Minister Edwin Tong answers hard questions on Singapore football | Talking Point

[@mohamedariffin6774]

School games semi finals and above should be played in the evening instead of between 2-4pm. Where will we get the support when games are played at such hour? Nothing beats playing under the floodlights. Make Fridays as school.sports night. We will naturally get the audience and support.

[@funwithleira]

Parents will love to come after work catch their kids in action. The current venues for semis and above are great. Timing tweak would be good.

[@wolfie1125]

bro yes agreed. can write in to put your feedback. There will be sincere people listening and change the timing

[@bohaoliew3431]

Before talking about success in football, I think we should talk about having sufficient fields for the people to play.

[@ROSKO-s5l]

This!!! This is the base we need to start from😊

[@dandarex]

Why you all never invite TMSG? He would have given you a reality check on state of singapore football

[@SailorFanTalk]

I think he is featured in the full-length documentary

[@qilimercurial5116]

TMSG??

[@grand_hakling5058]

its a problem of this culture. i mean no offence but singapore has been shaped into a country that only focuses on white collar jobs. the kids are stressed with all the work they are being put into. their parents also send them off to tuitions and all of that. there is simply no time for anything else. schools also don't provide much sporting facilities. I'm not sure about secondary school because I switched to international school after my psle (my new school is actually much worse, just a shitty scam and we don't even get play time, just one 30 min PE period a week and no resources on sports) but even in primary school we never got to pursue our favoured sports. the teachers kept on forcing us to play made up games, like those exercises old people do to not get arthritis. during covid it was even worse, all sports got cancelled (cant do anything so I don't blame. i also don't get why the government chooses not to spend ANYTHING on football play areas. like they make sooooo many basketball courts which are FREE to use but no football pitches. not even small footsall grounds. plus when u play underneath homes and stuff, old boomers always shout at you and call the police like they own the place. i would understand if EVERYBODY gets annoyed from us playing under hdb mphs but how come only old people complain. in short this country can never play football due to the culture and how the government restricts a basic right to PLAY. i know singapore has very little space to build big pitches and they cost money. but don't tell me you can build basketball and badminton courts and not a small footsal court. thank you for reading.

[@fooaloysius7179]

What white collar jobs? Insurance agents? Property agents? 😂

[@alexwong1567]

With him, you know the standard already.

[@ldj4044]

Venga said in 22:20 to 22:31 that our U19 team will be the team to watch, and have a good chance to win SEA Games. Yet, I quickly googled the U19 team's latest result and realised we got trashed 5-0 by Malaysia U19 team. With this heavy trashing, how can you expect us to be able to compete to win SEA Games anytime soon if the gulf in class is still there with our neighbours? In 20:28, he also talked about how we can be on equal terms in 5 to 6 years with the teams who trashed us. Yet, how certain is he that this will happen? Everyone in our region is improving and are you certain that our opponents won't progress and improve within this timeframe? And more importantly, are you sure that we will actually improve from our current drubbing performances from the recent AFF youth tournament and compete against the best? These are the questions our FAS management and relevant stakeholders need to reflect on and answer themselves before making few bold claims in this video. As a Singaporean and Lion football fan, I sincerely hope that Venga's words come true, but realistically I know that it won't happen at least in the near future.

[@wanderfooltang3520]

Good chance to win SEA Games 😂 . He is Talking on paper

[@MeijieKook]

Venga also flip prata.. say one thing,then next time say different ly..

[@TohariPaijan]

Ask mah bow tan and goh chok tong

[@qilimercurial5116]

Really.??

[@joshgates]

The 2 guys on the left are right about the marketing and standard of the league's package. It's sad to see how dismissive some of them were, and even saying itnhas to do with the history of our league. What a bunch of bullshit. The product is simply not good. It's not a very attractive product generally. All teams need to be privatised. We need them to play in better stadiums. We need more initiatives to attract fans to come to the game. The money needs to come from somewhere to be sustainable, and that has to come from people coming to watch the game. We need more news to sensationalise and keep the interest strong.

[@kimkoksong]

I don't know much abt local football in depth, but I'm a fan who watches SPL & our national team, I have a feeling the effort by Minister Edwin Tong of UTR will give us some positive result, though it might not be soon. I am heartened to see and hear them speak so passionately with our local football. With this, I will salute all of them & support UTR. Good job guys!

[@GMD3N]

Edwin tong is living in denial. if you are at a point in your career where you are to break through and NS stops you, I think people will hate SG for spoiling the dream leh. Of Coz NS still must do but why can't we have different NS pathways? All these old men delusional man.. And Venga just living in kuku land as if fans will just naturally flock back to watch football when the standards don't improve

[@ldj4044]

I agree with you. Minister Tong said that balancing NS obligation with the sports career is doable for our footballers, but why are there deferments for Schooling and Maxi if balancing both sporting and national responsibilities are "doable" as per what the minister implied? Let's not forget, athletes need to train everyday and practise their drills and all in their sporting sessions, but how many times must they miss those training sessions and drills in their early years due to NS obligation, which may hinder their football development? Thus, I fully agree that there can be a system which provides support for these players. Also I heard Venga said in 22:20 to 22:31 that our U19 team will be the team to watch, and have a good chance to win SEA Games. Yet, I checked the score and we lost 5-0 to Malaysia U19 team. Hahaha, we cannot even win a battle, how do you expect us to win a war?

[@GMD3N]

@@ldj4044 Venga is living in his own positive vibe world..

