If you haven’t heard, our Young Lions had its worst defeat of 7-0 to Malaysia since 1971, at the 32nd SEA Games in Cambodia on Thursday.
Led by Philippe Aw, Head Coach of the U22 squad at that time, the Young Lions were knocked out from the group stages and could only earn a draw against Laos.
Stripped of Opportunities?
Due to this terrible loss, Football Association of Singapore’s (FAS) Chief Bernard Tan announced that the Young Lions will not be participating in international competitions until the review for their SEA Games performance is complete. In addition to the review, the Young Lions cannot compete until the authorities see that they are “competitive” enough.
Bernard Tan also added that it was important to forgo the mindset that teams should go to tournaments to just garner experience. Although prolonged losses can be draining, if the Young Lions continue to just compete domestically, how will they be able to get a taste of the intensity of their global competitors? How will they be able to experience and understand the strategies that their international rivals will utilise in the future in order to beat them?
The Young Lions will be stripped of their next few international opportunities if the authorities do not view them to be “competitive” enough. Upcoming international fixtures include the U23 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) qualifiers in September and the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, from September to October.
Not only will they get stripped of the chance to learn more about their international rivals and about their performances from these international tournaments, they might lose future global opportunities as well due to penalties.
Will The Football Scene In Singapore Actually Improve?
The team’s only proper training for the SEA Games was over three days in late March’s Merlion Cup.
In addition, the Young Lions lost two games in the friendly quadrangular at Jalan Besar Stadium.
Let it be made known that Cambodia went on three overseas training camps since February but our Young Lions only had under-preparations for such competitions.
Are the players not doing enough or is FAS not doing enough?
‘Unless the holes in Singapore’s football pipeline are plugged, Thursday’s thrashing will only become the norm rather than the exception’, Head Coach Philippe Aw added.
The FAS received almost $100 million (amount does not include the amount of money spent through Unleash The Roar!) in funding through Sport Singapore over the last five financial cycles.
How will FAS put this money into good use to allow Singapore’s football scene to improve, especially from this devastating 7-0 loss to Malaysia?
Do consider the fact that the Young Lions have not made the knockout stages of the SEA Games since 2013.
With FAS planning to do a review on the Young Lion’s recent SEA Games performance and an internal review as mentioned by Su Chun Wei, head of the Singapore Sports Institute (SSI), will Singapore’s football scene get better? Or will having heartbreaking losses be a norm for Singapore?
