Melvin Yong on motion calling for clear and achievable goals for sporting success

It is evident that Singapore’s football scene requires a lot of work, said MP Melvin Yong. Speaking in Parliament on Thursday (Jul 6), he stressed the need for Singapore to invest in the infrastructure to provide the necessary ecosystem of support and opportunities. Singapore must also improve the way it grooms its pipeline of football talents and establish a robust talent scouting and recruitment system to identify promising players early. It must also establish strong partnerships with professional clubs and leagues worldwide to help groom local talents, as well as provide structured avenues for players to join professional academies, participate in overseas training programmes and experience competitive leagues at a higher level. This will expose local players to different learning styles and allow them to benchmark their abilities, he said. Mr Yong also said it is clear from the speeches in Parliament that beyond winning medals, sports and sportsmen and sportswomen play a key role in rallying communities to come together, support the vulnerable and foster national pride and cohesion. He believes that with more people participating in sports, Singapore will not only have a wider pool to identify sporting talents but can also cultivate a nation of people who can better appreciate sports, which will go a long way to growing a sporting nation.