The Football Association of Singapore (FAS) has appointed 67-year-old Belgian Michel Sablon, the man who drew up the blueprint behind Belgium’s rise to world footballing power, as its new technical director of football.

Belgium football was in doldrums in 2000. Ranked a low 71st in the world, the co-hosts of the 2000 European Championships, were humiliatingly dumped out of the tournament in the first-round.

In came Sablon, and 15 years on, Belgium are 3rd in the Fifa rankings and possess some of the most exciting young players in world football.

Sablon is coming into Singapore football in similar circumstances.

The Lions suffered a humiliating group stage exit as co-host from the 2014 AFF Suzuki Cup. They have also plunged to a historic low of 162 in Fifa rankings.

Can Sablon affect the same spectacular transformation with the Lions?

Let’s compare Singapore with Belgium.

Belgium also has slightly more than the twice the number of people. 11.2 million Belgians vs 5.3 million Singaporeans. As compared to the neighbouring countries, the two countries' populations are relatively small.

That, unfortunately, is the only similarity. The differences, however, are aplenty.

Here are some hurdles that Sablon will have to overcome:

1. Our national teams are out of form

The senior side, the U23 and U22 teams have not won a match in 2015. Playing on home ground last year, the national team were eliminated from the AFF Suzuki Cup in the group stages. Our U23 team were thrashed 5-0 by China and drew 2-2 with minnows Mongolia recently. With the SEA Games in Singapore fast approaching and the bulk of the SEA Games squad expected to come from the same U-23 team, our medal prospects look bleak.

2. Our league is dying a slow and painful death

Attendance figures have been piteous for the last 3 years and the league had to be downsized at the end of last year with the closure of two clubs which had been in the league since its inauguration in 1996. We are a football crazy nation, but that merely means we are willing to fork out crazy cable subscription rates to catch our favourite BPL teams play on television.

3. You are a professional footballer? Are you mad, bro?

In Singapore football, the norm is for clubs to offer 10-11 month contracts. How many youngsters will be brave (crazy) enough to consider a career in football, over other more viable aspirations, which practically means every other occupation?

4. Youth development? What's that?

We have gone backwards in youth development. Only three S-League clubs today still run centre of excellences. If we count the private academies and the FAS age group teams, that means we have got at most 500 boys honing their skills regularly. We may get one Eden Hazard from the 500, but we are unlikely to also get a Maroune Fellaini, a Thibaut Courtois, and a Kevin De Bruyne.

Sablon has his work cut out for him and he has pleaded for patience from the onset.

We, the fans, must give him that, and perhaps for a change, one weekend, let’s go down to the stadium to really experience a football game, the way it should be experienced.

Top photo from FAS

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