[@ldj4044]

​@@GMD3N Hahaha, I agree. Watching this video, I feel that some panellists are really deluded in making those bold claims, instead of being practical and humble in tackling our current footballing problems step by step. That's why sadly SG football legit cmi, whereas our neighbours like Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam are far superior than us now.

[@andyng5321]

Average soccer career only 17 years, take 2 years away for NS is already more than 10%, already gg, add in injuries and loss of form is more gg

[@maxwien5817]

I would implement a system where you can postpone your NS until after your career. Most footballers end their careers in their mid thirties, which is an age where you're still capable of serving in the armed forces. Maybe also implement a rule which says that you need to finish NS before reaching a certain age (like 38-40)

[@ongernie7216]

How much football does Edwin knows.

[@barcaewok7229]

He is a fan. He knows A LOT ABOUT soccer. Trust him. Buahahhahahhaha

[@nikkicherry6559]

Pap

[@rubenjames2886]

He knows more on Taylor Swift Music and tracks.....oh must I say the Bracelets 😂

[@erchguyj1234]

He doesn't have any background in sports

[@Jon-bf2rs]

He also knows about religion he is all rounder was there to receive the Pope when he arrives 😂😂

[@达米恩贱安王]

I think there should be a revamp on Singapore Premier League. 1) The league should comprise only local teams. It doesn't make sense for our domestic league to have foreign teams and Brunei DPMM should go back to their own domestic league. 2) Disband Young Lions and instead introduce back uniformed clubs. It is illogical to have a national youth team compete in a league and instead Warriors FC and Police FC - which should comprise of local players serving national service and some foreign players - should return to the league. 3) Bring the club closer to the community so that fans would be proud to support their local team. Teams like Lions City Sailors and Albirex Niigata (S) should change name to something like 'Bishan Sailors FC' or 'Albirex Jurong FC' etc so as to bring the club closer to the community as we can't have teams that sounds like representing the whole country or some places overseas. Also the stadium allocation policy have to be changed. For example Tanjong Pagar United, which should have it's serving base in the Southern part and city centre of Singapore, is to have their home ground at Queenstown or Jalan Besar instead of Jurong East. 3) Revive teams like Sembawang Rangers, Gombak United etc. Instead of bringing in some sub standard foreign teams, why not focus on the Revival of some inactive local clubs? In the end we could have a 10 teams league which looks something like: Albirex Jurong (Jurong East) Bishan Sailors (Bishan) Balestier Khalsa (Toa Payoh) Geylang International (Bedok) Tampines Rovers (Tampines Hub) Hougang United (Hougang) Tanjong Pagar United (Queenstown) Sembawang Rangers (Yishun) Choa Chu Kang Warriors FC (Choa Chu Kang) Woodlands Police FC (Woodlands) And in the long term there should be a plan to expand the league to 16 teams at least split into 2 divisions with promotion/relegation.

[@sunnyang6464]

Bro.. i think you deserve to be the SPL CEO more than the current incumbent… 👍🏼

[@alyasarahLIVE]

👏👏👏 sounds so good

[@esmondwei6300]

the foreign teams are of a higher quality than our local teams and they push our teams to improve kicking them out just lowers the standard of the league look at what happened to albriex after they were localised its actually sad to see

[@nicrome]

Eh your idea nubbad! Can be done! Consider rallying ppl behind these ideas and see how much can be done

[@Jon-bf2rs]

Should disband the league and money use for other more useful purpose. Our national soccer team has degraded so much since the League was introduced so what's the point?

[@ReQleq]

Instead of just talking and thinking among ourselves, just do an in-depth study of why Japan and Korea became so successful and why even China, despite its vast resources, has failed.

[@dkj6946]

Family support is very important, many parents don't believe in their sons having a career in Football thus always discouraging them otherwise. Hence, many kids forgo the idea to pursue their dreams in Football.

[@teoliangming7222]

This is definitely an insightful coverage especially for those of us who may not know much about UTR. One thing is for sure which is that there is lots of passion for football in Singapore yet to be unleashed because of the standards which the team is playing right now. I feel that the football fan eddy definitely bought up a good point on the professionalism of the media coverage, social media page, website. Personally even at an SPL match, it would be really cool the clubs or even national team matches come up with their very own "Matchday program" much like what some of the bigger clubs overseas do, where coaches / the team captains writes something about how the team is doing, what they hope to achieve, point out some promising players who are doing well. This will let the fans also understand and bond more with the team they support. I for one also hope to see more coverage for our youth team football on mainstream media...like the lion city cup we had before which used to be televised on Ch 5.

[@GMD3N]

@@teoliangming7222 eddy brought up good points only to be dismissed by the 3 on the right. We will never improve with this toxic positivity

[@gabrielmurdoch4314]

Why Edwin sounds like ETH?

[@nikkicherry6559]

He only talk about PAP😂

[@hikkomorisg]

They should also build a professional cheerleading organization. If you watch J-League and K-League, they have a very vibrant cheerleading culture. Playing drums, shouting slogans, cheering them on boosting the morale. In Japan, Korea, Taiwan baseball/football games you can see beautiful youthful energetic cheerleaders with very well-choreographed dance to boost the vibes.

[@Fakeslimshady]

lol please AWARE will say misogynistic

[@mudahjr9600]

do you go to matches for the beauties then instead of the football?

[@PlayerPro119]

Like what everyone says, you cant instill growth for sg football using policies. Need to start from the roots and ask how kids find passion in football growing up. Back in the old days, the best players we see playing growing up are those who played at the void decks. Nowadays, with the constraint/limitations of space where kids can play in due to the layout of new hdbs significantly hinders the growth and passion of rising stars. It has to be a cultural shift where government need to support.

