Ever heard of an official football match — not a friendly, mind you — with one team making five substitutions?

A team can have up to 12 reserves sitting on its bench, but it’s a known fact that only three substitutions are allowed in "any match played in an official competition organised under the auspices of FIFA, the confederations or the member associations" (see the official rules - page 17).

Yet, according to the S-League's official website and this match report, Lao Police F.C. replaced five of its team players when it played against Geylang International in last Tuesday's Singapore Cup match.

This under the auspices of Singapore’s much-adored national football body: the Football Association of Singapore (more lovingly known by its truncation FAS), our football-crazy country’s FIFA member organisation.

FAS, the football revolutionary

What's so revolutionary about this, you might ask? See, FIFA has been considering allowing a fourth substitution for matches that go into extra time. The International Football Association Board, however, which decides on amendments to official football rules, has delayed its final decision on the matter (see the sixth paragraph of this FIFA media release).

So of course, in keeping with our reputation of always being number 1 at everything in the world, FAS has once again put Singapore on the world map by allowing one team five (not even four) substitutions, in a match that didn't even go into extra time — leaving the rest of the world, and even FIFA, in the dust.

This monumental move has also caught the attention of Singaporeans. Hey FIFA, are you watching the Little Red Dot? FAS is light-years more progressive than you!

Thank you, FAS, for once again making Singaporeans proud. But I wish you would slow down your trailblazing tendencies, ‘cause I'm having difficulty containing my excitement.

Just three months ago, in a further demonstration of its innovativeness, the FAS scored another world-first with a referee and his two assistants in an S-League match wearing jerseys with a number on the back.

If that isn’t enough to demonstrate the natural gift that the FAS possesses in football administration, last month, it sent Singapore's SEA Games team to Japan for friendly matches against lowly amateur sides, including a student team, to ensure our under-23s are adequately tested and prepared.

Don't worry hor, our players also had very serious training during that Japan trip, so it's all good.

All this, evidently, informs us that given the timeliness of FIFA chief Sepp Blatter’s resignation, there is only one thing left for FAS president Zainudin Nordin to do: step up to the pitch.

(After all, the Sunday Times reported that he refused to say who he voted for at the recent election:

When contacted by the Sunday Times, a Football Association of Singapore spokesman declined to reveal who its president Zainudin Nordin and general secretary Winston Lee voted for and why, saying "the vote is secret and there would be no further comment".)

Hmmmm.

Michael Y.P. Ang is a Singaporean freelance journalist. He worked at the former Singapore Sports Council before covering local and international sports for Channel NewsAsia for several years. Follow his Facebook page Michael Ang Sports for his commentaries on Singaporean sport. But on a very serious note, he occasionally writes semi-serious reviews of Singapore's sporting scene.

Top photo from here.

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