “multi-ground” to those for astro turfs or natural grass pitches. 

The fit also depends on the role of the player on the pitch, not to mention that the studs and cleats on the soles of boots matter for performance.

Mr Huang attributed the power of marketing from big sporting brands such as Nike and Adidas as the main contributing factor causing a shift where younger people prefer paying to play on artificial pitches rather than the open-for-all street football courts.

“With children now being exposed more to social media, they see their idols wearing new boot designs and want to emulate them,” Mr Huang said.

Mr Rajesh Mulani, 54, director of The Cage, told TODAY that about a quarter of its customers are youth aged 18 or below.

The company was set up 19 years ago and now operates 12 pitches in total for 5-a-side games at its Kallang and Dempsey locations.

Like Kick Off!, The Cage also offers student-discounted rates, which are around S$69 for a two-hour session during off-peak hours at its Kallang venue, for instance.

Mr Mulani said that playing on a good-quality turf offers shock absorption to the joints, helping to reduce injuries for players.

He also said that Singapore's heat is "uncompromising", so that led him and co-founder Sanjay Danani to design a weather-independent venue to host small-sided games for players.

"We must recognise the impact of our weather on outdoor sports. Heat, rain, lighting — these are real. And it is high time that we, in Singapore, develop our own intelligence in how we design our public spaces to offer sensible shelter systems, which seems to be ignored right now.”

Of the 12 residents who spoke to TODAY, 11 said that the street football courts should still be made available to the young.

As it is, the likelihood remains that children tend to choose to play ball games close to home at the void decks below housing blocks, even though that is not allowed.

Mr Lee the Clementi resident said: “It is good to preserve these hard courts. Not everyone has the privilege to rent astro-turf futsal courts to play.

"Since it is not allowed to play at void decks, street soccer courts give a place for children who likes football to play the sport near their homes.”