SINGAPORE — The Singapore Sevens is not expected to draw a full house at the National Stadium when it makes its return to Singapore next year (April 16-17) after a 10-year absence, but Giles Morgan, HSBC’s global head of sponsorship and events, believes that the tournament, which is sponsored by the bank, can grow to become as popular and iconic as the Hong Kong Sevens.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Sports Matters conference at Marina Bay Sands yesterday, Morgan said: “(For a successful first season in Singapore), certainly we want to get attendance (to be) as high as possible. It is not going to be a sell-out … But we want (to build) a very strong base (in the) first year,” he said.

Singapore Rugby Union (SRU) officials are targeting crowds of up to 25,000 next year. However, in order to get locals to pack the 55,000-capacity stadium in the near future, Morgan feels the SRU needs to promote the game to schools and the grassroots.

That is why HSBC, which also sponsors the Hong Kong Sevens, will support initiatives by the SRU to popularise the sport here.

On Monday, the SRU announced an eight-month-long outreach campaign, which includes introducing a simplified version of rugby to more than 140,000 students in primary and secondary schools.

The Singapore leg will also need to take other targeted approaches to make it a family-friendly event, said Morgan. “We want to see strong grassroots programmes in schools, and education programmes about Sevens … After year three, I want to see the graph just go up in terms of attendance and talk among people who say, this is where I want to bring my family for two days of matches.”

Singapore is the eighth stop on the 10-leg World Rugby Sevens Series, and the two-day event is expected to cost up to S$8 million to organise. It was first held in Singapore in 2002, and then from 2004 to 2006, at the old National Stadium and drew crowds of about 16,000.

Morgan feels the event has the potential to become as popular as the Hong Kong Sevens.

“The planning is really starting now with the SRU to see how it (Singapore Sevens) can be brought to life, and become one of the most exciting Sevens stops, particularly for the ASEAN region,” he said.

“But we have to be realistic. It is a new tournament, and things don’t just happen overnight. Hong Kong has been at it for 40 years. The first Hong Kong Sevens was not a sell-out event but they’ve built the event (up).

“(Singapore Sevens will grow) with the appetite that the Singapore Government and the SRU have (to grow the event). I have always been very taken by how positive and supportive Singapore is as a city to sport ... It is very easy to just have exhibition matches, but something like the Sevens, the (F1) Grand Prix, and the HSBC Women’s Champions — these are all real events with top people in the world competing. That is very attractive to us.”