[@Pogogo_26]

yep agreed 100% they look at this as a political issue only. sometimes more money isnt the solution to everything

[@leongyet9896]

I have to disagree. Look at our players who is in their 40s or 50s. These people has been playing under the void deck,but did you see any other improvements or won anything?

[@fed02]

@@leongyet9896 I agree. If void decks are the answer to better local football then why is there a need to have sport science?

[@Pogogo_26]

@@leongyet9896 won anything u mean asean level or asian level? also infrastructure is also crucial, but it needs both sides to cultivate a new generation of talents

[@Jereseanworship]

i think should learn from whats working in thailand, malaysia, vietnam

[@nazrimansor1112]

Correct... Look at ASEAN neighbours. They have national teams that qualified for ASIA Cup (equivalent to Euros or Copa America) and have clubs that compete in AFC Champs League Elite competing with Korean, UAE, Saudi, Japan, China, Australia clubs etc. Remember Singapore national team lost 0-3 with 2nd stringers of JDT a club in Malaysia. So u guys are so far behind.

[@zondor8123]

The country doesn't even compete with the big four anymore (Thai + indo + viet + malay) you guys are competing with the low four 💀💀

[@GMD3N]

This Edwin Tong sounds so arrogant. His tone is so terrible as well. People asking questions but he's here preaching as if he already is best at everything and knows everything. The way he speaks to eddy is so rude. How to inspire people into the game like this? Venga talks about history history.. Rafi talks about sense of belonging.. But People here talking about professionalism.. About how well run an organisation or football is. Singapore is used to being run professionally in everything, and if the website cannot even be maintained properly then it's just damn throw face so who wants to follow or cover this? By the way, the sg jersey on the website is from few years ago and all out of stock.. Why is it still up?

[@fed02]

Was he? or are you just being bias?

[@sunnyang6464]

Tong is a politician leh.. what do you expect? Lol

[@GMD3N]

@@fed02 listen to how he speak to eddy. Like preaching to him. Cutting him off constantly. Dismissing everything the 2 journalists and fan bring up

[@salahtheegyptianking369]

Hurry up and give Perry Ng and Nakamura their SG citizenship, the suzuki cup is nearing

[@TohariPaijan]

😂😂😂

[@TRVLOVE]

Total disconnect from reality. Starts from heartlands youths being overcharged expensive fees to use a proper facility to play football. You DONT HAVE ENOUGH PLACES IN SINGAPORE TO KICK A BALL. Rich brats get to play, middle income and low income who are usually more talented dont get to play

[@barcaewok7229]

Can we play soccer at hdb void deck ???? The good old days

[@jj96432]

low income people are usually more talented at football? dk where you got this correlation

[@leongyet9896]

​@@barcaewok7229 Good old days? All the while ball games are ban in void deck. I was born in the 70s and 80s I played at void deck,basketball courts etc Ball were confiscated by someone and warn us not to play. As a kid,we just buy another ball(plastic) By the way,when I was in secondary school,we start using leather ball,stronger. Sadly my friend kicked so hard and hurt and old lady who happened to walk past and she was hospitalise and next we know,we were warned by police and kena detention from our school. Worse my friend parent know that old lady family. So I really don't encourage ppl to play football in void deck.

[@grand_hakling5058]

@@jj96432 imean can you name me a footballer from rich upbringing. its very rare

[@TRVLOVE]

@@leongyet9896convert 80% of all current basketball courts into football courts if we are to take things seriously

[@leejinxing]

IMO NS is really hampering the progress of our local footballer. No matter how well our youth are, some of them are in academy of overseas top tier club. When they approach 18 and have to come back to serve their 2 years and only after they have served their 2 years, they can then pursue their professional career in football, probably the top clubs will no longer be interested. NS is also during the period where athletes are likely to be at the peak of their career. Not asking for NS to be completely removed for this group of talented athletes but perhaps consider allowing them deferment to maybe around 30+. Even though they are much older, but they should still be physically strong enough to go through the military training.

[@fks1564]

Indonesia is probably on the way to play in 2026 Fifa World Cup , the first from the Asean century 👍🏻

[@fooaloysius7179]

Unbeaten in the last 3 matches against former World Cup teams.

[@uria480]

This was the first time I heard about UTR or even SYL. There’s hardly any media coverage, yet they expect to attract fans beyond the players' families and friends? In today’s world, media exposure is crucial. Players, especially when they're performing well, want to be in front of the camera. It boosts their visibility, and when they go back to school, everyone knows them. This kind of recognition can fuel more competition for spots, as only the best will stand out. As mentioned in the interview, media coverage is extremely limited. And let’s be honest, Singaporeans can be a little “haolian”-we like to show off when we’re doing well. If there was more media coverage, it would not only boost the players’ profiles but also attract more attention to the sport.

[@adamjohan4452]

Don't think you got the right people on the right side of the screen to be on this interview/ conversation. I would say the questions from the left were pretty reasonable. they weren't intended or toned in a way to attack. They were really about getting answers to better understand the situation.

[@andrewkang4232]

We had a target in the past GOAL2010 and what happened? We had so many ministers helming the high position and we never went forward. We need real football people to lead FAS not politicians

[@nikkicherry6559]

Increase more salary for PAP😂

[@teampower6164]

Transfer HDB void decks to court with net, cushion pillar and artificial turf. Let the court near to the kids. Passion.

[@johnwong4424]

Don't try to boil the ocean. Set realistic target , qualify for AFC cup or win SEA games.

