Fandi determined to broaden base of Singapore footballers

SINGAPORE — There is talent outside of the club football system here, and Fandi Ahmad is determined to give these players an opportunity.

The former Singapore international was confirmed as head coach of this year’s national Under-20 squad last Saturday (Feb 11), which is part of his new role as head coach of youth at the Football Association of Singapore (FAS). The 54-year-old took on the portfolio last October after signing a three-year deal, with an option to extend for another three years.

For the last three-and-a-half weeks, Fandi and his staff — including assistant coaches S Subramani and Nazri Nasir, and fitness coach Aleksandar Bozenko — have put players who are not with any S.League or Prime League teams through a selection process.

These are all students from the various Institute of Technical Education (ITE) colleges and polytechnics, and this forms part of Fandi’s vision of widening the football talent base here.

“The important thing is that we now focus on broadening the pool of players,” Fandi explained on the sidelines of an event at ITE College Central on Monday (Feb 13). He was there to share the values of sport with around 1,000 students along with Brazil and Real Madrid legend Roberto Carlos.

“We’ve tested 40 to 50 players, which we’ve now trimmed down to about 22. But there are still some more players on trials.

“I think the team is shaping up well. We are trying to focus more on technical and tactical abilities … so every day, there are (things like) passing drills and technical drills.

“They all don’t play for clubs, so they play with us and we see how far they can improve. Some are very talented but, maybe, they never went for (club) trials or didn’t want to play for clubs.”

The team train four times a week, alternating between venues like the Arena, ITE College Central and Geylang Field. There is a “long-term plan” that includes overseas training camps, three of which have been lined up later this year.

They also play one friendly match every week against opposition like polytechnic teams, National Football League outfits and the Young Lions. During the upcoming S.League season, the plan is to try and play the club that sits out each game-week due to the odd number of teams in the league.

Every player gets a run-out during games to give them a fair chance. All are signed to one-year contracts, but are evaluated every few months.

“If they are not good enough, we will release (them) and look for more – it’s a process,” Fandi said. “It’s good we have this programme, where they get to play weekly as they need the match experience; if they are in a Prime League team but they don’t play, it’s also a problem.”

The ultimate aim is to select the cream of the crop from this team and combine them with the best pickings from the various Prime League sides and the Young Lions squad for the 2019 SEA Games.

“We will keep track of them (club players) and call them up if there’s a big tournament or friendlies (to prepare for) … and put the best players, not only the ones we are keeping,” Fandi said.

“We are also very happy that there are about 10 (current Young Lions) players still eligible (for the next SEA Games), so that means the pool is getting bigger. It’s good for a coach that they can select the best for Singapore; that’s our main target, to develop this group and, hopefully, they become (players for) SEA Games and Young Lions and the national team for the future. We know that from the clubs, we can get around 15 to 20, in addition to the 10 from Young Lions, and then maybe we have another 10 players (from the team I am handling). That makes 30 to 40 players, which is a very good pool because, last time, (it used to be) last-minute (call-ups from) only Young Lions and the clubs. So now we are giving opportunities to more players.”

On top of forming a team for the 2019 SEA Games, Fandi’s brief in his FAS role also includes assembling and preparing teams for the 2018 Asian Games, 2021 SEA Games and 2020 Olympic Games. He acknowledged that obstacles such as school commitments makes his task a “very tough” one, but he is not fazed.

“I know it’s a very long process and journey to get the boys to a certain level,” Fandi said. “These are the challenges … (but) we understand, we already know this is happening; we must (simply) pick and select the best (to represent Singapore).”