The commercial draw of the English Premier League is well documented and no where is its appeal more evident than in Asia, particularly south-east Asia. But is this merely a passing affection for one successful team before switching allegiances to the next successful one? Swap the red of United or Arsenal for the blue of City or Chelsea. This is the general perception and is, in fact, quite a common occurrence. So what happens when a team that has had very limited success over the past 30 years visits this part of the world? More to the point, what happens when it’s Tottenham Hotspur – a name that kindles joyful memories for the older generation of football fans but means very little to anyone under 30?
As I boarded the flight from Hong Kong to Kuala Lumpur I looked around at my fellow passengers hoping to spot someone wearing a Spurs shirt. Perhaps under their business shirts they were sporting the latest home shirt. But nobody on board was, and I settled down to the flight feeling somewhat disappointed and wondering why I was making such an effort to see my team play in a meaningless exhibition match.
But that feeling rapidly changed to one of excitement the moment I touched down in KL. The immigration officer, upon seeing my shirt, asked if I had come for the match and welcomed me to Malaysia. Not the usual welcome for a football fan! A flight from Bangkok had landed just before and the arrivals hall was full of Thai Spurs fans. The excitement in the air was palpable. It was a quick trip into town to check in to my hotel and then meet up with a group of Singapore Spurs fans for pre-match dinner and drinks. This idea, however, was quickly scuppered when we discovered the stadium was miles from anywhere and that a taxi would take about 2 hours to get there.
We piled into a taxi and got chatting to the driver, a Liverpool fan. After a bit of gentle ribbing about Liverpool’s drubbing at the hands of Stoke, we offered him a ticket for the game. A quick call to his wife to say he would be home late and, bingo, we had a driver for the whole of the evening. He sat with us in the stadium and I’m sure the atmosphere generated by the Spurs fans left a lasting impression on him. Perhaps the red of Liverpool has already been replaced by the lilywhite of Tottenham!
Shah Alam stadium is huge. It has a capacity of 80,000 but it was very clear that the stadium would not even be half full for the game. A group of Malaysian fans had been campaigning in the weeks leading up to the game for a boycott. They felt that the national team should not be involved in such ‘exhibition’ games and should focus on qualifying for the World Cup. I could see their point but, nonetheless, if felt good to be on the point of seeing my team in the flesh again after their visit to Hong Kong in 2013.
Outside the stadium, large groups of Spurs fans were singing away. Supporters groups had come from all over Asia for the chance of seeing Harry Kane and company. It was so much fun hearing the usual repertoire of Spurs songs being sung in a variety of regional accents. These fans were not glory hunters but had, for one reason or other, chosen Spurs as their team, and they were just as fanatical about the club as anyone from N17 would be.
Inside the stadium, a huge number of Spurs fans had gathered by the halfway line. Down near the front, the Thai contingent was making a lot of noise. Just behind them, sat the Malaysian Spurs fans – a truly multicultural group of Malays, Chinese, Indian and Westerners. Over to my right stood the Indonesian Spurs – by far the loudest group with a variety of songs in both English and Indonesian. I sat together with a large group of Singapore Spurs fans who were extremely well organised but more subdued than the other groups. And then there was a small but very noisy group from Hong Kong that led the crowd in much of the singing. It was amazing to see and hear the support for Tottenham Hotspur. And the people around were not aged in their 50s or 60s who could remember fondly the silky skills of Glenn Hoddle and co. These were young people who had never seen Spurs win anything, apart from the league cup a few years ago. What made it even more incredible was the fans’ commitment to the team. Not only were they wearing all manner of Spurs-related clothing, they were highly knowledgeable about the club and the current crop of players.
The game was played in unbearably humid conditions with Spurs running out 2 – 1 winners. Both goals were scored, naturally, by Harry Kane. Hearing the crowd sing ‘he’s one of our own’ was quite surreal. The trip back to the city centre was much faster than the one there. The warm glow of seeing Spurs play and win was felt by all. This was football as it should be – supporting a team not because they win trophy after trophy, though that would be nice, but supporting them because it’s in one’s blood and we’re all linked together for better or worse as Spurs fans. The trip had been worth it and the experience memorable. And, as the song goes, it really was the Tottenham boys (and girls) making all the noise.
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Images courtesy of Malaysia Spurs, Tottenham Hotspurs