[@fooaloysius7179]

Spain had never progressed beyond the World Cup quarter-finals, before winning the whole thing in 2010. Either aim high or go home.

[@joshgates]

What's up with the bg music whenever someone speaks? It's so distracting.

[@sunnyang6464]

Hallmark of a CNA production…

[@fooaloysius7179]

Perhaps we should set a goal for high quality, independent journalism to be achieved by 2034.

[@fizywizzie]

If you have many commitment for guys going NS, then help them priortise it! Some of them also got family, financial and personal issues too. Where is the support in this issue ?

[@hsunnynaresh]

Everytime Edwin talks I just want him to shut up

[@GMD3N]

@@hsunnynaresh and the way he dismisses people and smile like a child who can't control himself whenever someone says something he agrees with. Toxic positivity. Will never improve with such so called leaders

[@WONG-f8i]

Hmmm... I can't agree more. Poor leadership!

[@MrASRWalker]

Stadiums are also an issue. This season there are 4 clubs sharing 1 stadium. Tampines, Geylang, Hougang, Young Lions are playing at JBS as their home stadium. Not to forget, even asian club competition like ACL2 and Shopee Cup has to be played at JBS. It brings bad image to Singapore football bcoz people keep seeing the team plays in the same stadium over and over again. Let the club play at their homegrown. Get more sponsorship and more teams. Really sick watching the teams playing with each other over and over again.

[@funwithleira]

Hougang and Queenstown stadium under reno. TJ Pagar shud be getting back to Queenstown soon.

[@MrASRWalker]

@@funwithleira i seee! Thx for the info!

[@murshidsahat5728]

True.. miss those old Sleague got their own home stadium

[@ldj4044]

Oh wait. Why is Tampines Rovers not playing at their home stadium in Tampines Hub? But yes, it is quite bad because without a proper stadium for each team, how can there be a ground which the club or fans can identify themselves with? The club are unable to paste their logos around the stadium and build their "homeground atmosphere" like what we see in other leagues. Without a "home ground identity" which the players and fans can identify themselves with, we cannot blame for the low turnout rate of the fans. But of course, I won't say that stadium is the only reason for the dismal state of our local football, but a compilation of other issues added up together.

[@MrASRWalker]

@@murshidsahat5728 ikr!! Miss those times where clubs playing at their respective town. Really hate with the stadium sharing

[@cktan2739]

Good to hear the intent is to build the core with Singapore born players. We can't depend on naturalised players. Salute Venga and Rafi for their dedication to Singapore football.

[@fed02]

After reading the comments, I realised why Edwin had to repeatedly tell football fans to be patient and not not throw bricks and stones at our local football scenes. Football is one of those sports where everyone on the sidelines can criticise from start till end game and beyond.

[@GMD3N]

@@fed02 patient for 30 years already

[@fed02]

@@GMD3N yes but apart from simply naturalising foreign players (if they are willing), the crop of players need to improve.

[@fooaloysius7179]

​@@GMD3N More like 60 years. Did you know that Singapore used to beat Australia before the PAP took control? Life for Singaporeans was better pre-PAP, putting the standards of development 60 years ago into context.

[@tctterry]

What Ali said is true, we still support Singapore and want Singapore to Win. Football is short team career and injury risk high sport, if Singapore football club wiling to give higher salary and protect the player with sport insurance. I believe will attract many player to unleash their talent and join the club. Good Manager also important if we can invite overseas top manager even manager like Rafa Benitez will bring good result and draw the crowds.

[@jefri4176]

Then who will pay for all those high salary, will the fans want to pay high ticket prices to pay for those salary?

[@ldj4044]

Sadly, it won't happen. There is a lack of crowd for clubs to earn ticket revenue (unlike what you see for JDT or other teams), coupled with lack of sponsors from local firms to fund and support the teams. It doesn't help that there is NS obligation which Minister Tong mentioned that the players can manage, but what he failed to realise is the amount of training sessions the NT players will miss at a young age in NS which may hamper the player's development. If Edwin says that the players can manage, then why must MINDEF give special treatment to Quah, Schooling and Maeder if he feels that all male athletes can balance sports and national commitment?

[@tctterry]

@@ldj4044 Agree with your point. NS Deferred for some of the National sport Player. Hopefully can draw the crowd by creating more social media on the clubs.

[@Pogogo_26]

Its gotta be a cultural attitude paradigm shift in SG for football. This culture cannot be manufactured by only policies reform, its transcends more than a sport but into a way of live that influences the grassroots and community. Like thailand, Japan or korea u can see its not seen as a sport, its seen as a way of life and just something that is part of their society and culture. I think in SG, its mostly treated more of a hobby and a place for ppl to connect around to watch and enjoy, but not seen as the dna of a Singaporean culture. There needs to be a strong identity curated in terms of how we create our football, where a philosphy of style is implemented through grassroot till first team, like other ASEAN or Asia teams aka look at thailand, for example, we know their style of play, technical, passing possesion, bred through from grassroot till their teams all around their country. this DNA cannot be manufactured, it has to be organic.

[@jj96432]

i rather the SG DNA be financial and materialistic than sports

[@Pogogo_26]

@@jj96432 why not both? do u think thats a feasible outcome down the road?

[@jj96432]

@@Pogogo_26 hmm not really cos i think these 2 are inherently contradictory

[@Pogogo_26]

@@jj96432 maybe in sg yes, but overseas footballers are respected and earning high income

[@jj96432]

@@Pogogo_26 i think it's just survivorship bias, we tend to only see the very successful ones. For the 99% of ppl that invested their youth into training but didnt succeed, who is going to compensate the years that they didnt contribute to the economy?

