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| S-League |
DEVELOPMENT of local players will be the focus of at least three S-League clubs, following the increase in their funding.
On Monday, the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) told local S-League club chairmen that they will receive a 40 per cent increase in direct funding, and up to twice the amount of subsidies that are pegged to various key performance indicators (KPIs).
Including a $110,000 cash injection for each local club's mandatory Centre of Excellence (COE) programme, the clubs may potentially rake in about $1 million annually, over five years.
Each club will receive about $434,000 in direct funding, an amount that is similar to what clubs got in the S-League's founding years. And while the association's funding to the clubs has increased annually, this year's spike is also the most "substantial" in recent years, according to Balestier Khalsa vice-chairman S Thavaneson.
"Any increase in funding will have a positive impact on the clubs. Maybe the impact may not be that great for clubs with substantial sponsors, but for those operating on a lower budget, it will help to a greater extent."
Balestier, who opted out of the COE programme in 2008 with four other local clubs, will place more emphasison youth development with the funding boost.
Thavaneson added that the club will be looking to utilise the new Young Foreign Player subsidy, where the FAS will provide up to $110,000 for a maximum of two quality foreign players, aged between 18 and 21.
As an example, he said: "With the subsidy, instead of having to groom an 18-year-old from scratch who is on $1,800 a month, we may be able to get an excellent 19-year-old, who has played in eastern Europe, for $4,500 to $5,000 a month."
Eastern giants Tampines Rovers plan to bolster their soccer academy - for players aged between seven and 16 - in line with FAS' plans for clubs to eventually add the Under-8, Under-10 and Under-12 teams to their COE programmes.
Chairman Teo Hock Seng said: "We want to keep on supplying players for the national team."
But he added that the onus will be on big clubs such as Tampines to "do better" to maintain their status in the local competitions, with all clubs receiving the same direct cash injection from the FA.
Tanjong Pagar are in the midst of hiring three coaches for their own COE programme and are prepared to dip into their own reserves to make sure it is run properly, according to chairman Edward Liu.
He said:"We are the new kids on the block, so we are fortunate enough to benefit from this revised funding scheme and will focus on our youth development programme.
"We are very serious about this because the youth is our future."
He added that the Clementi-based club inducted key members of the grassroots organisations in West Coast and Queenstown into its management committee in a meeting last night, and aimed to roll out community outreach programmes by June.
Thavaneson was philosophical when asked if the influx of funds would allow the S-League to compete with the Indonesian Super League and the Indonesia Premier League, which boasts of top Singaporean players such as Shahril Ishak and Noh Alam Shah.
He said: "You cannot put the cart before the horse. It is not just about better football alone. It is also about better match-day experience and community outreach programmesas well."
Liu added: "So long as we meet the KPIs set by the FAS there will be more funding, consequently we will be able to reward players more, which will motivate themto perform better.
"Perhaps some players will return to the S-League, or the existing players will continue to stay here.
"Right now, there are gaps between the two leagues, but the situation in Indonesia is not a bed of roses. I would rather focus on the club's development and not bedistracted by things that are not happening here."
Sources: http://news.asiaone.com
