Working in partnership to develop local football

Question

Mr Ganesh Rajaram: To ask the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth how can SportSG work with the Football Association of Singapore to improve the quality of local football, the attendance at S League matches and Singapore's position in the FIFA World Rankings which has been declining.

Response

1. Minister Grace Fu: Sport Singapore (SportSG) works in partnership with National Sports Associations (NSAs), including the Football Association of Singapore (FAS), to develop their sports. SportSG brings to the table, the provision of training facilities, technical expertise for High Performance Sports (HPS), an extensive network of members for grassroots development, and funding support.  Starting this year, Tote Board is channelling its funding for FAS through SportSG.

2. As with other NSAs, FAS is required to submit to SportSG its multi-year strategic plans for the sport, so that the plans, including desired outcomes, can be discussed and agreed upon. The plans will include areas such as youth and coaching development, community outreach and participation, as well as football excellence which includes the review of the S League. 

3. SportSG is collaborating with FAS to develop football in Singapore, as seen in the recent merger of the FAS Cubs programme with the ActiveSG Football Academy in March to encourage more youth participation in football. The Ministry hopes to see an effective partnership between SportSG and FAS in developing local football and improving the performance of our national team.