The Ministry for Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) "is working with" the Ministry of Defence to give high-level football players time off and leave to facilitate training for competitions.

This is one of a series of measures announced in a new national project the ministry has to grow and strengthen Singapore's football scene.

Parliamentary Secretary for MCCY Eric Chua spoke about this on Monday (March 8), rounding up the Committee of Supply (COS) debates held in Parliament over the past week.

The measures to "tap support avenues for eligible footballers", which the ministry did not confirm have been agreed upon by MINDEF, include early enlistment, leave and time-off for full-time national servicemen (NSFs) to allow them to train and give them opportunities to play at top levels whilst fulfilling their NS obligations.

More details, Chua said, will be announced by the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) and Sport Singapore (SportSG), the government agency overseeing this.

Here are some other aspects of the plan Chua shared in Parliament:

Standardised national football curriculum in primary schools

To increase interest in football among primary school children and get them started on the right fundamentals, Chua said that MCCY will work with Ministry of Education (MOE) to build up a robust participation base.

FAS will establish a standardised national football curriculum in primary schools, with about 2,000 boys per primary school cohort exposed to football techniques and tactics.

Chua added: "This is an inclusive vision... as we also want to grow the participation base for women's football."

This curriculum will be adopted by football co-curricular activities (CCA) in the schools.

FAS will also increase the number of qualified football coaches in schools, with the aim for all school coaches to at least attain an Asian Football Confederation (AFC) 'C' License.

According to MCCY, the new curriculum will be made accessible to all public and private football clubs and academies, in addition to the schools.

Elite youth league in secondary schools

MCCY will be engaging secondary schools to invite them to establish School Football Academies (SFAs), said Chua.

This will allow aspiring footballers to further develop their skills in a school-based training environment, supported by an augmented coaching bench, enhanced facilities, and an intensive training programme.

Youth footballers under the SFAs will also compete in an elite youth league to hone their competitive edge.

Talented students outside these SFAs will be scouted to join the ActiveSG Football Academy Development Centres so that they can receive similar levels of training support and competition exposure.

Scholarships

Local and foreign scholarships will be offered to Singapore's top local youth football talents who wish to pursue a professional career in football.

MCCY will explore partnering overseas football academies with links to professional football clubs that offer a concurrent academic track.

Chua said that FAS is in discussions with overseas football institutions such as La Liga, Bundesliga Club Borussia Dortmund, as well as Australian colleges such as Maribyrnong College.

Locally, MCCY will work with clubs such as the Lion City Sailors to provide similar opportunities.

Retraining football coaches, creating overseas club opportunities for local talent

MCCY also wants to raise the overall capabilities and bench strength of high-quality coaches in the system.

This will be done by both SportSG and FAS. All coaches and personnel will be trained to teach the national football curriculum.

Additionally, SportSG and FAS will establish scouting and talent identification networks locally and overseas, and proactively link up local talents with overseas clubs that will provide them high-quality developmental opportunities.

Other plans

Footballers will be tracked on a national athlete monitoring database that brings together Singapore's sport science capabilities under a technology-enabled space.

The database will operate alongside a new football high performance centre, said Chua.

SportSG will enhance existing infrastructure to improve their training and competition conditions, as well as maximise playable spaces so more people can play, and more often.

Ultimately, though, it is hoped that young Singaporeans who are keen to play football will receive the support of their parents to learn and play the sport, and to take their passion and talents to higher levels, with MCCY Minister Edwin Tong urging unity in this regard.

"It has to be all of us, working together, united, pulling in the same direction, for this project to have chance. Uplifting Singapore football is a national project, and I encourage all of us to rally around a common goal.

We'll continue to do our best to build a sustainable and resilient football ecosystem which Singaporeans can be proud of."

Top image from FAS/FB.