Radical ideas needed from new S.League CEO

It was hardly a surprise when the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) announced that Mr Lim Chin will step down after five years as S.League chief executive officer (“S.League CEO Lim Chin to step down in March”; Jan 4).

The problems afflicting the league are easy to identify; the solutions are more difficult to implement. The FAS needs a 10-year plan that addresses all the shortcomings since its heyday after the Lions’ Malaysian league and cup success of 1994.

The new CEO must have a long-term vision to inject revolutionary ideas, be entrusted with a substantial budget from a generous stakeholder and be given five years to institute reforms.

He must also form a team capable of professionalising the S.League’s management system.

To address the league’s current lack of appeal, clubs must be given a higher budget to sign genuinely talented foreigners.

The present restriction of three non-Singaporean signings will not weaken our clubs if these players are significantly better than their teammates.

The recruits of the past decade were often on par with the locals, who did not improve their game by featuring alongside their foreign colleagues.

Once the standard of play improves — comparable to the region’s best leagues — and the S.League becomes more competitive and unpredictable, hence more exciting, attendances would grow. Corporate sponsors may also see enough payback to pour money into the game.

This is provided the authorities do not shoot themselves in the foot by scheduling games at weekends and competing with the English Premier League, instead of on Friday evenings.

Singapore’s small geographical area hinders the development of loyalty to a club. The redrawing of some constituency boundaries every five years makes the new CEO’s job even tougher.

Some clubs may thus need to be renamed and relocated to stadiums with a potentially large enough fan base.

The FAS must not repeat its mistake of weakening the S.League by competing in the Malaysian league, or Asean Super League in future, under the banner of a club comprising top local players.

To have a truly domestic league, there should not be any more foreign clubs. Grants and prize money should stay with local clubs, which can channel these funds into recruiting quality foreigners and developing young talents from within their academies.

We can then have a league to be proud of and one that is relevant to Singaporean football.