Singapore men's under-22 football team will not take part in upcoming Asian Games
Recent performances and scheduling conflicts were taken into consideration, says the Football Association of Singapore (FAS).
Singapore's footballers react after conceding a goal in a 3-1 defeat by Vietnam at the 32nd Southeast Asian Games on May 3, 2023. (Photo: CNA/Jeremy Long)
SINGAPORE: Singapore men’s under-22 football team will not participate in the upcoming Hangzhou Asian Games, the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) said on Tuesday (Jul 11).
This decision comes after a review of the team's Southeast Asian (SEA) Games performance and scheduling conflicts, said FAS.
Last Friday, the association unveiled 10 recommendations to improve the country's performance at future SEA Games, after the team was knocked out of the group stages for the fifth straight time.
The Young Lions also suffered a 7-0 mauling by Malaysia in their final group game in May, making it Singapore’s heaviest defeat at the SEA Games since it became an age-group affair in 2001.
The decision not to take part in the upcoming Asian Games is in line with one of the recommendations from the review, said FAS.
The under-22 team will focus on the SEA Games and the 2024 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) under-23 Asian Cup qualifying tournament.
FAS said the Asian Games falls outside the FIFA window and takes place in the same month as the 2024 AFC under-23 Asian Cup qualifiers.
Sport Singapore supports the decision and the Singapore National Olympic Council has no objections to the team not taking part in the Asian Games, said FAS.
The last time the Young Lions took part in the Asian Games was in 2014. They did not meet the benchmark for the 2018 Asian Games.
Mr Bernard Tan, acting president of the FAS, said: “The past few weeks, the FAS has gone through a period of introspection, and we are right now in the midst of implementing the recommendations from the recent SEA Games review.”
FAS general secretary Yazeen Buhari said the association considered the preparation time required to get the team ready for each tournament, and took into account the players' commitments to their clubs, schools and National Service.
"Given that the Asian Games comes off the back of the AFC under-23 Asian Cup qualifiers, this makes participation particularly challenging," he added.
Singapore women’s team will continue to participate in the Asian Games, which was postponed from September 2022 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
REVIEW RECOMMENDATIONS
The proposals from the review included giving young players more game time in the Singapore Premier League (SPL) and providing the men's under-23 and under-22 sides with access to the resources of the full-fledged national "A" team.
One of the recommendations is that the FAS approaches the SEA Games as a two-year project to allow the coach and the team to develop over a longer period.
This will set up opportunities to blood younger players and allow them to clock experience in the SPL, along with eight to 10 "high tempo, high-intensity" international matches.
Some players had told the committee that they were "not prepared for the high tempo" at the SEA Games, and that the matches were played at an intensity beyond that of the SPL.
Besides the SEA Games and AFC under-23 qualifiers, all other tournaments will be considered "developmental opportunities", said FAS.
The proposals also included planned diets for players and team-building activities, as well as a comprehensive analyst team at the national level.
