Football Association of Singapore

The Football Association of Singapore (FAS) is the governing body responsible for the administration of football in Singapore. Established in 1892 as the Singapore Football Association (SFA), it is the oldest football association in all of Asia. The FAS is also one of the founding members of both the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF). It has been affiliated with FIFA since 1952.

The FAS oversees the organisation and development of football and advancing the game at all levels in Singapore, and is responsible for all aspects of the amateur and professional game in its territory. This includes its flagship domestic league, the Singapore Premier League (SPL), as well as the men's, women's and youth national football teams. The FAS is headquartered at the Jalan Besar Stadium, located at Kallang.

The FAS also manages the organisation and running of league and cup competitions, the stewardship of international teams, the establishment of youth development, women's football, refereeing and coaching frameworks.

History

The association was also previously known as the Singapore Amateur Football Association (abbreviation: SAFA) on 14 May 1929 before adopting its current name on 13 January 1966.

Singapore national team

The Singapore national football team, administered by FAS, is one of the most successful sides in ASEAN Football Championship history, winning the regional international tournament four times in 1998, 2004/5, 2007 and 2012. Despite the country having a relatively small population pool, it has generally punched above its weight by successively producing squads that has fiercely competed with its larger and much more populated neighbours.

Singapore has also achieved notable results beyond their sub-confederation. In the 2007 AFC Asian Cup qualification, Singapore became the only team to beat Iraq where Iraq were en route to their Asian Cup winning campaign. Singapore also drew with China 0–0 and 1–1 at home in 2006 and 2009 respectively. In March 2008, Australia also failed to beat Singapore when the game ended in a goalless draw. During the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, Japan was held to a draw at home at the Saitama Stadium by Singapore, being the only game where Japan had dropped points in the group.

Youth Development Programmes

The FAS focuses on football development and operates national age group programmes with U-15, U-16, U-17, U-18 and U-23 teams (known as Young Lions, who compete in the country's professional Singapore Premier League).

All Singapore Premier League clubs have also fully implemented their own programmes for the Under-14s, adding on to the existing U-16s and U-18s program.

Former presidents

* Soh Ghee Soon: 1957–1963
* Hussein Kumari: 1963–1965
* Abu Bakar Pawanchee: 1965–1967
* Tay Soo Yong: 1967–1968
* Woon Wah Siang: 1968
* Lenny Rodrigo: 1968–1971
* NSPB / SSC: 1971–1974The FAS was under the management of the National Sports Promotion Board and later, the Singapore Sports Council.
* R.B.I. Pates: 1974–1976
* N. Ganesan: 1976–1982
* Teo Chong Tee: 1982–1988
* Abbas Abu Amin: 1988–1991
* Hsu Tse-Kwang: 1991–1994
* Ibrahim Othman: 1994–1999
* Mah Bow Tan: 1999–2004
* Ho Peng Kee: 2004–2009
* Zainudin Nordin: 2009–2016
* Lim Kia Tong: 2017–2022
* Bernard Tan: 2022-present(Interim)

Council members

FAS Tournaments

* Singapore Premier League
* FAS National Football League (2 Divisions)
* FAS Island Wide League
* FAS Women's Premier League
* FAS Women's National League

FAS Affiliates 2017

Singapore Premier League Clubs

* Albirex Niigata (S)
* Balestier Khalsa
* Geylang International
* Home United
* Hougang United
* Tampines Rovers
* Warriors FC
* Gombak United (sit-out club)
* Tanjong Pagar United (sit-out club)

FAS National Football League Clubs

* Academy Junior Football
* Admiralty CSC
* Admiralty FC
* Balestier United RC
* Bishan Barx
* Eunos Crescent
* GFA Sporting Westlake
* GFA Victoria
* Gymkhana FC
* Jungfrau Punggol
* Kaki Bukit SC
* Katong FC
* Kembangan United
* Police Sports Association
* SAFSA
* Siglap FC
* Singapore Cricket Club
* Singapore Khalsa Association
* South Avenue SC
* Starlight Soccerities
* Tiong Bahru FC
* Yishun Sentek Mariners
* Warwick Knights FC

Singapore M-League/M-Cup Team (The Lions)

