More needs to be done beyond FAS' 10 recommendations say local coaches - The Straits Times

SINGAPORE – While local coaches agree that Singapore’s youth football development is in dire need of a refresh, there were mixed feelings about the latest attempt to boost that pipeline after the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) announced the findings of its SEA Games review on Friday.

The governing body pledged to put in place 10 recommendations, specifically targeted at strengthening the infrastructure around the Under-22 and 23 national teams. The Young Lions crashed out at the group stage of the Phnom Penh Games in May, losing three and drawing one of their four matches.

Veteran coach Clement Teo, who led Singapore Premier League (SPL) club Hougang United and is now in charge of Cambodian Premier League side Boeung Ket, said the FAS’ proposals were a step in the right direction and “necessary for progress”.

“The 10 points are crucial for improvement and naturally there should be more,” he said. “A good foundation is one of the keys to achieving success. We have been lacking in youth development over the past five to seven years and we struggled against other Asean countries. The general direction looks interesting and now the national youth teams need to compete on a regular basis.”

Teo, 56, also highlighted how some ideas like incorporating a sports psychologist in pre-tournament preparation was the right move but should be widened.

He noted: “The Young Lions should have a full-time sports psychologist from the start. There needs to be a relationship between both parties, or they will be strangers to each other. What help can a sports psychologist do during a short period of time?”

The FAS’ decision to have greater oversight of players’ diets was another positive step, but it needed to be accompanied by greater education on the value of a nutritional meal to get their buy-in.

Acknowledging the difficulties faced by the FAS, he added: “Everyone will have their own opinions and different perceptions, but the ultimate goal is to make headway to improve Singapore football.”

Some, like Tanjong Pagar team manager Noh Alam Shah, were more sceptical. The former Lions striker, 42, who won two AFF Championships with the Lions in 2004 and 2007, said he hopes that these changes will have a lasting impact on Singapore football’s future but also labelled the review as a “bare-minimum initiative”.

Another local coach, who trains one of the SPL’s Centre of Excellence (COE) youth teams and wanted to remain anonymous, was more scathing in his assessment.

“They (FAS) missed a big key point. They want to renovate and improve the housing infrastructure, but the occupants of the household (the local players) are still very poor,” he said. “The players have to look at themselves first. They want everything to be spoon-fed.”

One of his chief gripes is the SPL’s U-23 quota, implemented in 2018 and mandating all local clubs must field at least three U-23 players in the first half. That number was cut to one in 2022.

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