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Helping schoolkids work hard and play

SINGAPORE — From this month, teenage footballer Hadi Ridwan Rohizat will have added incentive to plough through three hours of mathematics tuition at the Chong Pang Community Club every Saturday.

SINGAPORE — From this month, teenage footballer Hadi Ridwan Rohizat will have added incentive to plough through three hours of mathematics tuition at the Chong Pang Community Club every Saturday.

Hadi, 14, is part of a pioneer group of 80 students selected for the Nee Soon Football and Study Programme (NSFSP) for youths aged between seven and 16 years old.

Launched to support and encourage youth development through sports, the inaugural programme allows budding footballers to study with its volunteer mentors as well as train with local legend Fandi Ahmad’s F-17 Football Academy at Yishun Junior College over the weekend.

Die-hard Liverpool fan Hadi wants to be like Steven Gerrard and Fandi when he grows up. The Orchid Park Secondary School student-athlete told TODAY: “Football is my life, I even dream about it sometimes. I wish to be the next Fandi Ahmad and I hope this programme will help me do that. Training with coach Steven Tan will help improve my technique and my fitness. Tuition is okay and it helps me in my schoolwork … especially in mathematics as I’m not that strong in the subject.”

Hadi’s parents, dad Rohizat Idris and mum Kamisah Kechut, are happy to see their son occupied on the weekends while pursuing his football dreams.

“For us parents, we are interested in the tuition programme and we don’t want him to gather outside (school), so it’s better for him to play football. It’s also great that it’s free because he is also under the MOE (Ministry of Education) financial assistance scheme,” said housewife Kamisah on the sidelines of the Nee Soon Cup 2015 and official launch of the NSFSP at Yishun Junior College yesterday.

The brainchild of Fandi and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Law K Shanmugam — who is also the Grassroots Adviser and MP for Nee Soon GRC — the football-cum-study initiative is open to all youths, with up to 80 students from underprivileged families who live or study in the constituency fully-sponsored by the Nee Soon GRC Grassroots Organisations.

Yesterday’s official launch also saw some 160 children across four age groups participating in 16 friendly matches at the Nee Soon Cup tournament. Shanmugam is hopeful that the programme will unearth Singapore’s future football stars, as he said: “I asked Fandi if we can work together to help children from less privileged backgrounds in Nee Soon.

“We want them (the youths) out of the streets, and to focus on education. I hope out of this group, in future some will become national footballers. You’ve got to give them the opportunities.”

With the call for youth development growing after the Lion’s premature exit at last year’s AFF Suzuki Cup, F-17 Football Academy coach Steven Tan is hopeful that the local and foreign academies here will be able to produce Singapore’s next Fandi. “If there is no good youth development, where will we find the next generation of players to take over from the ageing players? Coaches at the youth level have to do a good job, and lay the foundation and basics for these players,” said former international Tan.

Added former Lions defender Lim Tong Hai: “The FAS (Football Association of Singapore) is trying its best but there is only so much it can do. There are so many academies and so many kids playing football in Singapore and that’s a big burden for FAS to look after. If it can spread it across (the groups), everyone can work hand in hand, and it will be good to have mini tournaments among the academies.”

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