'The best person for the job': Gavin Lee confirmed as permanent Lions head coach
The 35-year-old was officially unveiled as the new Lions head coach at a press conference on Friday (Nov 28).
Gavin Lee was announced as the new Singapore head coach on Nov 28, 2025. (Photo: Facebook/FAS)
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SINGAPORE: Gavin Lee was on Friday (Nov 28) named as permanent head coach of the Singapore men's national football team.
The 35-year-old was officially unveiled at a press conference at the Jalan Besar Stadium. CNA understands that Lee signed an 18-month contract.
Earlier on Thursday, CNA reported that Lee had been offered the full-time role and was expected to put pen to paper.
"It's truly an honour and privilege to be able to sit in front of everybody today to address you as the men's national head coach. But me sitting here today is a consequence of the hard work of many, many individuals," said Lee.
As in previous interviews, Lee paid tribute to a number of people who have supported him in his footballing journey, including his family, football academy JSSL's managing director Harvey Davis and Football Association of Singapore (FAS) deputy president Desmond Ong, who was Lee's chairman at Tampines Rovers, among others.
"Without these people in my life, without them during the tough times, I would not be here today," he said.
"All I ask is that moving forward, I hope ... the boys, the staff would be fortunate to receive the same love and care I received from the different 'fathers' I had, even when times were tough."
Lee's appointment came hot on the heels of him leading the Singapore men’s national football team to a historic victory, which saw them qualify for the tournament on merit for the first time.
Singapore's only appearance came in 1984, when they took part automatically as hosts.
In a winner-takes-all clash earlier this month, the Lions came from behind to beat Hong Kong 2-1 to seal their berth in the tournament.
"Life is full of surprises and here we are, and I'm truly grateful, and appreciate the moment," said Lee.
In response to a question on what assurances FAS is prepared to give Lee in the event he faces challenges ahead of the Lions' 2027 Asian Cup campaign, president Forrest Li said there would be no "knee-jerk" reaction.
"Everything we're doing now is trying to optimise for the ... Asian Cup," he added.
On his goals for major tournaments moving forward, Lee said that this would be a "conversation" between the team and himself.
"They want to win and I'm sure they want to do better than the previous campaign(s). That's how progress is made, that's how we leave the shirt in a better place," he added.
"Same with the Asian Cup ... when we do arrive there, I'm sure the boys will want to give the best showing that they can possibly give. And like I've said many times before, one of the main intentions is to give the people in Singapore a national team that they can be proud of."
GUTS AND COURAGE
At 28, Lee became the youngest head coach in Singapore Premier League history when he took the helm of BG Tampines Rovers.
He joined the national team in March 2024 as part of then-Lions head coach Tsutomu Ogura’s backroom staff. Lee eventually became an assistant to the Japanese tactician.
When Ogura departed in June due to personal reasons, Lee was appointed interim head coach.
"You need a lot of courage, and you need a lot of guts .... (to) try to step in (to be) the interim head coach," said Li. "We know that being head coach of a national team is a very demanding job. It's a very, very hot seat."
Prior to Lee's appointment, a number of candidates were linked to the post, including former Tottenham Hotspur assistant coach Nick Montgomery and Jesus Casas, the former head coach of the Iraq national team.
There were three "basic metrics" which the FAS was looking for, said the association's deputy president Desmond Ong.
This individual would have to be "competent professionally", be able to communicate and relate to players, as well as someone who possesses the experience of taking a team to the Asian or World Cup, he said.
"We found that ... in our own backyard there was someone who fulfilled two of these criteria very well," he added.
Although the FAS selection committee saw 67 different coaches and spoke to about 20 of them, none were really "moving the needle", Ong said. These conversations also validated what Lee had been doing, he said.
Speaking to the media, FAS general secretary Badri Ghent said the search was a "thorough and comprehensive" one, with "world-class" profiles and personalities interested in the positions.
"If you speak to the players themselves, it became increasingly evident that they wanted Gavin to remain as coach. And I think their voices should be the loudest," Ong added.
In addition, Lee passed the "ultimate test and interview", leading the Lions to the Asian Cup, said Badri.
"We feel that this is in the best interest for Singapore football," added Ong. "He is the best person for the job at this point in time."
