S’pore to bid for 2019 or 2021 u-17 World Cup

SINGAPORE — The Football Association of Singapore (FAS) will go ahead with its plan to host the 2019 or 2021 FIFA under-17 World Cup, FAS president Zainudin Nordin revealed yesterday.

A standing committee co-chaired by FAS vice-presidents Edwin Tong and Bernard Tan has also been formed to submit a bid and oversee the development of a national under-17 side that is competitive at that level.

Speaking after the FAS’ 35th Annual General Meeting, general secretary Winston Lee said bidding to stage the FIFA under-17 World Cup will mean a lot to Singapore football.

“In the long term, we will benefit from the transfer of knowledge needed to host the event and other supporting industries will benefit too,” said Lee.

Chile and India will host the 2015 and 2017 editions, respectively, but it is not known whether any other countries are keen to bid for the 2019 or 2021 FIFA under-17 World Cup.

But Singapore’s chances would be boosted by the completion of the Sports Hub’s 55,000-seater National Stadium. The Republic also has six smaller stadiums with capacities of between 5,000 to 10,000 seats.

The FAS must also convince football’s world governing body FIFA that Singapore has the capability to stage the tournament, but Lee said: “The indications so far are that they trust us and we also know what it takes to host the (under-17) World Cup.”

But Tan stressed that as part of the proposed bid, Singapore should also be able to field a national side that is competitive internationally at the under-17 level.

“It’s pointless playing in the tournament as hosts and get beaten severely. That would leave a scar behind,” said Tan. “So we need to start looking at (10- to 12-year-olds and) forming a team now. But it would be better if we can host the 2021 edition, which means we have a longer period to identity the talent and build a team from there.”

But FAS technical director Slobodan Pavkovic will not be involved in that process, after the association also announced yesterday that the Serbian, who joined in 2008, had resigned.

“We are on the lookout for someone who has the experience at high-level football, such as at a top European club or taken a team to the Youth World Cup,” said Zainudin.