SINGAPORE — The ASEAN Super League (ASL) may have been tipped to be a game-changer in football in the region when it is launched next year, with its organising committee — which comes under the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) -— insisting that it will be a strong and competitive event that will produce exciting, high-level football action for fans.

However, Football Malaysia Limited Liability Partnership (FMLLP) chief executive officer Kevin Ramalingam is not convinced that the ASL will be as successful as its proponents claim it will be.

The 40-year-old Malaysian, whose company was set up by the Football Association of Malaysia and international media rights company MP & Silva to manage the Malaysian Super and Premier Leagues, and the Malaysia and FA Cups, when they are privatised next year, reckons that the ASL is at risk of being plagued by poor crowds and that a number of its teams will struggle to sign top local players.

In town last week for the Sports Matters conference, Ramalingam told TODAY: “I hope it’s successful, but it looks like a massive challenge. It is not going to be as straightforward as the organisers think it would be.”

According to media reports, the ASL will kick off with 18 teams early next year with one representative from each South-east Asian nation, while countries such as Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia could field up to two teams. Ramalingam said it will take several years for the newly formed ASL clubs to build up a strong fan base, compared to clubs in Malaysia and the Thai Premier League which already enjoy strong fan support.

“(ASL) clubs will build its fan base slowly but how long will this take, and whether the ASL will be seen as attractive if it continues as three or four years with very minimal fans going into the stadium, is the challenge,” said Ramalingam.

Although the ASL organising committee recently said there will be rules to ensure that participating clubs will be strong teams with top players, Ramalingam reckons they will face challenges in trying to sign top local players, particularly in Malaysia and Thailand, where top footballers are offered attractive pay packages.

Based on recent Malaysian reports, the likes of Malaysian internationals Safee Sali and Safiq Rahim, who play for Johor Darul Takzim, and Norshahrul Idlan Talaha (Terengganu), earn between RM40,000 (S$13,000) and RM80,000 per month, while Thailand’s top footballers reportedly draw monthly salaries of between US$10,000 (S$14,300) to US$20,000.

Some countries may not be willing to send their top teams to compete as well. Ramalingam said he has heard talk that the Thai club being mooted is a mid-table one (Port FC) in the TPL, and that the Malaysian club is an U-18 team by private football academy Frenz United.

Debunking claims that all the AFF members are united in their support for the ASL, Ramalingam added: “The general consensus is a domestic league season in Malaysia, or anywhere else in the ASEAN region, cannot sustain or support any other competition, calendar-wise.

“If the ASL withdraws all the best players from our leagues, and put them to another league that is run separately where the income from the league doesn’t support the local system, I fear that the other leagues will have the same problem as the S-League, where the players (Lions XII) have been removed to play in another league (MSL) ... The S-League is struggling.”

Former Singapore international John Wilkinson, who also turned out for Thailand’s Insee Police United in 2011, echoed the sentiment. He told TODAY: “On paper, the ASL sounds like an exciting idea, and if marketed well, it could be good. But at this point, I am not sold by it. I don’t see why top players in the ASEAN region, who are already earning well, want to leave and go to the ASL.

“The ASL may be more of a draw for Singapore players. The top Singapore players can do with extra money at the moment, and it could also be good exposure for them playing regional teams on a regular basis.”