Ahead of FAS elections, Team LKT canvasses for support to rescue scandal-hit local football

SINGAPORE — Football in Singapore has been left badly wounded by the recent events that occurred in the wake of the Tiong Bahru FC-Asean Football Federation donation controversy. As such, please think carefully about who you are going to vote for in the upcoming FAS elections on April 29.

That was one of the key messages that Team LKT had for the more than 30 FAS affiliates who attended its dialogue session at the Amara Hotel last night.

The team, which will be taking on Bill Ng’s Team Game Changers for the mandate to run Singapore football for the next four years, also used the three-hour session to further explain its plans on improving the sport here, as well as to address concerns of the affiliates.

Said Team LKT deputy president-elect Bernard Tan: “A key message that we wanted to share was that at a time when football is in this state, you need to select leaders who will be able to dig it out of the hole and advance the sport in the way that you want it to go.”

Singapore’s most popular sport was left reeling last week after the police conducted raids on the FAS office, as well as the clubhouses of amateur side Tiong Bahru FC (TBFC) and S.League clubs Hougang United and Woodlands Wellington.

Sparked off by a police report by Sport Singapore on the possible misuse of funds by TBFC, and attempts by a senior official of the club — believed to be Ng — to obstruct the completion of audits on the S.League sit-out clubs, the raids later resulted in Ng, his wife Bonnie Wong, FAS general secretary Winston Lee and former FAS president Zainudin Nordin being questioned by the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD). The quartet were also arrested and then released on police bail.

Team LKT leader Lim Kia Tong, who is taking on Ng for the FAS presidency, said: “We wanted to signal strongly the need to bring about change at certain levels and areas, and to show that we’re ready, willing and able to carry out those changes to improve football. But we also want to tell them that change will not be carried out by ourselves only. We will do it in consultation with the fraternity.

“We also stressed on the need to be transparent and democratic, and showed them that our team moves on the three main pillars of change, inclusiveness, and integrity.”

When asked why there was a need to have a dialogue session when Team LKT had already presented its plans and manifesto earlier this month, Tan said: “People have observed that there’s really not much difference in the plans that both teams have put forward, and I would agree.

“The fundamental ideas on improving Singapore football are largely the same — there’s a lot of emphasis on youth development, on implementing a high-tempo, high-intensity game in Singapore, and having more resources pumped into the S.League.

“But these are things that are easy to say. The question then is whether the team (voted in) is able to execute it.

“We wanted to show to the affiliates that we can do it.”

It appears that Team LKT’s dialogue session was well-received by the affiliates in attendance. Mohd Rafique, the chairman of Siglap CSC, told TODAY: “I thought they were willing to listen (to us), and while some members may be from the previous council, they have shown that they are up for a change in how football is run.”

Referring to recent improvements made to the NFL, Admiralty FC official Shahrul Riza said: “I can see that they are hearing our complaints and looking into the problems.

“(In) the last two years, the NFL was in distress and nobody noticed. We were facing a lot of issues such as (difficulties in) booking fields, getting insurance provided for our players, and some funding for clubs.

“After hearing our problems, new things like dedicated training stadiums, insurance and seed money have started to come in.”

When asked how the donation saga has influenced his vote, Shahrul said: “We don’t know the actual story — only those involved have the story. But hopefully, things will be resolved and we can have a team that can lead Singapore football back to its glory days.”

Bishan Barx president Hardi Jani said the meeting showed effort by Team LKT and left him feeling optimistic.

“Team LKT brought up a lot of suggestions that they said they would implement if they win,” he said.

“As a member of the NFL family, that means a lot. The NFL took a backseat all these years, and my hope is that they will give the NFL more exposure and opportunities to improve our game.”

When asked who he would be voting for, Hardi simply said: “We have to see who has the best personnel, and can get the resources to push Singapore football forward.“

However, Winchester Isla FC vice-president Fazli Ahmad was clearer.

“The team put forward a strong and convincing case today,” he said.

“They showed ideas on how to improve different areas of Singapore football. After this (session), I now believe they will be able to fulfil these promises.” Additional reporting by Low Lin Fhoong