Sport Singapore (SportSG, formerly Singapore Sports Council) chief executive officer Lim Teck Yin has called for more investment in improving the national sport at youth level.
“I think what is very clear to most observers, and to the FAS, is that there needs to be a revamp of youth development,” Lim told the media in a SEA Games wrap-up press conference on Tuesday, as quoted by Today Online.
“It’s about developing the pipeline so that the youth talents will continue to play, and go on to feature for the senior national team, and this may require a certain prioritisation of resources in terms of favouring and investing in youth development.”
On the other hand, Lim alleged that the current league model “did not encourage talent to continue playing”.
“I’m not going to discount the fact that there may be a lot of differing views (about the funding issue) coming from people who have had a lot of experience in the football ecosystem, and SportSG…has to be very open in listening to those views. But just by looking at results and the flow of talent currently, it’s clear that neither the senior system, nor the junior development system is working that well.”
The Singaporean football teams have to experience the dark days after enjoying numerous successes in the past.
Following the early elimination of the senior team at last year’s AFF Suzuki Cup, the U-22 team were knocked out in the group stages of 2017 SEA Games.