[@manyue2003]

Goh chok Tong was the one who helm World Cup 2010. Now Edwin don't dare mention about WC anymore

[@MJ-bk7xw]

what's with the weird background music.

[@keltay8162]

whatever happened to SAFFC, Home United ?- Govt based teams from our national security forces. to Bring up the number of teams in the SPL, rather than playing 4 matches. bring back voiddeck football for the kids.

[@GMD3N]

Home United is lion city sailors already.

[@leongyet9896]

Please no void deck football. I born in the 70s,80s played with plastic ball,90s played with leather ball. Until one day my friend hamtam the ball so hard，just nice and old lady walked past and the ball hit her and hospitalised. From then,I don't really encourage ppl to play at void deck. Anyway,void deck has always have this no football,skating etc since donkey years.

[@keltay8162]

@@leongyet9896 me 80s baby. i miss voiddeck football. But yes. its dangerous. But mayb just have the kids to have the freedom of expression to play anywhere (e.g. can be passing/juggling ball) within safe measurements. like in the streets in south america.

[@leongyet9896]

@@keltay8162 Joining a grassroots football club if one can't afford it. It will be easier for talent to be spotted. And also better for future growth as a player through proper training. Many went through void deck during our time but how many did actually progress from there lol. Now I sometimes bring my son go void deck just juggle and play short passing.

[@thetravellingwaterbaby7189]

Pls la, wake up. 2030, a third person’s going to come in and say SG will qualify for World Cup in 2040. Then the previous person will happily retire with no responsibility. Sg is a third world footballing nation now.

[@ivangoh20]

Stanley asked a very good question. What is the short term plan? Edwin would like to have naturalized players with connection to singapore. But the current naturalization plan or no plan is very reactive. The plan to find these kind of players needs to be more proactive.

[@neorenjie]

People need incentive to work hard. In SG, DSA works like a charm. If top schools take in 10 football players for DSA for each batch, you'll have thousands of kids playing competitive football.

[@moonrei69]

Why must he a jacket in the heat of singapore for this interview?

[@jefri4176]

To look cool 😅

[@AlanShearer-qs7wc]

To Edwin : You want youth players to look up to ex national players as a coach, then when reach international level, your national coach is non international coach experience (for 3 in a row) so 4th will be same??? double standard?? Revolution need time, but please don't stick to the same management that is not even progressing a bit. To Venga : JDT transformation was after our S league was formed, they are consider younger than our S league. While the club can reach very high standard, while our league declined, don't said we need time. Even i give you 100 years with your comment, S league will eventually like Secondary school standard. To Rafi : Since you said goal 2010 it a mistake, did Edwin or Bernard dare to admit that?

[@ldj4044]

I fully agree with you. Tbh, J League was inaugurated about the same time as our S League, yet look how far Japanese football has progressed compared to us. They are given about the same time (maybe +/- 1 or 2 years different only), yet how far Japanese league has progressed is beyond our imagination, while our local league standard keeps on declining to the extent that most Singaporeans have no interest in them. There is seriously no more pull factor to attract me to watch S League because I cannot feel any identity with any clubs there (I used to support Woodlands Wellington and LionsXII). And for Venga who says we need time, let's come back here again 5 years later to this comment to see how far SG football has improved or decline. He said at one part we got a chance to win SEA Games and let's see if we will really win it, especially with the deluded stakeholders currently managing SG football.

[@limmike5339]

Edwin tong talks football politics . The best and fastest way is to bring in overseas youths at all levels and put them into our teams . These foreign talents youths will instil skills and experience into the teams which our local boys can learn . They will be fused with the local bits and form many generations of good youth teams and national teams

[@kaydenyeo8593]

who will come

[@jefri4176]

Why would foreign youth come to sg?

[@fed02]

@@jefri4176 exactly, and how many foreign youths do you need in order to form a team of 11? This is not Table Tennis where individual excellence could win for Singapore. This is a team sport and hence the base of footballers must be wide and deep enough to form a good national team.

[@jefri4176]

@@fed02 that's why china have up on football and focus on other sports for olympic and they did well. Football is tough. SG should just forget it and focus on individual sport,less budget,higher yield 🤣😅

[@ksubramaniam8488]

Aiyoh, Football is controlled by Top Leaders. Building a career in sg football will not help. Look at European footballers how well taken care off. Everything is paid. Down here player will stress up.

[@lee1039]

you call these questions 'hard'? why don't talk about the recent NS rejection from Mindef with respect to some local footballers. How about bringing up a certain ex-PM aspiration of Goal 2010?

[@GMD3N]

Those 3 didn't even allow the fans or journalists to ask questions. Kept interrupting them. So rude

[@AlexLim-u8v]

you know HDB blocks provide the best training ground for young footballers.... all these ban enforcements (ban is one, enforcement of the ban is another) on playing football in HDB blocks for the past 20 years has taken its toll on youth development (skills, quick thinking, agility, interest etc). the best footballers playing globally hone their skills from young... playing in the streets, not on the field.

[@ShaunChan]

I think the government and government policies should never be involved with the sport.

[@nikkicherry6559]

PAP has keep Singapore 🇸🇬 safe country

[@cktlsl]

too many lazy coaches also lah, quite often you see the coach just put 2 tall boy upfront, then the rest of the player just long pass upfront to the 2 tall strikers, hope they can score against the opponent by using their height advantage.

