Committee of Supply 2024 debate, Day 7: Eric Chua on empowering sporting talents to grow and excel
The Government wants to make it easier for everyone to make sports a way of life - its ambition is for Singaporeans to be able to take a 10-minute walk from home to affordable sports facilities by around 2030, said Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Culture, Community and Youth Eric Chua. He told Parliament on Thursday (Mar 7) that this will be made possible through the Sports Facilities Master Plan. SportSG has built 10 Sport-in-Precinct facilities, with another 24 more projects in various development stages. These facilities are located in HDB estates and are free for use. More than 370 facilities, including indoor sports halls and free-to-play fields, are also available under the Dual Use Scheme. There are more than 40 free-to-play fields that Singaporeans can use on weekends. This year, four new facilities will open - Kallang Tennis Hub, Kallang Football Hub, basketball courts at the former Bedok Swimming Complex and a facility for softball and baseball at Jurong East. Punggol and Clementi residents can also look forward to new sports facilities. At Clementi, there will be a new town playfield, which includes a running track and community sports courts. The new Punggol Regional Sport Centre will have a 5,000-seater stadium, swimming complex, 20-badminton-court-sized indoor sports hall, sheltered tennis and futsal courts, water sports centre and an archery field. Mr Chua said the Government has also been making sports facilities accessible to Singaporeans of different abilities. It will look to increase accessibility to disability sports activities and facilities, enhance awareness of disability and inclusive sports opportunities and help to fulfil the aspirations of those who aspire to pursue sports at the high-performance level. Turning to football, Mr Chua said the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) has gone through a rigorous process to find a new coach and urged Singaporeans to give him some time to find his footing and hopefully make his mark with the national team. He stressed that Singapore is playing the “long game” to uplift football and has made steady progress to strengthen its ecosystem. A critical part of this is developing a structured football development system to raise standards at all levels. There are 15 School Football Academies (SFAs), of which five have dedicated programmes for girls. The number of footballers has doubled from 300 youths in 10 pilot SFAs in 2022 to more than 830 young male and female footballers this year. To spur athletes in emerging sports, the One Team Singapore Fund will be expanded to support the Athletes Inspire Fund (AIF). The AIF provides funding support for athletes who represent Singapore in emerging sports. Athletes can apply as individuals or as a team. The funding support may cover cost items such as airfare, accommodation, registration fees, visa fees, travel insurance and equipment. There will be three application windows per year - in March, July and November.
The Government wants to make it easier for everyone to make sports a way of life - its ambition is for Singaporeans to be able to take a 10-minute walk from home to affordable sports facilities by around 2030, said Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Culture, Community and Youth Eric Chua. He told Parliament on Thursday (Mar 7) that this will be made possible through the Sports Facilities Master Plan. SportSG has built 10 Sport-in-Precinct facilities, with another 24 more projects in various development stages. These facilities are located in HDB estates and are free for use. More than 370 facilities, including indoor sports halls and free-to-play fields, are also available under the Dual Use Scheme. There are more than 40 free-to-play fields that Singaporeans can use on weekends. This year, four new facilities will open - Kallang Tennis Hub, Kallang Football Hub, basketball courts at the former Bedok Swimming Complex and a facility for softball and baseball at Jurong East. Punggol and Clementi residents can also look forward to new sports facilities. At Clementi, there will be a new town playfield, which includes a running track and community sports courts. The new Punggol Regional Sport Centre will have a 5,000-seater stadium, swimming complex, 20-badminton-court-sized indoor sports hall, sheltered tennis and futsal courts, water sports centre and an archery field. Mr Chua said the Government has also been making sports facilities accessible to Singaporeans of different abilities. It will look to increase accessibility to disability sports activities and facilities, enhance awareness of disability and inclusive sports opportunities and help to fulfil the aspirations of those who aspire to pursue sports at the high-performance level. Turning to football, Mr Chua said the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) has gone through a rigorous process to find a new coach and urged Singaporeans to give him some time to find his footing and hopefully make his mark with the national team. He stressed that Singapore is playing the “long game” to uplift football and has made steady progress to strengthen its ecosystem. A critical part of this is developing a structured football development system to raise standards at all levels. There are 15 School Football Academies (SFAs), of which five have dedicated programmes for girls. The number of footballers has doubled from 300 youths in 10 pilot SFAs in 2022 to more than 830 young male and female footballers this year. To spur athletes in emerging sports, the One Team Singapore Fund will be expanded to support the Athletes Inspire Fund (AIF). The AIF provides funding support for athletes who represent Singapore in emerging sports. Athletes can apply as individuals or as a team. The funding support may cover cost items such as airfare, accommodation, registration fees, visa fees, travel insurance and equipment. There will be three application windows per year - in March, July and November.
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