Watch any one of this fan’s vlogs of a Lion City Sailors game and you might just want to experience it for yourself
Lion City Sailors fan Aiman Rifqi in the stands of Jalan Besar Stadium. PHOTO: FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION OF SINGAPORE
At every Lion City Sailors game, you’ll most likely spot Aiman Rifqi decked out in the club’s colours, with his GoPro in hand, giving all his energy and support to his favourite team.
The 22 year-old has been supporting the Lion City Sailors since 2015, when they were formerly known as Home United Football Club* and he was invited to join a football clinic hosted by them.
*We note that Lion City Sailors prefer to be known as a new club without a prior affiliation to Home United, but this is taken from the context of a fan, with many still relating to the club in that way.
“Immediately after the first clinic, we got to watch the club play against Geylang International at Jalan Besar stadium. Although they lost 1- 0, they won my heart and I grew to love Singapore Football immediately after that memorable day.”
He then joined the supporters group for Home United in 2018 and continued to be a loyal supporter of the club even after a change of ownership and name to Lion City Sailors in 2020.
“They mean so much to me as they have made a statement and changed the view of local football in Singapore.”
Aiman at the bottom left of the photo holding his trusty GoPro. PHOTO: FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION OF SINGAPORE
“I was there when there were only less than a hundred fans watching the game, and to see how the amount of fans have increased to thousands really amazes me and I’m very proud to say that I was truly there for my favourite local club through the highs and lows. They will always hear me roar regardless if we win, lose or draw!”
Aiman was inspired by other YouTubers he follows to start his own channel and make a name for himself in the YouTube community by combining his love and passion for content creation and football.
After a few series changes, equipment upgrades, and coming out of the pandemic, Aiman has finally settled into his element with the Lion City Sailors Adventure vlogs.
“It was a rough start, but with each video, the quality became better and I was being myself the most through these vlogs which resulted in casual viewers enjoying my vlogs as they were seeing a unique supporter of local football.”
Aiman with a fellow Lion City Sailors fan at Jalan Besar Stadium. PHOTO: AIMAN RIFQI YOUTUBE CHANNEL
Aiman manages his content and channel by himself. He can spend up to a week producing and editing a Lion City Sailors Adventure vlog while matchday videos take more time due the size of the video.
He also has a strong support system with his family and friends encouraging and advising him when he needs it.
Through his videos, he hopes to contribute as much as he can to Singapore football.
He described being able to witness the roar of his fellow Lion City Sailors supporters, and also being able to replay and relive the games through his vlogs as some of the highlights of producing the content that he does.
Bringing the cheers into Jalan Besar Stadium. PHOTO: AIMAN RIFQI YOUTUBE CHANNEL
“It gives me the chills when almost thousands of supporters clap and sing along to the chants and it makes me feel emotional that we are able to build something amazing like this.”
Another highlight for Aiman is being approached by fans of his channel.
“It’s amazing to find out that people enjoy the vlogs and that some even try to come to these games because they want to experience the same passion that I have for local football.”
Aiman Rifqi cheering on the Sailors from the stands of Jalan Besar Stadium. PHOTO: FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION OF SINGAPORE
While Aiman feels that the football culture has improved in Singapore in the past few years, he also hopes to see more new fans in the spectator stands watching and supporting the AIA Singapore Premier League and our new generation of football players.
“Young stars like Nur Adam Abdullah, Nicky Melvin Singh, Iman Hakim, Ong Yu En & Hilman Norhisam are not to be missed, they will be representing our country in the foreseeable future and I want everyone to witness their journey to the top. Other than that, I am grateful that I get to witness such an amazing change of view to local football and I hope it continues on.”