Football Association of Singapore

Football Association of Singapore
The Football Association of Singapore (FAS) is the governing body responsible for the administration of football in Singapore. Established in 1892 as the Singapore Football Association (SFA), it is the oldest football association in all of Asia. The FAS is also one of the founding members of both the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF). It has been affiliated with FIFA since 1952.
The FAS oversees the organisation and development of football and advancing the game at all levels in Singapore, and is responsible for all aspects of the amateur and professional game in its territory. This includes its flagship domestic league, the Singapore Premier League (SPL), as well as the men's, women's and youth national football teams. The FAS is headquartered at the Jalan Besar Stadium, located at Kallang.
The FAS also manages the organisation and running of league and cup competitions, the stewardship of international teams, the establishment of youth development, women's football, refereeing and coaching frameworks.
History
The association was also previously known as the Singapore Amateur Football Association (abbreviation: SAFA) on 14 May 1929 before adopting its current name on 13 January 1966.
The FAS council was first appointed by the government in 1968, and has been controlled continually by government appointees for more than three decades from the 1980s to 2015. From 2004 to 2015, its president had been an elected member of the ruling People's Action Party, and was appointed by the Minister for Sports.
In 2015, FIFA requested an end to political appointments of the national body's council members. FAS therefore changed its constitution in 2016 and held general elections for its council members starting from 2017. In response, the FAS also stated that "We have always been in consultation with FIFA over the last 30 years. They are aware of the uniqueness of our situation, and have always given us special dispensation."
As a result in the change of constitution, FAS, on the request of FIFA and its past presidents, held its first election for the FAS council. The election was contested by two teams led by Lim Kia Tong, FAS provisional council president, and Bill Ng, chairman of Hougang United and NFL side, Tiong Bahru FC. The election was held on 29 April 2017 and Lim won the elections.
Youth Development Programmes
National Football Academy
The National Football Academy, commonly referred to as NFA, is a football academy launched by the FAS on 13 August 2000 with the aim of developing Singapore's most promising young footballers. Trainees are scouted through a systematic talent identification process before being given the chance to develop their skills under some of the best youth coaches in the country. With teams at every age level from U-14 to U-18, the NFA co-ordinates the development of young Singaporean footballers at a national level through the domestic league system, international youth tournaments as well as overseas training attachments.
The NFA Under-18 team is made up of promising Singaporean players under the age of 18 and serves as a feeder squad mainly to the Young Lions as well as other clubs in the Singapore Premier League. The FAS enters both the NFA Blues U-17 and NFA Reds U-18 teams in the Prime League, the official reserve league of the Singapore Premier League, to allow their players to gain more exposure and match experience by playing against older and more established players. The NFA U-15 and U-16 teams also participate in the annual Lion City Cup organised by the FAS since 2011.
The NFA has produced many graduates who went on to represent the Singapore national team.
The FAS focuses on football development and operates national age group programmes with U-15, U-16, U-17, U-18 and U-23 teams (known as Young Lions, who compete in the country's professional Singapore Premier League).
All Singapore Premier League clubs have also fully implemented their own programmes for the Under-14s, adding on to the existing U-16s and U-18s program.
Unleash The Roar!
On 9 March 2021, Singapore launched a national football project called Unleash the Roar!, in line with the goal set by the FAS to qualify for the 2034 FIFA World Cup which garnered both praise and criticism from the football fraternity that failed the Goal 2010 project that was first mooted in 1998. Since the start of the project, a total of 12 school football academies have been established, of which two have dedicated programmes for girls. Unleash the Roar! aims to rally Singaporeans, inspire the next generation to create a safe, disciplined and professional sporting ecosystem. This project will provide talented Singaporeans a shot at a professional career at the highest levels of the sport and raise the bar for Singapore’s national football teams. This vision of Unleash the Roar! is based on involvement of government agencies including the Ministry of Culture, Community & Youth (MCCY) and the Ministry of Education (MOE), alongside SportSG, FAS, the football fraternity, corporate Singapore, and Singaporeans.
The project will spark a progression in Singapore’s football ecosystem with clear pathways. This includes increasing children and youth football participation in schools, scouting and development of talented players, enhancing knowledge and skill sets of coaches, and strengthening local professional football league. Players can also look forward to opportunities for training at top football academies as well as subsequently plying their trade at top leagues around the world.
In 2023, Singapore's top footballers aged 13 to 17 to form national youth squads will train at new national football development centre in Kallang
Investments
During the Annual General Meeting (AGM) in September 2016, it was revealed that organising expenses on grassroots competitions like the National Football League (NFL), Island Wide League (IWL) and FA Cup amounted to about $70,000 during the previous financial year from April 2015 to March 2016. This figure which represented a mere 0.2 per cent of the FAS' total annual budget of S$35.8 million sparked disapproval within the local football community with many perceiving it as FAS's lack of regard for grassroots football.
In a press conference on 13 October 2016, FAS vice-president Bernard Tan clarified that the amount did not include prize money and participation fees contributed by the teams counted under the domestic league account.
