Once again, it has happened and it is no surprise.
The Singapore men’s Under-22 football team have crashed out in the SEA Games group stage. The same night, the women’s team were eliminated.
It is now 10 years since the Young Lions made the semi-finals. The Lionesses – who returned to the biennial event only in 2022 – have never made the top four.
We know what happens next. A review by you – Football Association of Singapore (FAS) – will be conducted to pinpoint the fault areas. But we are still no closer to seeing improvement at the Games.
Perhaps, it is time to do things a little differently. Greatness comes from humility and Singapore football has to admit its shortcomings before building itself up again.
Greatness, and gold, is not what fans ask for, just a team they can get behind. It is time to be honest – with yourselves and with the stakeholders.
Accept that Singapore football is in the doldrums, that we are now minnows in the region.
And it is time to be transparent about where we stand and what needs to be done to correct the wrongs.
Singapore’s Under-22 head coach Philippe Aw said after a 1-0 loss to Hong Kong in the Merlion Cup semi-finals that another decade of disappointment is in the offing and added: “What is happening today is the cause of 10 years ago.”
A refreshingly honest assessment from a coach affiliated with you. His reward? He’s been shackled.
Your displeasure with his comments showed when The Straits Times requested an interview ahead of the SEA Games, only to be told it could be done via e-mail and not in person.
In ST’s conversations with your staff or coaches, they are always keen to discuss the reasons behind the continued decline, as long as the conversation is off the record.
How can it get better if Singapore football cannot admit its mistakes?
After the last Games exit in Hanoi, then Young Lions head coach Nazri Nasir admitted that a lack of preparation contributed to it.
He bemoaned the players’ involvement in the Singapore Premier League (SPL), which meant he had only a week to work with the Games squad, stating they needed more in-camp training and international games.
So, what happened this time?
Just 15 days before facing Thailand in the 2023 SEA Games opener, the bulk of the squad were playing an SPL game.
And before you dispute that the Young Lions training and playing in the league is part of preparation, three of their first 11 players were not eligible for the tournament and seven from the SEA Games team come from other clubs.
In contrast, Cambodia and Myanmar held training camps in Thailand. One of them may not make the last four but, at least, they prepared like a team who wanted to do well.
As for the Lionesses, in Hanoi, the team led by Stephen Ng finished third in their group but clinched their first win at the SEA Games since 1985.
Rather than build on that momentum, Ng mysteriously left in October 2022 and it took more than four months before a new man – Karim Bencherifa – was appointed.
He had just 63 days to prepare the women’s team for their first match against Thailand.
Compare that to the six-month training camp that the Cambodian women’s team underwent in China.
Honesty and accountability also extend to the players.
Are they giving their all to end the wretched run and help lift Singapore football out of the doldrums?
An SPL club official recently told ST that they tried to instil a healthier diet in the players and contracted a supplier to provide healthy bento boxes for them to consume after training.
The official found most of them unopened in the bin outside the stadium.
The Unleash the Roar! project that was launched in 2021 has promised to fix some wrongs.
Its executive committee chairman Eric Chua has also urged patience, comparing its work to making tonic soup and not instant noodles.
I agree with him that results do not happen overnight.
But we cannot continue to be served undercooked food.
And as the teams continue to flounder at tournaments, progress looks far away and it raises questions about the cooks behind the pot.
Let’s get serious, FAS.
