The first thing we learned when we attended Jermaine Pennant's signing ceremony wasn't about him — in fact, this story isn't really about him.

Instead, for once, it's about Singaporeans in football — more specifically, former Tampines Rovers chairman Teo Hock Seng. Football fans know him for sure — having only stepped down last year after 15 at the helm, Teo has over the years ploughed millions of his own money into the club and into nurturing his players.

If you don't know Teo, he really is one heck of a guy, and we'll explain why.

Many of you would recognise former national striker Noh Alam Shah, who just last year made waves on social media with his move to become a private car driver:

He's now no longer doing that, and is instead gainfully employed, we were pleasantly surprised to discover, by none other than Teo, as a full-time operations executive at the car rental department of Komoco Motors, Teo's fully-owned car company.

Komoco Holdings, by the way, happens to be the sole distributor of Hyundai, Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ferrari cars, as well as Harley Davidson motorcycles, in Singapore. Yeah, the man's in a good place.

Anyway, Pennant's signing was held at its Leng Kee showroom because he was to receive a Hyundai Veloster to drive during his time here as a Tampines Rovers player. Noh Alam Shah was present as a representative for Komoco’s Car Leasing Department, to hand the keys to him.

Speaking to Mothership.sg, Noh Alam Shah shared that last season was a depressing time for him and that working as a private hire car driver helped to lift his spirits.

“My morale was very low because I wasn’t getting any games, but when you are driving and your passengers recognise you for what you have done and ask to take a photo with you, it lifts your morale and comforted me that I was not forgotten,” he said.

(We thought it was worth adding, by the way, that Teo once lent him $70,000 — without hesitation — to post bail for his younger brother, who was sentenced to six years' jail for a drug offence and for possessing live ammunition.)

“I am truly grateful to Mr Teo. He has helped me so many times that there is no way that I can ever repay him. I have lived the dream of playing for the national team, scoring goals in packed stadiums. That dream is over now, and I am beginning a new chapter in my life, focusing on learning the ropes in a new industry. I will give my best so I can repay Mr Teo Hock Seng for his kindness to me.”

It turns out that Noh Alam Shah is not the only footballer that "The Godfather" has employed.

Over the years, he has offered employment to a long list of retiring players such as Lim Chiu Peng, Rahman Nongchik, and more recently Rafi Ali, Nazri Nasir — he's now got so many folks working for him that he often jokes he can form a pretty good football team with his employees.

Current Tampines players like goalkeeper Joey Sim, and defenders Fabian Kwok and Ismadi Mukhtar have been given part-time positions at Komoco as well, as part of a scheme designed to prepare footballers for life after football.

Former national goalie Lim Chiu Peng has worked for Teo in Komoco for more than two decades. He's now 65(!).

Here's Teo with 26-year-old Kwok, who's now a part-time management trainee at the company.

Kwok said he is grateful for the chance Teo has given him to learn a new trade even as he continues to chase his football dream.

"There is a lot of uncertainty for a footballer in Singapore. We are always worried about whether we will have a contract the next season," he told us. "It's reassuring to know that I have something to fall back on."

Speaking to Mothership.sg, Teo said, “I think football is a very tough job. You are a football player, and one day you break your leg, then what happens. So as the chairman of the Football Club, it’s my responsibility to take care of the players. Sponsorship is coming out money today, and forgetting tomorrow but that is not how I do things. There are limits to what I do but whenever I can, I try my best to take care of them.”

Legend.

Top photo by Lim Weixiang.

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