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How to better structure football at the junior level

Much ink has been spilt on the challenges faced by Singapore football, and our inability to build a large and diverse pool of talent to serve the national team.

Much ink has been spilt on the challenges faced by Singapore football, and our inability to build a large and diverse pool of talent to serve the national team.

It boils down to how football at the most junior level is structured, and I have a few suggestions for the Football Association of Singapore’s (FAS) kind consideration.

First, a league should be formed based on age groups. We would need divisions, and a relegation-and-promotion mechanism.

This league should be based on merit, and players can play for only one team or school.

S-League teams should be required to contribute a team to this league as well, but can draw players only from schools in their designated vicinity or region.

In the 16-to-18 age group, teams that win their division should stand the chance to be promoted.

And we could disband teams such as the Courts Young Lions and the LionsXII, and let good national players sign with different teams and learn different styles and approaches.

We should also have a relegation-and-promotion mechanism for the S-League and the Prime League.

If league games are played on Saturdays, parents can be involved. And if the number of teams per division is kept to not more than 10, then only 18 Saturdays need to be used for games over the course of one year.

With the S-League teams involved, this may also encourage coaches to go down to scout for talent at the matches. Ultimately, winning a league is a better reflection of the true form of a team.

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