Collaborating together to successfully host the AFF Suzuki Cup during the COVID-19 pandemic

FAS President, Mr Lim Kia Tong,
FAS Council members, 
Ladies and gentlemen,

1. A very good afternoon to one and all. First of all, congratulations on the successful completion of the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Suzuki Cup 2020! This is the first time since 1996 that Singapore has hosted the tournament in its entirety – all 26 matches from the group stage to the finals – a feat that was made especially tough by Covid-19 over the past few years. Everyone here had a part to play in making this happen, so before anything else, I would like to invite you to join me in a big round of applause for the resounding success of the AFF Suzuki Cup.

Impact of hosting the AFF Suzuki Cup

2. In these times, when coming together is challenging, the AFF Suzuki Cup played an important role in bringing not just the country but also the region together, with Singapore playing host to teams from our nine neighbouring countries for over a month. The sense of pride among Singaporeans was palpable as spectators cheered for their teams in the stadiums and in front of screens.

3. The AFF Suzuki Cup was the largest in-person gathering since the pandemic started in 2020. Over 100,000 spectators were at the matches across the 30-day period, which translated to approximately 10,000 spectators per match day at the National Stadium and many others at Bishan Stadium. To achieve this safely was an immense undertaking and the tournament would undoubtedly be a memorable one both for fans and players alike.

4. What really struck me – and I'm sure it's the same for many of you as well, as mentioned by Kia Tong too – was our Lions' performance in the second leg of the semi-finals. The way the players played and gave everything they had, their commitment and never-say-die attitude, the way they played at the pitch really inspired the nation and inspired me, and I'm sure many of us as well. And we stood firmly behind them as fans in solidarity, through their high and low points throughout the tournament. This outpouring of support for our players was very gratifying to see.

5. And though that time we only had about 20 percent of the stadium capacity, many of you would agree with me that our Lions brought back the roar at the National Stadium. It is moments like this that highlight the power of sports in bringing people together, which is why we want Singaporeans to fall in love with Singapore football again and be proud of it! This has certainly been inspirational for many of our younger generation of footballers to forge their way to success, including those who will be commencing their training and development in the School Football Academies (SFA) that we have recently set up. I hope we can build on this momentum and continue to work together to ensure the success of Unleash the Roar! (UTR), and support our national football teams in future tournaments, such as the upcoming Hanoi SEA Games in May.

Tribute to the frontliners and appreciation for workforce and volunteers

6. “Emerging Stronger Together”, the tagline for the AFF Suzuki Cup 2020, is an apt homage to the frontliners who had tirelessly worked throughout the course of the pandemic and are even now still hard at work so that we as a community, as a society, as one Singapore can move forward and emerge stronger.

7. One of the biggest concerns for the tournament, naturally, was how to ensure the safety of the players, officials, organising workforce, as well as the spectators and fans. Given the scale of the event, it took months of meticulous planning, as well as seamless collaboration between multiple agencies and stakeholders for the tournament to have been successfully carried out.

8. A big thank you goes out to the FAS for driving the tournament forward and for making sure that things went the way they should every step of the way. President Kia Tong and General Secretary Yazeen's leadership as Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson of the LOC was certainly indispensable in organising an event of such scale. Thank you too, to the LOC's Functional Areas ICs Tina Saw, Jonathan Wong, Gerard Christopher, Aloysius Vetha, and Fabian Chew for your hard work in leading the respective teams to ensure that the key functional areas ran smoothly.

9. I would also like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to the team of nearly 300 workforce staff and over 200 volunteers who worked so hard to put up a good show for the Lions and for Singapore.  Morales Menon from the FAS is one of the many who had gone the extra mile to ensure that the visiting teams felt welcomed and at home, here in Singapore. Throughout the tournament, Morales worked very closely with hotels to accommodate the teams' requests; from usage of hotel facilities to customised menus for differing tastebuds. He says though, that he couldn't have done it alone, and would like to give a shout-out to his FAS colleagues who have supported him in his role as team lead for accommodations: Abdul Malik, Sukhbir Singh, Taqi, Sakthi, Gerard Christopher, and Eric Ong.   All of you have shown the same fighting spirit and resilience as our Lions on the pitch to overcome obstacles and ensured that all participants and spectators, especially our foreign guests, feel safe and welcomed. You have been absolutely essential in making sure the AFF Suzuki Cup 2020 was a resounding success.

10. Our successful hosting of the AFF Suzuki Cup has given us invaluable lessons and experience in organising large scale sports events during the pandemic. It has also enhanced Singapore's standing and reputation in the world, and showed them that we are ready and that we have the capability to host large scale sports events safely and successfully. To the FAS, workforce and volunteers – you have played a key role in our efforts to bring back vibrancy to our sporting ecosystem as we emerge stronger together from the pandemic.

11. Thank you very much, and I hope you enjoy the rest of the afternoon!