As Taiwan’s mens team gears up for the visit of Thailand, when the crowd get to the stadium in Kaohsiung on October 14th, they will be watching something besides the football; cheerleaders.

According to the Chinese Taipei FA’s instagram account, the game will feature the hard launch of its cheer squad similar to what can be found at other sporting events in Taiwan, most notably baseball.

The announcement was met with mixed reactions online, with some welcoming it as an upbeat addition to the match going experience. Others have more critical, noting that cheerleaders don’t work within the continuous flow of a football game and that upgrading the domestic league should be more of a priority.

The squad, dubbed ‘Baby Tanuki’, has been in development for about a month now. Taiwan’s sports landscape has been overwhelmed by the fan enthusiasm for cheerleaders. Indeed, anyone who has attended a baseball game at the Taipei Dome or elsewhere in the CPBL can testify to the noise these crews can help generate. League wide attendance have also increased as a result.

That being said, it is unclear if a cheer team will work within the flow of a football game. But given that sport does not have the popularity in Taiwan that it enjoys elsewhere, the CTFA has clearly decided to give it a shot.