April 15 – Singapore have unveiled a new six-year strategic plan which has set the target of the national team being ranked among the top 10 nations in Asia by 2015.
Singapore, the smallest country in Southeast Asia with a population of less than five million, already punches above its weight.
Under long-time Serbian coach Radojko Avramović, a former goalkeeper who played most of his career in England with Notts County and Coventry City, are currently the second-ranked team in Southeast Asia and the 17th in Asia.
The team almost qualified for the 2011 Asian Cup and managed to reach the third round of the 2010 World Cup qualifiers two years ago, a feat that regional neighbours with bigger annual budgets, like Indonesia and Vietnam, failed to achieve.
The Football Association of Singapore’s (FAS) plan has been praised by Sepp Blatter, the FIFA President.
He said: ”The strategic plan that the FAS have devised is one of the most comprehensive developed by a federation that I have witnessed.
“Having read and understood your strategic goals, I am confident they will take Singapore football to greater heights.
“FIFA have long recognised the expertise of the management personnel in Singapore football, utilising these skills in consultancy work as FIFA instructors across the confederations.
“Despite budgetary constraints, the FAS have a strong record of generating considerable returns on their investment, a definite strength in Singapore football,”
Mohammed Bin Hammam, the President of the Asian Football Confederation, also claimed to be impressed by the vision of the FAS.
He said: ”The success of the FAS is attributed to the strategic planning in various areas … [and] they have proven that with hard work, commitment and creative thinking, you can still succeed despite having a small population and challenged by other constraints.”
