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FAS elections: 5 things you need to know

Local football's future leadership will be decided this weekend. Noor Farhan looks at what's at stake and what do those standing for office have to offer.

FAS elections: 5 things you need to know

FAS election candidates S Thavaneson (left), Lim Kia Tong (centre) and Edwin Tong (right) from Team LKT. (File Photo)

SINGAPORE: The Football Association of Singapore (FAS) will elect a new president and other office holders on Saturday (Apr 29), amid mudslinging between the potential candidates and police investigations that resulted in raids on the FAS and three football clubs - Tiong Bahru, Woodlands Wellington and Hougang United.  

This is also the first time that the FAS presidency is up for a vote following a request by world football governing body FIFA, with the previous presidents appointed by the Singapore Government.  

Given the stakes at hand, here are some of the key things you need to know ahead of the elections. 

1. WHO’S RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT?

Mr Bill Ng:

Mr Bill Ng, chairman of the Tiong Bahru and Hougang United football clubs. (Photo: Hougang United website)

As leader of the nine-man Team Game Changers, Mr Ng is a businessman specialising in mergers and acquisitions.

Founder of private equity firm Financial Frontiers, the 57-year-old is also a director of six companies. He is involved in football in his capacity as chairman of S.League club Hougang United, and with amateur club Tiong Bahru FC, which plays in the National Football League (NFL).

His business achievements include listing Cambodian casino company NagaCorp on the Hong Kong stock exchange in 2006 - which has been mentioned frequently as demonstrating his capabilities to turn difficult projects into profitable ventures.

The Team Game Changers slate includes Rajah and Tann lawyer Lau Kok Keng, who is standing for deputy president, and former Singapore Hockey Federation president Annabel Pennefather and Tampines Rovers chairman Krishna Ramachandra, who are running for vice president positions.

Mr Lim Kia Tong:

File photo of Mr Lim Kia Tong. (Photo: Justin Ong)

A criminal litigation lawyer for 30 years, Team LKT’s presidential hopeful has been on the FAS committee since 1999, first as a council member before becoming FAS vice president in 2007. He is currently the interim president for the provisional council overseeing the sports association ahead of the elections. 

The 64-year-old also sat on the Asian Football Confederation’s (AFC) legal committee from 2003 to 2006. He has been the AFC Disciplinary Committee's chairman since March 2011 and will continue until July 2019.

He also became the first Singaporean to assume a leadership role on a FIFA committee, when he was elected as its disciplinary committee's deputy chairman in May 2013.

Notable names on Team LKT’s slate are former FAS vice presidents Edwin Tong and Bernard Tan, Balestier Khalsa chairman S Thavaneson, and former Tampines Rovers boss Teo Hock Seng.

2. VISION FOR THE GAME

A giant formation of the “OUR S.League” logo on the Jalan Besar Stadium pitch. (Photo: S.League)

Team LKT has a 10-point manifesto that includes plans to improve administration, create more facilities, enlarging the pool of coaches, referees, administrators and volunteers, and reviewing the S.League and expanding competitions at all levels to meet national objectives.

Team Game Changers’ plans, meanwhile, fall into seven key areas including administration, facilities, talent scouting and player care.

Plans also include reviving the Singapore Business Houses Football League and gradually raising salaries to encourage more young footballers to play in the S.League. The league, in turn, would eventually expand to between 12 and 14 teams from its current nine-club format.

3. WHAT'S AT STAKE

The way football is run in Singapore has been widely criticised by many observers. Last October, Singapore’s world ranking sank to an all-time low of 171. Presently, its FIFA global ranking is 164.

Singapore’s recent performances in Southeast Asia across all age groups have been disappointing. Despite winning the ASEAN Football Federation Championships four times, Singapore failed to make it past the group stage in 2014 and 2016.

The Under-23 squad, too, flopped in the Southeast Asian Games in 2015 which was held on home soil, with the team crashing out in the group stage.

Professional club football has been in a rut for many years. On a good day, close to 1,000 fans can be seen at an S.League match, but some games would see only a few hundred.

Attempts to generate interest in the S.League by bringing in foreign teams have had limited success, and the perception remains among many football fans that the local game is not worth following.

4. ROILING CONTROVERSIES

Investigators loading boxes after raiding Tiong Bahru FC clubhouse at People's Park. (Photo: Noor Farhan)

What began as a manifesto unveiling for Team Game Changers earlier this month started a chain of events that has culminated in the arrests of a number of senior figures in the local football scene.

During the media conference, Mr Ng said that he had donated S$500,000 to the FAS back in 2014, with the money meant for local football. Later, FAS general secretary Winston Lee claimed the money actually went to the ASEAN Football Federation for its Football Management System.

This quickly turned into a spat between both parties over the use of the abovementioned donation.

Things came to a head on Apr 20 when SportSG filed a police report over the suspected misuse of funds at Mr Ng’s Tiong Bahru FC, and a “purported attempt” by a senior official of the club to “delay and/or obstruct the completion of audits into the S.League sit-out clubs”.

Shortly afterwards, raids were carried out by the Commercial Affairs Department on the clubhouses of Tiong Bahru, Hougang United and Woodlands Wellington - all of which are establishments owned by Mr Ng - as well as the FAS office at Jalan Besar Stadium.

Former FAS chairman and ex-PAP MP Zainudin Nordin, Lee, Ng and his wife Bonnie Wong were reported to have been arrested as part of the ongoing investigations. It is believed that they are currently out on police bail.

5. WHAT WILL HAPPEN ON ELECTION DAY?

The National Stadium pitch. (File photo: TODAY)

Saturday will see the first-ever election for the FAS Council and the result will determine its leadership slate for the next four years.

The elections will take place at the Black Box Auditorium at the Singapore Sports Hub, and the various candidates have between 9am and 10.30am to register.

Voting will start at 11am.

FAS’ 44 affiliates, 23 of which are NFL clubs, will cast their votes to decide who should lead the organisation. Vote counting will commence as soon as all affiliates have cast their ballot, with the results expected at 4pm.

Source: CNA/fr

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