SINGAPORE — With the second season of First XI moving closer towards its finale, the journey to make the final squad took an interesting detour.

Following their stint in Bangkok in which none of the remaining 23 players were eliminated from MediaCorp Channel 5’s football reality TV series, they were ushered into the kitchen, rather than onto the pitch, to learn how to whip up a delicious treat.

The task for them was to try and recreate two dishes by a real-life chef, and although cooking may not seem to have anything to do with football, First XI coach R Sasikumar said sometimes, it is good to take a break and have some fun.

“Having a fun activity is good to break the monotony of football training every day,” said the former Singapore national defender.

“It’s part of a footballer’s life to sometimes have these light hearted activities that could help in team bonding.”

The ultimate goal of the players is to make the final squad of 16 and play in a match against a selection consisting of Singaporean players past and present, as well as former English Premier League stars Robbie Fowler, Dietmar Hamann, Des Walker and Steve Harkness, at the Jalan Besar Stadium on Oct 23.

Among those hoping to make the cut is forward Aiman Hafiz.

The 19-year-old had been sick during the day of the cooking challenge because of the intense training for his school team Ngee Ann Polytechnic and the First XI.

Although he was dropped from the Ngee Ann team due to his commitments with schoolwork and the First XI, Aiman is thankful for the opportunity given to him by the show.

“I think it was a good thing for the team to go through the cooking episode together,” said Aiman.

“In some ways, it was like learning a new skill and more about our team-mates outside of football. After the episode, when I met the team, it definitely felt like they bonded very well after an activity like that.”

Despite missing out on the fun-filled cooking session, Aiman remains the joker of the team.

Said defender Ikhwan Risydah: “He is really friendly and cracks people up and talks to everyone, making it easier to get along as a team.”

Watch the First XI on MediaCorp Channel 5 tonight at 8.00pm.