It took the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) about five months to appoint Bernd Stange as Singapore's coach.

With the Malaysian Super League (MSL) starting early January next year, we hope that FAS can hire a new LionsXII coach soon.

In contrast, former LionsXII coach V Sundramoorthy will officially begin his stint at Negeri Sembilan on Nov. 1 to prepare for next season. Hence, he said that he was unable to lead the National Under-23 team at the upcoming SEA Games in December.

To speed up the selection process, here are 6 reasons why Fandi Ahmad is the best candidate for the Lions XII head coach.

1. Has proven experience and track record of success in football management and coaching.

Source

According to a media report, Lions XII's new coach will need to get a top-five finish in the Malaysian Super League.

Fandi Ahmad led Johor Darul Takzim to a third-placed finish in the MSL and to the FA Cup final this year before he was relieved of his coaching duties.

2. Has the highest level of coaching accreditation issued by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

The AFC Professional Coaching Diploma (also known as the AFC Pro-Diploma), is first awarded by AFC in 2001.

Fandi Ahmad was one of the first seven coaches (together with Sundram) in Singapore to be holders of the highly regarded coaching license.

Neil Humphreys and Dan Tan, this means that you are out of the race to replace Sundram as LionsXII coach.

3. Significant experience in delivering coaching development plans and developing a performance pathway to success.

Fandi's coaching honours:

Won two S-League titles with SAFFC (2000 and 2003)

Won S-League Coach of the Year Award in 2000

Led Young Lions to third in S-League in 2004 and 2006

Won 2005 Asean Football Championship as national assistant coach

Enough said.

4. Has excellent leadership and organisational skills.

This is Captain Fantastic who led our football team to our last Malaysia Cup honours in 1994.

He is the benchmark for every emerging young talent [See TODAY ("Why it has to be Fandi", 10 Oct 2013)]

5. Help the Football Association of Singapore blood youngsters.

Source: Fandi Ahmad Academy Facebook

Fandi Ahmad is already doing this on his own, with his F-17 Fandi Ahmad’s Academy of Football Excellence. The academy is open to kids as young as four, and plans to offer up to 60 scholarships to develop these young footballers.

6. Meeting the 5 requirements stated in the Football Association of Singapore's recruitment advertisement.

Potential candidates Kadir Yahaya and R Sasikumar were worried about the extensive job scope of LionsXII.

In contrast, Fandi has already passed all the requirements set by FAS with flying colours.

Moreover, Fandi said recently that he is open to the idea of taking the job.

The fans? A TODAY poll showed 90% of the fans wanted Fandi as the next Lions XII coach. Another poll from Goal.com had 63% of the readers calling for Fandi to replace Sundream.

FAS, what are you waiting for?

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