[@jbrkjferkjbekjb]

Have to respect Edwin for getting out there for this interview and subjecting himself to questions from different stakeholders, although i have not agreed with many of his actions in the past.

[@splashmoby]

After watching yesterday's lion city cup matches, our youth standards has dropped tremendously. No talent nevermind, but no teamwork and understanding between players? It's also a reflection of the coaching and also the management. And whenever we fail or falter, it's the usual excuses like.. the players need time, the team need time to gel. That is bs, it's as if the other teams have all the time in the world and we don't.

[@peterlumpengleong]

Any way to create a football donation fund for youth player development.

[@peterlumpengleong]

Find the top 50 youth talent players and give them a contract for 5 years with basic salary $4000/ month ,then you can see commitment and quality. Who one to commit to sport not even can buy a HDB flat and earn a basic income!😂😂😂

[@aysteria4ever]

This is why we never improve. These guys are patronizing us. Deluded and delusional Singapore 🇸🇬 I feel is rated 2/10. World wide. 10/10 Spain, Argentina 9/10 England, France, Germany, 8/10 Netherlands, Belgium 7/10 Brazil, Portugal, Japan 6/10 Italy,, South Korea 5/10 Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland 4/10 China 3/10 Malaysia, indonesia, HK, 2/10 Singapore, Cambodia 1/10 San Marino

[@ldj4044]

Yes, shocking that the minister and some of the panellists still gives us a 5 even after so many dismal performance (bar the AFF Semi final 2nd leg against Indonesia and the recent 2-2 draw against China). But even still, the performance apart from these few matches are mostly sub-par at best and reaching only the semis stage for one time in the past 12 years of the AFF tournament is no where near the 4 or 5 which we saw in the rating. I feel it should be 2.5 or 3 at best.

[@gabrieljoel26]

I have spoken to some foreign coaches about why they don’t look at Singapore talents simply due to NS. The fact that 2 years of development is taken away at the most crucial point of their youth careers means it’s a no brainer for a foreign coach. And we should redefine what is national service. Is it not giving yourself in service to the country? That’s exactly what all athletes do when they get up early in the morning, sacrifice their social life just to make it. We are also losing performance in NS. I’ve been informed that a pilot study of a cyclist before and during NS showed 30% decline in overall performance. Physiologically, training adaptations are very specific. If an athlete does not get the right stimulus, very quickly they will enter a state of de training. There must be a panel of people who are knowledgeable in these fields to advise the trajectory of this project.

[@deschee3865]

school games are played on sat and encouraging both parental and community sports if the competition are run by clubs

[@wqlee26]

LionsXII was one of the best project. Hope we have another similar project where you build a team to compete in another league. This exposure helped the national team during that period. I agree it’s improving, the new facilities at kallang is a good start, more areas to train. Naturalisation honestly helped SG so much, having it now should be something with are looking at. Song was one example. So many people was supporting for him during the NT games. Let’s push for Kyoga and Perry fast. At the same time, look at the other players in the league, maybe Doi? And marketing the local league, YES, there is no coverage on top scorer assist etc. Don’t drag CNA in just like that, I’m sure FAS or the UTR team have capital to hire a social media, marketing and journalist just to cover the SG league or players

[@splashmoby]

LionsXII was successful not because of the project itself per se. It was successful because the youth talents of that era managed to rise through the ranks and we arguably managed to train the best talented players we could get from the youth system. That is why the LionsXII project could never be replicated today, we just don't have good enough players in the current pool. And why is that.

[@redgunawan]

Maybe Minister Tong need to expand his perspective and landscape. Afterall when he said Indonesia starting line up 10/11 are not born in Indonesia. He get it factually wrong and even the heritage players who looks ang moh some are born in Indonesia So it suggests he might not understand the strategy and enviroment regionally. After a few years when priorities changes, without short term success. What will happen?

[@ldj4044]

To be honest, I find it embarrassing when Minister Tong brought Indonesia into the convo and mentioned that many are not borned in Indonesia. I feel that rather than mentioning about the composition of other countries football team, he should focus on our SG football first. Yes, they may have more naturalised players now, just like Malaysia and Thailand. But at least they do have some "local-born" talents like Pratama Arhan and the 'infamous' Asnawi who have made a name for themselves abroad in the K League. They have produced some local talents who can prove themselves abroad. But look at ourselves, apart from a handful of players who are now playing in Malaysia and the Fandi brothers who are playing in Europe, do we have an emerging local-born talent who are proven to be capable to playing at a higher level abroad? In our men's team, is there anyone like Danelle Tan (BVB) from women's team who have proved themselves in the higher levels? Edwin must really revaluate this statement himself

[@mengjoo74]

In short, spore football is such dire circumstances is because there is no professional mentality in our players. Sports science like diets, discipline, rest and recovery, fitness… are not given priority.. and they are not to be blamed… cos most are pre occupied with a second career after football.

[@azamahmad1553]

For NS, why can't we follow the South Korean model? Also, one thing that wasn't addressed is the football infrastructure. We simply do not have enough playgrounds for our kids to play. I mean, do they need to book a pitch, put on boots, or pay every time they wish to grab a ball and play? Surely not! Finally, the football marketing now leaves much to be desired. As Eddy mentioned, if you cannot even get the websites to be properly maintained and updated, you cannot be serious expecting fans and businesses to believe in the project.

[@judedecruz53]

If they follow South Korea in a way, the talents can grow and achieve by letting them play, train and grow till they become the best of the best!!!! South Korea also has compulsory National Service but they put off those who are talented and can bring fame and recognition to the country!!! Those guys were exempted till they reached 30 and do their National service but not sure everyone will support it!!!!!

