'We plan to hit these targets in the years ahead' — FAS President Forrest Li shares plans for a stronger Singapore National Team

Independent Singapore

4 hours ago

SINGAPORE: In an event that marks the Council's 100 days of taking office since Apr 29, 2025, Football Association of Singapore (FAS) President Mr Forest Li expressed that strengthening and improving the Singapore National Team is the primary focus of his team during their four-year term.
The event is titled FAS Media Day 2025: The First 100 Days , and it took place at Shangri-La, Singapore, with a total of 80 guests, including the local and international media. During the event, the President addressed the four key areas on how they will achieve their goal for the team: 1) National Team preparations and operations, 2) competitiveness and attractiveness of the Singapore Premier League (SPL), 3) youth development, and 4) infrastructure. The Council believes that with these key areas, the national team will grow on the international stage. View this post on Instagram
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With this, Mr Li expressed: 'We know that football is woven into the fabric of Singapore society, and because of that, we must be open about our aims, how we plan to hit these targets in the years ahead, and how we are working with our stakeholders to get there faster.'
He added: 'We spent our first 100 days as the FAS Council tightening the logic of our approach and putting in place structures that will lay the foundations for sustainable success in the future.' On the national team's preparations and operations
In line with this key focus, the Council recently started a broad-reaching recruitment process for the new National Team Head Coach–the one who will be charged with leading the squad into the 2027 AFC Asian Cup Finals in Saudi Arabia.
Moreover, the Council will also ensure new SOPs for the adoption of best practices for the team's success, and an incentive structure will also be incorporated to motivate the team to do their best.
As for the team travels, there would be a dedicated Head of Delegation appointed to oversee the National Team's administration and operations. About the Singapore Premier League
There would be revisions to the SPL rules and regulations before the 2025/26 season mark. Changes will revolve around structural improvements to elevate the competition standards and to enhance player quality. With this, SPL will continue to become a reliable platform for athletes to develop their capabilities and skills until they are ready to join the National Team.
An example of the regulation change would be the increase in the foreign talent quota. This change believes that top local athletes will be challenged in a more competitive environment in their respective clubs if there is an increase in foreign players. This results in a high-performing competition standard at the SPL.
Furthermore, another change for the structural fine-tuning of the SPL is the introduction of the Singapore Premier League 2 (SPL2). The SPL2 will replace the Centre of Excellence (COE) Under-21 competition, and will offer a more advanced developmental platform for each club's senior team.
On SPL's digital presence, their website will also be revamped and will include statistical data powered by Hudl, the world-renowned football analysis company.
The prize money for the league has also been doubled–from S$290,000 to S$600,000. On youth development
For the benefit of the young people, the Council had strategic hires and coaching staff appointments to improve talent pathways. In partnership with the Unleash The Roar! national football programme, they aim to ensure the consistency and quality throughout the developmental stages of each young athlete.
They will venture into UTR!'s projects over the last few years, including providing a broad-based platform in the Singapore Youth League, starting with the National Development Centre and the Overseas Football Scholarships, among others. On infrastructure
As part of UTR!, FAS has partnered up with Sport Singapore and is also key on the infrastructure front. This is to ensure that FAS continues to build on its infrastructure network.
Part of this improvement is the ongoing exploration into the feasibility of new venues such as the Toa Payoh Integrated Development, which is expected to be completed by 2030.
With everything that the President discussed, he declared: 'The achievements of our first 100 days represent just the beginning of the transformational journey of Singapore football.
'We invite all stakeholders – clubs, players, fans, and partners – to actively join us as we work together to reignite passion and put in place structures that will set Singapore football up for sustainable success in the future.'