When contacted, the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) said earlier this week that an official page was in the works and would be announced at a later date, and directed me to the official FAS website, where there are news postings on the LionsXII.

Yet, even on the official FAS site, the LionsXII do not have their own section, which may be confusing to someone searching for more information on the team.

It said in a reply to The Straits Times Online: 'We are in the midst of working on a new website for the LionsXII and an official announcement will be made when the website goes 'live'. However, we have been updating LionsXII content on the FAS website since the team was unveiled on the 5th of December 2011.'

Surely, an online presence would've been somewhere high up the list of promotional efforts right from the start? After all, the agreement for a Singapore team to re-enter the Malaysian Super League was signed on July 12, 2011. The official team name - LionsXII - was then announced on Dec 5. There was more than enough time to set up a website after July 2011, and then finetune the domain name from December.

When setting up The Straits Times Online's Big Story section on Singapore's return to Malaysian football last week, I turned to Google to gather more information. My first query was for 'LionsXII official page', and the anticipation filled me as I wondered what to expect, especially after all the hype that had been built up.

The results came in: the FAS website, Wikipedia, the official webpage of the Asean Football Federation, Hardwarezone forums...you get the idea. Thinking that the FAS website made the most logical choice to source for information, I clicked the first link and waited for the page to load. And there they were, posts on the LionsXII under the FAS headlines.

Even if the FAS website is now the temporary 'home' of the LionsXII, what stands out is that there isn't even a dedicated section named after the LionsXII. I checked the National Teams sections, thinking perhaps that they might have slotted it near the Under 23 team, but there was no sight of a LionsXII category (see the screenshot below).

Screenshot of the FAS' national teams page

Eventually, though, I found a Facebook page for the LionsXII, which as of now, has about 5,200 fans.

Not a bad start for a young team, but it didn't seem to give the LionsXII the wider online presence they deserve, given that Singapore was returning after a 17-year hiatus from this tournament.

Screenshot of the LionsXII Facebook page

Having a Facebook page is a good option, but it leaves out those who don't use the social network on a regular basis. The Facebook fan page has reach, but not like that of a website with statistics and player profiles.

I fondly remember many nights I spent as a kid, listening to live radio commentaries on the Malaysia Cup matches. It was something I picked up from my mother, who hasn't as yet been convinced that she should set up a Facebook account (indeed, convincing her to let me keep a dog in the house was much easier).

I'm sure there are 'Malaysia Cup fans' like her, who, while knowing how to use the Internet, have not taken residence in Mark Zuckerberg's land.

On Twitter, the FAS said it has been monitoring activity regarding the LionsXII, and will assess the situation before making a decision regarding an official account.

It added: 'But fans are more than encouraged to do all they can for the team on all social media platforms available as the LionsXII team is about the fans and for the fans.'

Personally, I feel that a delayed LionsXII website was a missed opportunity to attract more fans before the start of the Malaysian Super League season. This is actually a wide group - fans from a generation which has grown up without the Malaysia Cup fever, and fans from an older generation that grew up without Facebook.

Hopefully, the extra time the FAS has before launching the official LionsXII website, means that the fans will get an official site that reflects their contributions, and allows them to share in the team's campaign from across the globe.

Suggestions for a Lions XII website

Fans of the LionsXII, what features would you hope to see in a website for the LionsXII? Do you know of any fan sites for the LionsXII that you feel the official site should match up to? Share your thoughts with us at stonline@sph.com.sg under the heading 'LionsXII Website Suggestions' or at our Facebook page.

Visit the Big Story on Singapore's return to Malaysian football