SINGAPORE - The passion a football fan has for his or her club is sometimes hard to explain. But a recent poll, commissioned by Expedia Group and conducted by OnePoll in February and released on Wednesday (June 10), has shed some light on this love affair.
Of the 1,000 Singaporean fans aged 18 and above in the survey, 53 per cent said they supported the team that was successful during their childhood while 32 per cent of respondents said they would support a team because they liked their kit.
For Republic Polytechnic student, Raymond Tan, 20, it was all about the childhood heroes that made him stay loyal to Manchester United.
"Growing up watching legends like Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes played a part in me being a fan of the club and even after I grow up, I stayed loyal because of the impact that these players brought when they were playing for the club."
Another factor was family influence. Almost a third, or 29 per cent, of those surveyed said they were fans of a club because someone in their family - usually their father - was already a supporter.
Rahul Harminder, 21, is a Reds fan thanks to his dad.
"I don't exactly remember when I was a Liverpool supporter but when I saw myself in photos as an infant, I saw that I was already covered with Liverpool merchandise so my father does have an influence on me being a Liverpool fan," he said.
The report also found that 66 per cent of respondents had attended their first live football match before the age of 18, with 21 per cent experiencing a live game between the age of 10 to 12.
More than half (54 per cent) of those interviewed said they would take their children out of school to watch their favourite team play in a major final, like the Champions League.
Expedia's Asia-Pacific head of communications Lavinia Rajaram said: "Travelling to their favourite football team's stadium to watch a live match is every fan's dream.
"With football matches now being played behind closed doors without the physical presence of fans and spectators, fans can instead recreate the match day atmosphere at home and enjoy quality time watching live football matches on TV with the family."
