NS defaulter Ben Davis named in Thailand’s provisional SEA Games football squad
Davis, 18, is the youngest player in the Thai squad, and the only one based outside Thailand.
SINGAPORE — National Service defaulter Ben Davis – who was born in Thailand and granted Singapore citizenship in September 2009 – has been called up to Thailand’s provisional football squad for the South-east Asian (SEA) Games.
The Football Association of Thailand announced the provisional squad on its website on Saturday (Sept 28). Davis, 18, is the youngest player in the squad, and the only one based outside Thailand. The SEA Games will be held in the Philippines towards the end of the year. The games' football competition is an Under-22 tournament, with two over-aged players allowed.
Davis was born in Phuket to a Thai mother and English father. He moved to Singapore at the age of five and became a citizen four years later, and subsequently represented Singapore at the U-16 and U-19 levels.
Davis’ call-up to the Thai provisional squad comes as little surprise. His father, Mr Harvey Davis, had previously told TODAY that the family is prepared to allow him to lose his Singaporean citizenship in order to fulfil his footballing dreams.
TODAY had also reported that Mr Benjamin Tan, deputy chief executive officer of Premier League Thailand and director of club licensing, would welcome the chance to recruit the teenager for Thailand’s national team.
Mr Tan, who is Singaporean and was previously the Football Association of Singapore’s deputy director of development and planning, said he was impressed with the young footballer when he first saw him play for the Singapore U-15s during a training tour to Thailand.
“Some of the other teams also highlighted his talent. If there are any issues with his progress to become a professional player, we will be open to having any player who is eligible to play for the Thai national team,” said Mr Tan, who joined the Thailand Football Association in 2016.
Davis was called up to the Singapore senior side in March last year, but did not play in either of two friendlies against the Maldives and Chinese Taipei.
Under the rules of football's governing body FIFA, a player can have a choice of representing several national teams based on criteria such as birthplace and lineage.
In June last year, Davis signed a two-year contract with Fulham, becoming the first Singaporean to sign a professional contract with a top-tier English club. Fulham were relegated to the Championship at the end of last season. The former Singapore Sports School student had joined Fulham on a two-year scholarship deal in July 2017.
Last month, Davis made his first team debut for Fulham Football Club, coming on as a substitute in a Carabao Cup clash at home to Southampton. He took to the field in the 89th minute as a substitute for Luca De Le Torre, as Championship outfit Fulham fell to a 1-0 defeat against the Premier League side.
Earlier this year, the Ministry of Defence (Mindef) announced that Davis had defaulted on his NS obligations. This came after it had rejected Davis’ application in July last year to defer his NS enlistment.
Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen had told Parliament that Mindef could not find any valid grounds to grant the application, and pointed out that the teenager and his family gave “no commitment to serve Singapore or our national interests”. "To grant deferment to Mr Ben Davis to pursue his personal development and professional career would be unfair to the many others who have served their NS dutifully as required, and not at a time of their choosing," Dr Ng had said.
