The few guys on top of FAS drawing a few hundred $ thousand dollar annually a year should just voluntarily give up their seat and let better guys take over.
All Mats???
The few guys on top of FAS drawing a few hundred $ thousand dollar annually a year should just voluntarily give up their seat and let better guys take over.
All Mats???
It's a good idea to kick out all the muuds from our SG soccer and replace them with Brazilians, white English or Italians. But it may be politically incorrect to do so.
let them be all chinks or ah neh.
what would it change?
in what sports exactly are stinkies world beaters?
none.
you are a nation of coolies and peasants you are not going to be world's best in anything.
even ceca bangla paki afghan lanka aussies poms are at least world best or leading teams or players in cricket. some of the best, at least.
stinkypura got nothing whatsoever, just not good at it.
in effect admitting that chinks or ah nehs also can't make it.
They are needed in banking, medicine, IT and to work in white collar jobs. We can spare some muuds to play soccer.
Forum: Everyone needs to pitch in to help Singapore football
June 23, 2023
Singapore football fans have lost their temper and their patience, but can you really blame them (Anger, frustration for S’pore football fans: Only 5,000 allowed for friendlies, no live broadcast, June 20)?
Their heated reactions are not a consequence of just the underwhelming recent results against Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. They have been brought about by the cumulation of incompetencies of various stakeholders in our football community over the years.
An example of a recent issue would be the appointment of the national coach. When Tatsuma Yoshida resigned as the Lions’ coach after guiding the team to an inspirational semi-final berth in the 2021 AFF Suzuki Cup, fans expected the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) to ride on the momentum and find a good replacement to carry on the progress achieved by Yoshida.
However, not only did the FAS delay its announcement, but it also ended up appointing a relatively inexperienced coach in Takayuki Nishigaya when there were other better candidates on paper.
While Nishigaya has played his part and given some promising young players the chance to play in the national team, the team’s performances have not been up to par. Neighbouring countries like Indonesia and Malaysia managed to qualify for the 2023 Asian Cup, while we failed to impress against beatable opposition. We used to be one of Asean’s powerhouses.
Apart from the FAS, other stakeholders have to be singled out as well. With the Government taking over the management of the Singapore Sports Hub, why is the cost of holding a football match featuring our national team at the National Stadium still so high?
Surely a compromise of sorts could have been made to allow local fans to fill the stadium and support the Lions’ recent matches? It is heartbreaking to learn that the stadium is scheduled to hold six Coldplay concerts at full capacity next year, but only three sections were set aside for the Lions’ matches. Why even call it the “Sports Hub” if it is not going to be used to benefit local sports?
Money is understandably a significant factor, be it regarding stadium rentals or live broadcasts. However, it is my hope that everyone – FAS, Sport Singapore, telcos, broadcasters, sponsors – can pitch in and help Singapore football.
Henry Choong Kun Lin
It is fantastic news that Leicester City have won the Premier League this term
There is a lot that our local football scene can learn from the Foxes.
You do not have to be rich to win games. You need players who have the heart and passion to play and give it their 110 per cent when they are on the pitch.
Henry Choong Kun Lin
I couldn't agree more with Mr Henry Choong Kun Lin ("Let us make football underdog fairy tale come true"; Wednesday).
Leicester City being crowned the English Premier League champions is an inspirational story, and it should get Singaporeans thinking about one of the greatest truisms of our very existence - you don't have to be gigantic or rich to succeed.
Like Leicester City, we are a small player in the global marketplace that has proven that size isn't the only thing that matters.
Unfortunately, Singaporeans, as a group, have been conditioned to think that we simply cannot survive without being big or part of something big.
Tang Li
Singapore will automatically qualify as co-host.
Indonesia wants to co-host 2034 World Cup with Australia, Malaysia, Singapore
Fifa announced that Spain, Portugal and Morocco will co-host the 2030 World Cup, with Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay hosting one match each. PHOTO: REUTERS
Oct 11, 2023
JAKARTA – Indonesia is in discussions with Australia about a possible joint-bid to host the 2034 World Cup along with Malaysia and Singapore, the president of the country’s football federation (PSSI) said on Wednesday.
World football’s governing body Fifa invited member associations from Asia and Oceania to bid for the rights to the 2034 edition last week.
“We are discussing (a bid) with Australia,” PSSI president Erick Thohir, who is a government minister and former Inter Milan owner, was quoted as saying by the Sydney Morning Herald.
“When I visited Malaysia and Singapore, both countries expressed interest to join Indonesia and Australia.”
He said on Tuesday he raised the issue with his Australian counterpart at the Fifa Congress in Rwanda in March and talks have continued since.
Thohir also said he had raised the prospect with Indonesian President Joko Widodo, who he said responded positively.
When asked for comment on a possible joint-bid, Football Australia referred back to a statement last week that said it was “exploring the possibility of bidding for the 2029 Fifa Club World Cup and/or the Fifa World Cup 2034”. It did not mention a joint-bid with Indonesia last week.
However, Australian football officials had said in June they were investigating the possibility of a joint-bid with Indonesia.
The PSSI has not responded to a request for comment, while The Straits Times has reached out to Singapore’s Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth for comment.
This is not the first time that there is talk of the 2034 World Cup being hosted in South-east Asia. In 2019, 10 Asean nations, including Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia, had agreed to establish a technical working group, led by Thailand, to look into the feasibility of a joint-bid to host the 2034 showpiece.
Indonesian football has been mired in controversy over the past year.
A stadium stampede in Java a year ago killed 135 people and Indonesia lost the hosting rights to the Under-20 World Cup after protests in the Muslim-majority nation over Israel’s participation.
After announcing last week that Spain, Morocco and Portugal would host the 2030 World Cup, with Uruguay, Paraguay and Argentina staging the opening games, Fifa invited Asia and Oceania to bid for 2034.
Saudi Arabia quickly announced its intention to bid for the hosting rights and Fifa has set a deadline of Oct 31 for other interested parties to make their intentions known.
With Qatar having hosted the 2022 edition, Akmal Marhali of Indonesian watchdog Save Our Soccer told The Herald it might be too soon for the World Cup to return to the Middle East.
“We are quite strong,” he said. “I think Fifa will see that the Middle East area has been the host with Qatar last year. Japan and Korea have been host too. I am sure Fifa will try other countries.
“The potential to win if we join with Australia, Malaysia and Singapore is bigger too.”
However, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) threw its support behind the Saudi bid for the 2034 World Cup shortly after it was announced last week.
“The entire Asian football family will stand united in support of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s momentous initiative,” said AFC President Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa of Bahrain.
The Saudi Arabian Football Federation said that once they declared their intention on Wednesday to bid for the tournament, “over 70 Fifa member associations from across different continents have publicly pledged their support for the Kingdom”.
The Guardian on Monday reported that Fifa’s relaxing of rules on the number of existing stadiums needed by bidders for 2034 also is a boon for the Saudi bid.
Meanwhile, “sources close to the corridors of power” told The Daily Mail that “A Saudi World Cup in 2034 isn’t just likely, it’s basically a done deal. Money has talked again, and the event will be worth billions in new cash for Fifa.”
Several other media outlets have also reported that the Saudi bid is the clear frontrunner for the 2034 World Cup.
The 2026 World Cup, which will feature 48 teams, will be hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico. REUTERS, AFP