S’pore football should learn from Iceland

I was amazed at Iceland’s shocking yet deserved 2-1 win over England in Euro 2016.

From a population of merely 330,000 and comprising many part-timers, the Iceland team’s victory produced several lessons for Singapore (“How Iceland grew to become a football force”; June 29)

First, rather than blaming the dire state of local football on the population, or lack of it, Singapore should focus on developing its infrastructure.

Since our weather is either very sunny or rainy, perhaps we can consider building more indoor pitches, as Iceland has done to overcome its harsh winter conditions for most of the year.

Second, by engaging a good coach, results should naturally follow. In contrast, our former coach Bernd Stange arrived with a big reputation but brought Singapore down the world rankings and struggled to win even against minnows such as Cambodia and Laos.

Hence, we should bring in a coach who can help develop our youth and grassroots football.

Third, reputation and monthly earnings do not guarantee success, as demonstrated by England’s overrated and overpaid players. Rather, our players should work harder, with discipline and determination, and focus more on teamwork to improve as a team and as individuals.

They should be bold enough to strive to play farther overseas instead of looking at short-term gains. In the case of footballer Hariss Harun, he turned down a stint in Portugal and played in Malaysia for a huge salary.

Lastly, Singapore should stop playing friendlies against minnows and play against stronger teams instead, even if a hiding is expected.

We should learn from countries like Japan and South Korea in the past, and Thailand and Vietnam now, which have suffered big losses against stronger countries but learnt the footballing lessons that have led to higher standards.