Youth football development in Singapore’s sporting ecosystem

2591. Mr Alex Yam Ziming: To ask the Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth (a) whether Sport Singapore and the Football Association of Singapore have studied the youth football development models of countries such as Norway, which emphasise broad participation, volunteer coaching and delaying early talent specialisation; and (b) what lessons, if any, are applicable to Singapore’s sporting ecosystem.

Response:

1. We regularly study youth football development models from around the world, including Norway, and work to adapt best practices to suit Singapore’s context.

2. The Norwegian football system’s emphasis on broad participation is a principle that Singapore embraces. Through Unleash the Roar!, our national project for youth football development, we are making football more accessible through initiatives like our School Football Academies and ActiveSG Football Academies. Together with other private football academies, these provide opportunities for young Singaporeans to play football regularly.

3. At the same time, in recognition that children develop at different paces, we complement broad participation with structured pathways for youths with interest and potential. The Singapore Youth League also plays a key role in this regard, supporting more than 6,000 youth footballers aged 7 to 19, who play and compete an average of 30 matches a year.

4. Norway’s success also reflects its place within Europe’s highly competitive football ecosystem, where players with potential can progress into some of the world’s leading professional leagues. While Singapore does not have the benefit of being embedded in such an ecosystem, UTR! provides overseas training opportunities and scholarships with partner clubs to expose our top players to stronger competitive environments, including in Europe and the United States. Since 2023, we have sent 28 promising players to train and study in top-tier environments.

5. We similarly recognise the important role that coaches play and place strong emphasis on developing our coaches. Through UTR!’s Coach Overseas Attachment Programme, our coaches have the opportunity to learn from the high-performance environments of professional clubs in Japan, Austria and Belgium, and bring international best practices back to Singapore.

6. We will continue to learn from successful football systems around the world and work with key stakeholders to uplift Singapore football.