Funding
In early April 2017, Bill Ng, chairman of SPL club Hougang United and NFL club Tiong Bahru Football Club (TBFC), claimed that he had donated S$850,000 to the FAS with the intention of helping Singapore football, but that the money had gone to the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) instead. The allegations came in the prelude to the first open election of the FAS council.
FAS secretary Winston Lee responded that Ng was aware of where the funds were used, that $200,000 went to the former LionsXII, while $500,000 was used to support the AFF's Football Management System. Lee said that it was former FAS president Zainudin Nordin who asked Ng to donate to the AFF, while Ng disputed the claim. FAS responded with a statement that Ng's allegations of financial impropriety within FAS to damage the credibility of the association was regrettable, and it was unusual that Ng had chosen to hide Zainudin's role in the transaction.
On 20 April 2017, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) raided the FAS headquarters over alleged financial misuse of funds filed by Sport Singapore (formerly known as the Singapore Sports Council). Zainudin Nordin, Winston Lee, Bill Ng and his wife Bonnie Wong, were all arrested before being subsequently released on bail. The four assisted with the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) with the probe into the alleged misuse of funds and obstruction of club audits of TBFC. In September 2021, the CAD in accordance with the Attorney-General announced that they had concluded their investigations and that the individuals involved will not face charges.
Former presidents
Soh Ghee Soon: 1957–1963
Hussein Kumari: 1963–1965
Abu Bakar Pawanchee: 1965–1967
Tay Soo Yong: 1967–1968
Woon Wah Siang: 1968
Lenny Rodrigo: 1968–1971
NSPB / SSC: 1971–1974
R.B.I. Pates: 1974–1976
N. Ganesan: 1976–1982
Teo Chong Tee: 1982–1988
Abbas Abu Amin: 1988–1991
Hsu Tse-Kwang: 1991–1994
Ibrahim Othman: 1994–1999
Mah Bow BakChang: 1999–2004
Ho Peng San: 2004–2009
Zainudin Nordin: 2009–2016
Lim Kia Tong: 2017–2022
Bernard Tan: 2022-present(Interim)
Council members
FAS Tournaments
Singapore Premier League
FAS National Football League (2 Divisions)
FAS Island Wide League
FAS Women's Premier League
FAS Women's National League
FAS Affiliates 2023
Singapore Premier League Clubs
Albirex Niigata (S)
Balestier Khalsa
DPMM FC
Geylang International
Home United
Hougang United
Tampines Rovers
Warriors FC
Gombak United (sit-out club)
Tanjong Pagar United (sit-out club)
FAS National Football League Clubs
Academy Junior Football
Admiralty CSC
Admiralty FC
Balestier United RC
Bishan Barx
Eunos Crescent
GFA Sporting Westlake
GFA Victoria
Gymkhana FC
Jungfrau Punggol
Kaki Bukit SC
Katong FC
Kembangan United
Police Sports Association
SAFSA
Siglap FC
Singapore Cricket Club
Singapore Khalsa Association
South Avenue SC
Starlight Soccerities
Tiong Bahru FC
Yishun Sentek Mariners
Warwick Knights FC
Singapore M-League/M-Cup Team (The Lions)
Former national players
Notable Former National Players – Singapore National Football Team
Eric Paine (1968–1978)
Fandi Ahmad (1978–1982, 1993–1999)
Au-Yeong Pak Kuan (1979-1985, 1988–1989)
Kadir Yahya (1993–1999)
Lim Tong Hai (1992–1994)
David Lee (1978–1994)
Zulkarnaen Zainal (1994)
Mohd Rafi Ali (1993–94)
Nazri Nasir (1988–1994)
Malek Awab (1980–1987, 1993–1994)
K. Kannan (1980–1988, 1992)
Razali Saad (1988–1994)
Jefri Rahmat (1988–1994)
D. Tokijan (1985–1991)
Borhan Abu Samah (1985–1991, 1993–1994)
Syed Faruk (1988–1994)
Steven Tan (1993–1994)
Lee Man Hon (1994)
V Selvaraj (1994)
Terry Pathmanathan (1978–1992)
Abdul Malek (1980–1993)
Hasnim Haron
Zulkifli Kartoyoho
Azhar Yusope
Quah Brothers
Dollah Kassim
V. Sundramoorthy
Aide Iskandar
Yahya Madon (1984–1994)
Notable Singapore referee
List of Singaporean referee that makes headlines overseas being involved in either FIFA or AFC tournaments:
George Suppiah
K. Visvanathan
Shamsul Maidin
Jeffrey Goh
Abdul Malik Abdul Bashir
Singaporean players that joined Overseas club
List of Singaporean players that plays in overseas countries:
Trials and transfer rumours doesn't count
Players that play in LionsXII previously doesn't count
Youth career doesn't count
In bold mean is currently playing overseas
See also
Singapore national football team
Singapore Premier League
Singapore Cup
Singapore League Cup
Singapore Community Shield
Kallang Roar the Movie
Notes
References
External links
Singapore at AFC site
Singapore at FIFA website
Singapore
Football in Singapore
1892 establishments in Singapore
1952 establishments in Singapore
Sports governing bodies in Singapore
Sports organizations established in 1892
Singapore