[@kuaqimai]

Edwin in his world leh Abt ns thingy soccer career is short if they have potential got big club want to sign them but can they ask the club to wait for them 2 year as they need to serve ns? 16 to 18 year old is very important for a soccer player

[@iamsukhbirsingh8]

We have 16 stadiums in SG, Why can't privatised 16 clubs ( take some from SFL) and give them to run the stadiums. Isn't that a better option for SPL progress and comercial will go up. I mean we can't have a relegation zone if there are not enough stadiums rather then sharing. Look at the MLS how they planned out its a good model.

[@korn7ryan]

Edwin Tong knows nuts about football.

[@rubenjames2886]

Stop making us Laugh la. Rafi says it take alot for one person to change Singapore football. There are many who were sidelined... Will they get an opportunity? Change the policies, change the Minister and change the people in FAS then you will see the difference. If with so little resources the Singapore 1992-1996 why can't we do it. @edwin you want to build a team? You won't get the chance brother.....God Bless all the best 😅

[@jameswong8847]

After watching the young lions playing at the 3rd and 4th placing. The players had no idea how to handle the ball when facing the opponents. They will play for the national team one day. It is worrying and troubling. 😢😢😢

[@mrz5759]

It is embarrassing to use the lack of a football history as a reason for incompetence.

[@pouman123]

football and sport is more than the game itself. its about the stories behind the teams, players, games etc. none of these are covered by media, in house or national media. more than half of our spl teams are sharing stadiums. how do you even expect to build any interest out of this? theres no consistency nor narrative to follow.

[@hungchoonghow5857]

Whenever there are Uefa Champions League matches, I like to check the stats of the players in the starting XI and it's always like 1.92cm tall, or 1.95cm tall or 2.03cm tall and in any position. Once in a while, you will get a Lionel Messi height or an Andres Iniesta height.. Once in a while. The modern game emphasises on NBA player's height now. Can't catch up. I see there are quite a number of South Korean and Japanese players who are above 1.90cm or taller. It has changed drastically, don't bother.

[@arifrahman9024]

Why cant we bring a foreign football expertise from Japan/Korea as an advisor to FAS? If you want to start from grass roots, take example from a country that has tried and tested such formula. No point in taking formula from ex-international and coaches where most did not reached those level before.

[@user-bo6fy6fm5q]

what is up with venga always trying to selit his credibility.

[@allofatso2104]

Should get foreign scouts to spot local players, the current selection scouts are bias

[@stephenomenal29]

Can the govt consider upgrading each stadia to become hubs not only be pro football friendly but also other sports?.in that way, you not only invite more leisurely plays instead of parks/estates and from there,invoke the interest from young to promote sports in sg.we don’t lack interest just no spark. other sports can benefit too while hosting better tournaments.imagine sg hosting u18-u21 World Cup.

[@deschee3865]

Talking of structures. School games are the mainstay to encourage players to play and develop their skills. Trouble is the schools and clubs are not working together to develop the players. Schools have limited resources and have to run school games within the moe schedule. In other countries the football association help to run school comepetition and develop players throughout the season. They work with schools schedule and allow youths who are good to train and not overtrain at this stage of their life.

[@sgmilner3199]

Settle e N.S issues,whereby most of e Future Young Footballers talents,always go downhill..once dey enlisted into N.S

[@rubenjames2886]

All footballers goin ns after 8 week BMT should go play football in SAF Warriors

[@alextan8979]

I have been following SG football for over 50 years. It is the attitude and mentality that need real fixing.

[@mizzysuhaimin8049]

SYL players get spotted gets to play in SFA?? Who is coming down to every SYL games and spot these young players???? Who???? I heard some of your committee members is too busy to drop by and see these young players play. How???? In the future who is going to represent the singapore national team??? Players from Sports School???? From UTR???? From NDC???? From LCS????

[@bezz9141]

When I hear leaders who has been leading the sports the past few decades harping on " it's not going to happen overnight and that it's going to take time " , you sensed their defensive-ness and admission in past failures without admitting it. It appears obvious we need new leadership. The old had their chances. We need professional. And we have one in our midst owning a pro club in Spain

[@dragonandfallenangel]

UTR is basically FAS in a different way. It's gonna be the same. They juz accredited over 200 academies to be affiliated with FAS. But when it comes to international age groups competitions, do they look at these academies? The same group of players will be picked - Sports School, LCS and a couple of players from Active SG centres. And Venga now talking about FAS admin and progress... he used to slam about everything associated with FAS. Edwin Tong talking abt being in Shah Alam for '94 M Cup Final and 10 yrs later abt being at Bt Jalil for Lions XII... I bet he doesn't even know about Singapore's 4 AFF Championship wins. The attendance at SPL matches barely reached 200 pax. And Venga talking abt SPL only 26 yrs young. Since it started no clubs can even say they have a home stadium. Almost matches are played at Jln Besar Std. FIFA and AFC requirements - no matches or activities to be organised 48 hrs before a professional league matc. But what we have here? At OTH we have a Passing-Out-Parade in the morning and SPL match played in the evening. And at Jurong East Std we have multiple community events being held in the morning and SPL match in the evening. The field is overused & spoilt. Basically - FAS needs a revamp.

