SINGAPORE: The Foreign Sports Talents Scheme is here to stay but there is room for improvement.

Parliamentary Secretary for Community Development, Youth and Sports Teo Ser Luck made this point when he was responding to questions brought up by Nominated MP Jessie Phua in Parliament on Friday.

Mr Teo said the Singapore Sports Council is working with various national sports associations to provide these athletes with career development plans. Integration into Singapore society will also be looked into.

Foreign sports talents have been in the news recently, with top athletes like paddler Zhang Xueling and shuttler Li Li packing up their bags and returning to China.

To date, 97 athletes have been recruited under the scheme. 54 of them have obtained citizenship, and 37 of the 54 are still actively representing the nation.

As for the foreign-born athletes who are no longer active, Mr Teo said some have gone into non-sporting professions such as clerical and administrative work, while others have continued in sports-related professions such as coaching and youth development.


- CNA/so