Singapore is a tiny country—most Singaporeans know that we’re often referred to affectionately as the “little red dot”.
Naturally, then, all our developments and infrastructure aim to optimise our usage of space, including our football stadium nestled in a busy mall, Our Tampines Hub.
For us, these features seem normal, but to a YouTuber from the UK, it all felt out of the ordinary, and he dubbed the stadium the “world’s weirdest stadium” in a Youtube video.
Flew 10,000km To Watch Football Here
Singapore isn’t exactly known for its booming football scene—even locals hardly pay attention to it.
UK YouTuber Sam, though, who owns a channel called Footy Adventures, was apparently enough a die-hard fan of the game that he travelled 10,000 kilometres to watch a football game here.
The match that he was raving to see was a Singapore Premier League match, between Geylang International and Hougang United.
A ticket to see it cost him $15, and he made his way to the stadium after having a 7-11 breakfast on the big day.
Weirded Out By The Stadium
If you’ve ever been to Our Tampines Hub, you’d be aware that the mall is huge (to say the least), and the layout is, well, complicated.
The mall doesn’t just house a stadium, but also a library, a running track, retail places, gardens, a pool, auditoriums… the list goes on.
Sam was also confused by the sheer size of the mall, and had to (understandably) refer to a map to help him locate the stadium.
When he finally found his way there, he was astounded by the running track that wrapped around the upper level of the stadium, and marvelled that there were still people running there.
He toured the eco-garden next, and commented that the sun was setting beautifully.
“It’s still really hot, though,” he said, a sentiment that most of us no doubt share.
However, the heat only served to momentarily direct his attention from the “weird” stadium, and his commentary quickly returned to that topic.
“I didn’t realise quite how bizarre and fascinating the stadium would actually be,” he said, while strolling around the rooftop garden.
He also noted that viewers from the mall could watch the game for free at certain locations as well—no need for a 15-dollar ticket.
And then, it was time for the game.
Sam headed down to the stands, a green wristband wrapped around his hand.
He managed to catch one of the players before the game, and had a short interview with him.
Before the game commenced, Sam found his seat at the stands, and conversed with other spectators.
During the game, he was astounded by the fact that people were “still going around the running track up there”, who were basically getting to watch the game for free.
He noted that there were also people in the mall itself actually watching the game for free, at certain points where the field was completely visible.
“There’s like, 15, 20, people just [standing] there watching the match for free,” he commented.
To be fair, Singapore’s football scene probably does need some promotion to the public.