[@GaryFlykite]

If we leave politics out of football, i think we can do better. Period

[@skyann1906]

Since we already have players in europe for trainings...y not let them play in europe to keep the standards high in professionalism...when they are back in singapore for national teams competitions, who knows 1 day people will starts to love singapore football. In other words when they play in europe their momentum is there rather then coming back to singapore premier league then everything will go down. Just my point of view

[@kelvinyeo2047]

Good PASSIONATE coach is very important. If we have coach that only train their students to be DSA to top schools and discourage them to train with youth team or even talk bad about been profession player as carreer.

[@senghtan]

soccer requires at least 12 talents on the field, unlike swimming, sailing, badminton, archery, etc. many countries hot-house their talents, and they have much larger population, a higher critical mass to work on. we require a flexible academic and employment route for sports players, to prevent talents from slipping through the cracks. it might just take years to build a sports tradition ; it's easier with non-team sports like swimming, which Singapore has been strong in.

[@Fintrackfinance]

scout for talent in primary schools and enroll them to develop....its a long process....from 8 we got to 1 now...5 is overrating the state of football today

[@cambodianye8429]

BRING BACK THE GAME CHANGERS! BRING BACK THE GAME CHANGERS!BRING BACK THE GAME CHANGERS!

[@zondor8123]

The country doesn't even compete with the big four anymore (Thai + indo + viet + malay) you guys are competing with the low four 💀💀

[@ldj4044]

The thing is now we may not even beat Cambodia and Laos having seen them improve a lot over the years. I saw some results that their youth team even defeated our youth team, so we cannot expect much from our footballers now. Our neighbours have improved, just SG continue to decline.

[@faly7348]

We need more foreign talents in our premier league back then early 2000s almost every club have a foreign talent eg japan,korea even Brazilian.

[@qilimercurial5116]

All need money. Sg no money.

[@davidho1859]

You know they must talk a lot to make it a 35-min video

[@lagofala]

Let people go crazy in the stands. I remember one time the PA told the fans to tone down. Wth.

[@chonkysalmon1644]

Dont talk about sustainability when kids today dont even have places nearby to go for a kickabout, to gather or develop their love for football anymore. How many street soccer courts are there in singapore?

[@choonsengteo9694]

Sounded like Lim Kopi kind of talks.

[@sleepy_dobe]

Where's the engagement with the public? SYL? I've never heard of it. I only know the S-League. And the club that I supported when the league first started decades ago, Police SA, no longer exist. Tracing their changes, it is now Lion City Sailors. But it feels like being a glory-hunter if I support them now. The thing is, I don't watch TV anymore. I don't even have a TV connection now. I get all my media from the internet now. There used to be the Malaysia Cup to look forward to, to watch on TV. Now, time is a precious commodity, do I want to watch S-League football on the weekend, or do I want to watch Liverpool/Man City/Arsenal in the EPL? It's different watching the national team in Malaysia Cup vs a regional team in the S-League. Not enough viewership, the TV stations drop the broadcast, and you don't even get to chance to try and get more to watch local football. It's all being run by a business mindset. National TV stations should forget the money and just telecast every game, S-league, SYL, Singapore Cup, SEA Games, AFF etc. Don't look at the viewership numbers. Just make it available for people, anyone, to watch. At least there will be a hope that someone might tune in and enjoy watching it, and start watching regularly. That will help to build the support.

[@nglaisoon9707]

Our kids should be playing on grass pitches...good or muddy field and not on plastic pitches

[@hillaryyeo5142]

Is there a bet that this is going to be swept under the carpet like all other football "initiatives"? As long as administrators and civil servants who do not care or know about football run the program and just concern about their bonuses and kpis, it will go down the same path. Let the people who know football run the program, give them the support and funding needed and you will see results.

[@fed02]

Dont blame the civil servants. Their job is to bring in the funds for the sports. Without gov funding the SPL would have collapsed years ago. Also you cant expect the clubs to be responsible for the National Team right?

[@aloysiusang5534]

And ns destroys the careers

[@nishahabib24]

They should learn from one championship. One Championship is a platform for professional mma fighters to fight and compete for championship belts and we are not talking about local fighters. One championship have world class fighters from across the world competing including some from Singapore like Amir Khan, Angela. Thats possible with investment from businessman Chatri on the project and there are professional gyms and mma schools like Evolve MMA training fighters with potential to grow. Can do the same for football where players from all age group have a professional training school to go to if they want to hone their skills where they can collaborate with legendary former players like Ronaldinho, Beckham and so on who have their football schools and they bring world class coaches over to train these players. Then have a platform where players gets to showcase their skills and win champions be it futsal, 11 against 11. We will have an organisation not the S League that will give this platform for players. Then sooner or later more players will join in the game even without playing professionally. That gives more pipeline of good players in Singapore. Then have winning teams from the competition go overseas for training camps to improve and when they come back as better players they get the chance to play for the national team. We have also got to improve the level of coaching here in Singapore. If our coaches standards are low, the quality that they accept from players won’t be high. How do you deem a player to be good enough or bad. The coach needs to have a decent eye for talent. It doesn’t have to be someone local. Work with Latin America or European coaches they will boost the quality here. Or have our coaches head overseas to develop and gain experience watch and learn what the top young players from abroad are doing in training and bring that here. So much more to do and it won’t be just one person effort for football to grow here. Not just football, we have to do it at a sporting level then we can start

[@jerryliewkenyon9755]

Dream on people, dream on.

[@zahidallapitchay9366]

all need a start but PAP not needed definitely

[@PAPBetrayal2024]

Need a 30 min video to discuss a simple incompetent No wonder p a p Sama sama

[@mouselim72]

Having cute catchphrase like "UTR" doesn't help. One key aspect - stop focusing on our lousy local league. It's too small and inconsequential.