MCCY unveils plans for sport sector in Singapore

• Surge in bookings for sports facilities in Phase 2 of re-opening

• SportSG to continue engaging sports sector to support recovery of sector

• Future sport centres in Punggol and Bishan/Toa Payoh on track

1. The Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) has unveiled broad plans to resume more activities for Singaporeans, support the recovery of our sports sector, and bring more innovative sports facilities closer to Singaporeans.

More sports activities will resume with safe management measures in place

2. Latest statistics from Sport Singapore’s (SportSG) National Sports Participation Survey show that Singaporeans have been taking part more regularly in sport, from 54% in 2015 to 66% last year. In the first quarter of 2020, amid global concerns over the spread of COVID-19, Singaporeans took ownership of their health and wellness, with regular sports participation reaching a high of 73%.

3. During the “Circuit Breaker” months of April and May, regular sports participation dipped as programmes were suspended and facilities closed. Despite these challenges, more than half of those surveyed continued to stay active, at public open spaces and through online fitness classes and exercise videos. Those who became more active during this period reported that exercise significantly helped their mental well-being; they felt less anxiety and had more energy, compared to those who became less active during the same period.

4. With sports facilities re-opening and programmes resuming under Phase 2 (Safe Transition), Singaporeans were eager to go back to their pre-Circuit Breaker exercise routines. SportSG received over 20,000 online bookings for slots in the first three days of Phase 2 re-opening at our ActiveSG swimming complexes, gyms and badminton courts.

5. As more sports activities resume, Singaporeans are advised to follow SportSG’s advisory and practice safe distancing. Sports facilities will also need to implement and adhere to prevailing safe management measures, to facilitate an orderly and safe restart across the sports sector. SportSG will continue to review and revise its advisories in response to the evolving situation.

Support measures for sports sector to overcome COVID-19

6. COVID-19 has caused much disruption around the world, including Singapore’s sports sector. MCCY and SportSG have reached out to over 500 companies and over 10,000 sports sector freelancers in recent months to better understand their challenges. These series of engagements were conducted with the aim of refining sector-specific measures for sports stakeholders, in addition to the broad-based support in the Government’s Unity, Resilience, Solidarity and Fortitude Budgets.

7. SportSG has put together a package of measures worth about $23 million. The package includes the Enterprise Innovation & Capability Grant, Active Enabler Programme, creation of Temporary Jobs, ActiveSG Circle and other digital content initiatives, as well as training opportunities.

8. To date, SportSG has received 13 applications for the $3 million Enterprise Innovation and Capability Grant, which supports businesses in the sport sector to adopt digital solutions and deepen their digital capabilities.

9. SportSG will continue to organise GetActive! Singapore this year, but in a modified format. Through GetActive! Singapore’s Active Enabler Programme, SportSG is supporting ground-up proposals for digital content and virtual activities that promote an active lifestyle. SportSG has since approved more than 200 applications and has committed about $2 million in grants. This will enable us to celebrate National Day through sport safely.

10. SportSG has created more than 900 temporary jobs for sports sector professionals whose livelihoods have been affected. This is an expansion from  the initial batch of 500 jobs where the majority of the positions have been filled for sports centres, as well as more specialised roles in the ActiveSG Academies and Clubs, High Performance Sports and digital development.

11. SportSG has been working closely with coaches and instructors through CoachSG by directly commissioning them to provide services and create content which can be hosted online. In this way, SportSG is supplementing their income while expanding their reach to audiences through SportSG’s digital platforms. One such digital platform is the ActiveSG Circle, which serves as a virtual sports centre for the industry to create content for all things sport. To date, more than 250 Self-Employed Persons and 75 businesses have come on board the Circle. Since its launch in April 2020, ActiveSG Circle has received more than 10 million views.

12. SportSG is also planning to offer more than 400 capability development courses by the end of the year so that coaches, instructors and others in the sports sector will have sufficient opportunities to skill-up and raise their game. Come 4Q 2020, CoachSG will have an online learning platform for education, training and development. For coaches requiring financial assistance to upgrade their coaching knowledge and skills, SportSG is setting aside $100,000 to enhance the Coach Development Grant, up from $30,000 in the previous years. Coaches registered under the National Registry of Coaches can tap on the Grant, with SportSG providing subsidies of up to 75%.

13. Emerging from Circuit Breaker, SportSG will continue to engage sports stakeholders to support the sector’s recovery and build a more resilient sports sector.

Future sports centres in Punggol and Bishan/Toa Payoh

14. Over the longer term, the Government will continue to invest in sports programmes and infrastructure, with an annual investment of about $400 million toward sports and sports development in Singapore.

15. MCCY and SportSG will continue to develop new public sports facilities and upgrade existing ActiveSG facilities under the Sports Facilities Master Plan. The long-term plans for sports infrastructure remain on track. Construction for Punggol Regional Sport Centre (RSC) will commence as soon as it is possible. Upon completion, the Punggol RSC will comprise a large variety of sports facilities: a 5,000-seater football stadium, a swimming complex with five pools, an indoor sports hall with 20 badminton courts, a team sports hall with three convertible basketball courts, a gym, a fitness studio, sheltered tennis and futsal courts, a water activity centre, as well as an archery training centre. This new RSC will also be adjoined to the SAFRA clubhouse, where there will be a wider range of facilities and offerings for all.

16. Residents in Bishan and Toa Payoh can also look forward to a new integrated development comprising a sport centre, polyclinic, library and town park. To be developed over the next 10 years, the Toa Payoh Integrated Development will be a multi-agency collaboration led by SportSG, with the Ministry of Health, National Library Board and National Parks Board.

17. These two new developments will bring us closer to our goal of bringing more innovative sports facilities closer to Singaporeans.

Media Contacts

Edward Poh
Corporate Communications Division
Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth
Email: Edward_Poh@mccy.gov.sg 
Tel: 6977 9173

Sharizan Nakmin
Corporate Communications Division
Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth
Email: Sharizan_Nakmin@mccy.gov.sg 
Tel: 6977 9186