Ben Davis cut from Thailand's SEA Games squad, won't get to play against S'pore

The match was not meant to be.

Jason Fan | November 22, 2019, 06:49 PM

Singaporeans looking forward to watching Ben Davis play football against Singapore in the upcoming Southeast Asian Games will be disappointed.

The 18-year-old Fulham FC footballer was eventually not named as part of Thailand's SEA Games squad, according to an announcement made by the Football Association of Thailand.

He was effectively dropped from the team.

This was despite him being called up for Thailand's provisional squad in September.

Singapore would face Thailand in SEA Games match on Dec. 1

The exclusion of Davis from Thailand's SEA games squad may come as a disappointment to some, as they may have wanted to see Davis battle against his Singapore, which he grew up in.

On Oct. 15, Singapore's Young Lions drew with defending champions Thailand in Group B for the 2019 SEA Games, which meant that Davis could potentially face Singapore.

On Oct. 31, the fixtures were announced, and it was confirmed that Singapore would face Thailand in the SEA Games on Dec. 1.

However, now that Davis has been cut from the Thailand squad, the excitement leading up to this particular match may have died down.

No regrets leaving Singapore

Davis is currently playing for Fulham FC, and made his debut in the first-team of the English club in August 2019, in a Carabao Cup match against Southampton.

Davis was declared a Singapore National Service defaulter in February 2019, after he failed to report for enlistment as required.

In October 2019, he broke his silence to the media, stating that he had no intentions of returning to Singapore, or to complete his NS obligations.

He claimed he did not regret his decision, and said succeeding in football was his first priority.

NS deferment rejected because Davis not doing it for S’pore’s interest

Davis had originally applied for a deferment of his NS so that he could play for Fulham. However, his application was rejected because Davis’ father was unable to commit to a date for his son to return to serve.

According to Mindef, Davis’ application was also rejected because his deferment was meant to further his professional career instead of Singapore’s interest.

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Top image from Ben Davis/Instagram.