FAS disband National Team Saga - A inside view of our Gov's belief system.

For local football supporters, the past month had been the worst nightmare since Singapore was trashed by Malaysia at our National Stadium some donkeys years ago...

All local club competitions are won by foreign teams, Singapore kicked out of Asian Cup when they just required a draw to get through, Singapore knocked out of the group stage of the ASEAN Championship (Suzuki Cup), and many other bad press that still persisted till today.

But the biggest news (one that spread across all possible medium in Singapore) is the disbandment of our very own National Team.

In an interview with Channel News Asia, FAS President Zainudin Nordin (also MP for Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC and the Mayor for Central CDC) said, "We have analysed the reports on what happened in 2010 and realise that for the good of football, I think, we have a major revamp of the national team. What is going to happen is that we are going to have a new slate of players, that means players that will be totally taken from ground zero.

"...means all the (existing) players will be dropped and the national coach and the technical team will do a (new) selection based on merit." - this literally mean that the coach and the FA had been selecting players without basing on merits and their performance for the clubs in the S-league."

"That means all the (existing) players will be dropped and the national coach and the technical team will do a (new) selection based on merit. From all the assessments, we believe this is the best thing to do, for the good of the future of Singapore football."

The problem with this 2 paragraph in the interview highlighted a previously unknown and unacceptable fact for a country pledge to meritocracy - "we are going to have a new slate of players, that means players that will be totally taken from ground zero. That means all the (existing) players will be dropped and the national coach and the technical team will do a (new) selection based on merit." - this literally mean that the coach and the FA had been selecting players without basing on merits and their performance for the clubs in the S-league.

Not to mention, FAS also uses a Foreign Talent Scheme which they basically "buy" the allegiance of certain "outstanding" players so that they can represent Singapore (which is why Mr. Goh Chok Tong was confident of "buying Singapore into the 2010 World Cup" with Goal2010.

The revelation confirmed what the fans had been obeserving and feared that the National Team is not selected based on merit. The finally revealed "truth" shocked the entire local football supporters community and quickly gain countless criticism from a huge cross section of the Singapore population.

"it is becoming obvious that this is quite self-serving and may reflect the bigger picture of what the PAP's belief of the method to achieving success is."

If in football, the organisation led by PAP leaders have the beliefs that importing foreigners and trashing out everyone except changing the management and leadership is the way to do things - it is becoming obvious that this is quite self-serving and may reflect the bigger picture of what the PAP's belief of the method to achieving success is.

Since all the messed ups in 2010 by PAP leaders, none had stand up to apologise and admit that the cock ups are their fault. This very public disbandment of the National Team just further show that the leadership will just keep protecting their own butt and will put the blame to the people below them whom had actually worked very hard but still fail because of the poor strategic and organisational decisions made by the leadership.

The very ROOT of our problems.

Jose Mourinho recently commented about local football and the lack of competitiveness in the Sleague.

He mentioned the need for promotion and relegation to improve the competitiveness of the league and more to be done in youth development in order to unearth the next Fandi Ahmad.

While many, like me is excited abt The Special One commenting about local football and Fandi, some do questioned the logic in being excited abt such "obvious" stuff advised by Jose himself.

Of course we know abt the need for promotion and relegation, the need for investment in youth, but as far as what i had noticed, it is mainly circulating within this forum. No press or big shots had been talking abt such "basic" stuff regarding local football.

thus, rather than being "enlightened" by the Special One, i prefer to interpret the reaction of excitement/delightfulness/pseudo-enlightenment by most here as simply, the feeling of relief that our thoughts are "acknowledged" by a person of great reputation and influence. Or Him "joining our cause" in pushing for greater change in our local football.

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but seriously, its more than what Mourinho had mentioned is required. The true root of the issue is the lack of a sporting culture in Singapore. Look at the USA. They had a great sporting culture; parents play sports with their kids, bring them to watch games (whatever the sport), strong recognition of the sport competitions among the colleges and institutions, strong work and professional ethics by those competing athletes (including the high sch and the college students, many of them probably worked harder in the gym and their training than our sleague footballers)

When there is a strong base in sporting culture, then more attention will be given to local sports competition including the sleague; also to say, spectator numbers will also increase tremendously towards sports of all kinds. And with all this attention and interest, media coverage will increase, sponsors will increase, funding will increase, sportsmen's pay will increase, standard of infrastructure as well as standard of local sports will increase as well.

Savvy?

Thus, i am not enlightened by Mourinho, since making Sleague more competitive and having more youth potential being tapped doesnt really equate to improvement to local football as a whole.

Just like Sleague standard had improve tremendously compared to the year when it started. So what? The attendance actually dropped compared to the first year. Sleague had become nothing else but a joke to most Singaporeans: "huH!? watch sleague? You siao ah~" - i am sure you heard this before... I suspect even the Sleague coverage in the papers are paid for by FAS to ensure Sleague "appears" in those papers.

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First step SSC should do to create that sporting culture in Singapore - STOP ELITISM and MEDAL HUNTING.

Only when people (the common ppl) can play sports without being mindful of failure, worrying abt results; can then allow us enjoy a life full of sports or even consider career as a sports person if they excel in any of them. Foreign Talent Scheme in most part only discourages the average Singaporeans to pursue a career into sports of any kind; why should anyone risk failing in the light that the NSAs would simply bring in Foreigners anytime and put them in front of the pecking order?

SSC and probably the Government failed to understand that FTS kills off the desire of most ppl to pursue sports as a career, given that a career in sports is a very short affair, and the potential of being cast as a reserve to a certain few foreign talents is simply no prospect at all for anyone sensible. Career in Sports in not the same as career in the business world: i can go on staying in the shadow of a foreign boss for maybe 10 years, but i know that one day, i can grow strong enough to start my own company or prove myself as the more capable guy; but how long can a person in sports last under such circumstances? 10 years? Then the prime would had been over....

FTS in team sports, i can accept, as the FEW foreigners can help raise the bar for the rest of the team. but in individual sports? Sorry... I dun see the benefit other than short cut to success.