Former national players

Notable Former National Players – Singapore National Football Team

* Eric Paine (1968–1978)
*Fandi Ahmad (1978–1982, 1993–1999)
* Au-Yeong Pak Kuan (1979-1985, 1988–1989)
* Kadir Yahya (1993–1999)
*Lim Tong Hai (1992–1994)
* David Lee (1978–1994)
*Zulkarnaen Zainal (1994)
* Mohd Rafi Ali (1993–94)
*Nazri Nasir (1988–1994)
* Malek Awab (1980–1987, 1993–1994)
* K. Kannan (1980–1988, 1992)
* Razali Saad (1988–1994)
* Jefri Rahmat (1988–1994)
*D. Tokijan (1985–1991)
*Borhan Abu Samah (1985–1991, 1993–1994)
* Syed Faruk (1988–1994)
* Steven Tan (1993–1994)
*Lee Man Hon (1994)
* V Selvaraj (1994)
*Terry Pathmanathan (1978–1992)
*Abdul Malek (1980–1993)
*Hasnim Haron
* Zulkifli Kartoyoho
*Azhar Yusope
* Quah Brothers
*Dollah Kassim
*V. Sundramoorthy
* Aide Iskandar
* Yahya Madon (1984–1994)

Corporate structure

The FAS council was first appointed by the government in 1968, and has been controlled continually by government appointees for more than three decades from the 1980s to 2015. From 2004 to 2015, its president had been an elected member of the ruling People's Action Party, and was appointed by the Minister for Sports.

In 2015, FIFA requested an end to political appointments of the national body's council members. FAS therefore changed its constitution in 2016 and held general elections for its council members starting from 2017. In response, the FAS also stated that "We have always been in consultation with FIFA over the last 30 years. They are aware of the uniqueness of our situation, and have always given us special dispensation."

Investments

During the Annual General Meeting (AGM) in September 2016, it was revealed that organising expenses on grassroots competitions like the National Football League (NFL), Island Wide League (IWL) and FA Cup amounted to about $70,000 during the previous financial year from April 2015 to March 2016. This figure which represented a mere 0.2 per cent of the FAS' total annual budget of S$35.8 million sparked disapproval within the local football community with many perceiving it as FAS's lack of regard for grassroots football.

In a press conference on 13 October 2016, FAS vice-president Bernard Tan clarified that the amount did not include prize money and participation fees contributed by the teams counted under the domestic league account.

Funding

In early April 2017, Bill Ng, chairman of SPL club Hougang United and NFL club Tiong Bahru Football Club (TBFC), claimed that he had donated S$850,000 to the FAS with the intention of helping Singapore football, but that the money had gone to the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) instead. The allegations came in the prelude to the first open election of the FAS council.

FAS secretary Winston Lee responded that Ng was aware of where the funds were used, that $200,000 went to the former LionsXII, while $500,000 was used to support the AFF's Football Management System. Lee said that it was former FAS president Zainudin Nordin who asked Ng to donate to the AFF, while Ng disputed the claim. FAS responded with a statement that Ng's allegations of financial impropriety within FAS to damage the credibility of the association was regrettable, and it was unusual that Ng had chosen to hide Zainudin's role in the transaction.

On 20 April 2017, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) raided the FAS headquarters over alleged financial misuse of funds filed by Sport Singapore (formerly known as the Singapore Sports Council). Zainudin Nordin, Winston Lee, Bill Ng and his wife Bonnie Wong, were all arrested before being subsequently released on bail. The four assisted with the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) with the probe into the alleged misuse of funds and obstruction of club audits of TBFC. In September 2021, the CAD in accordance with the Attorney-General announced that they had concluded their investigations and that the individuals involved will not face charges.

See also

*Singapore national football team
*Singapore Premier League
*Singapore Cup
*Singapore League Cup
*Singapore Community Shield
* Kallang Roar the Movie

Notes

References

External links

*

Singapore
at AFC site


at FIFA website

{{Sports governing bodies in Singapore

Singapore
Football in Singapore
1892 establishments in Singapore
1952 establishments in Singapore
Sports governing bodies in Singapore
Sports organizations established in 1892