10 recommendations were released on Friday (Jul. 7) by the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) after the conclusion of its post 2023 SEA Games review.

The review committee was led by former national head coach Jita Singh.

It also included FAS vice president Razali Saad, former national footballer Lim Tong Hai, and football academy coach Harman Ali.

FAS said that it will work to implement the recommendations over the next three to six months.

Here are the 10 recommendations:

1. Men's U23/22 to be moved under men's national teams

The Men's under-23/22 side will be moved under the men's national teams, headed by the national head coach.

The men's national teams will thus be accountable for the performances of both the senior national team and the U23/22 team.

"This change elevates the importance of the U23/22 squad, ensures that national team resources are made available in support of the U23/22 squad, and accelerates the transition of U23/22 players to the full A team."

2. SEA Games should be run as a two-year project

The SEA Games should be run as a two-year project to allow the coach and team to develop over a longer period.

This will include the opportunity to "deliberately blood younger players to clock up valuable experience" in the Singapore Premier League (SPL).

The team will also play in eight to 10 high tempo, high intensity international matches over that duration.

The SEA Games coach, who should also be the coach of the Young Lions, will be appointed for the duration of this project.

The review committee found that of the 20 players selected for the 2023 SEA Games squad, many had limited SPL minutes.

Additionally, only seven had prior international experience before the Merlion Cup.

"One of the consistent feedback from the players in SEA Games Squad was that they were not prepared for the high tempo games played at the SEA Games. Many had commented that the tournament was played at a tempo and intensity that was 'beyond that of the Singapore Premier League' making international match minutes beyond the SPL even more important.

This batch had limited international minutes and opportunities due to Covid. This lack of exposure to international football possibly affected Singapore players more than it did our competitors, who could experience high tempo, high intensity football within their own borders."

3. Individual Development Plans

A long list of players in the U23/22 squad is to be developed at the start of the two-year project.

Those on the list are to have proper Individual Development Plans (IDP).

This will allow the coach and his team to improve the individual abilities of players over the two years of preparation, even whilst many are playing in their respective clubs.

A key focus of IDP preparation must be the three to six-month period before the tournament.

National team players must turn up for international duty match conditioned and fit. The SEA Games team coach must then work with his players pre-tournament.

"Acting on an IDP will require constant communication between the national coaching team, the individual players, and the cooperation of the clubs. The player's progress must be monitored."

The review committee found that for the 2023 SEA Games, players arrived for pre-tournament training on Apr. 17, 2023 with "different levels of fitness and conditioning".

"This may be more of an issue at the U23/22 level than the A team since the players have fewer playing opportunities.

A review of the players data, which is also incomplete, of matches played over the previous 21 days, the distance ran, both cumulative, and high-speed runs, show that the condition of the players were very uneven, with some having had very little pre-tournament match exposure, and little intense training.

A two-week period is not sufficient to ramp the players condition up."

4. Two priority tournaments: SEA Games & AFC U23

The U23/22 will focus only on two "priority tournaments"— the SEA Games and the AFC U23 tournament, which serves as the Olympic qualifier.

All other tournaments will be regarded as "developmental opportunities".

"This is in recognition that most of our age group players have competing obligations unlike other teams in the region."

If there is a scheduling clash, consideration for withdrawal should be given, if an appropriate squad cannot be formed.

According to the review committee's findings, Singapore's U23/22 players are "unlike others in the region".

In Singapore, the talent pool of U23/22 players is small as the vast majority of them are either doing their national service (NS) or are students.

"This makes asking the same players to commit to take leave across multiple tournaments for centralised training as near impossible.

Some prioritisation is required. 2023 had four scheduled U23/22 tournaments plus the Merlion Cup – the SEA Games, the AFF U23, the Asian Games and the AFC Qualifiers. This possibly led to a loss in focus."

5. Changes in SPL for more playing time

Changes in SPL rules will be reviewed to allow for an increase of playing time for key U23/22 players.

This is to ensure that they get enough league match experience at the highest level, especially closer to the tournament.

"A variety of ideas are being considered including freeing up the transfer window for U23 players.

This review will be done in conjunction with the SPL clubs to ensure that both club and national objectives can be met."

Within the 2023 SEA Games squad, it was found that only eight players were playing regularly in the SPL, with over 50 per cent of playing time.

The majority of the squad only started regularly playing in the SPL in 2023, with most not having a full season under their belt.

"The lack of game time possibly affected the ability of players, especially those not exposed to sufficient minutes, to cope with the tempo of the tournament, where a game is played every two to three days over the course of two weeks."

6. Minimum of two weeks preparation for priority tournaments

A new standard operating procedure (SOP) will be implemented, in which the squad will have a minimum of two weeks preparation for the U23/22 priority tournaments.

The SOP will aim to deliver two to three warm up games prior to the start of each tournament, with one week domestically and one week in the country of competition.

As most multi-game tournaments stretch for two weeks or up to a maximum of 35 days per tournament, FAS will adjust the SPL scheduling and/or enact rule changes to enable all U23/22 players to meet this SOP.

In return, all national players will be expected to make a commitment to fulfil this SOP with full attendance for the duration.

The review committee found that the 2023 SEA Games players had limited time before departure.

They only had one pre-tournament game held in Singapore against Geylang International, as well as one training session in Cambodia before the match against Thailand.

This was due to "multiple constraints".

7. Mental preparation and team building activities to be compulsory

Mental preparation and team building activities will be compulsory.

A trained sports psychologist will be involved in pre-tournament preparation and will help to prepare the players individually, and the squad collectively.

The psychologist should also work on second line leaders within the group to help them play their role effectively.

Previously in the preparation of the players for the 2023 SEA Games, a sports psychologist did not play an active part.

8. FAS to have more control of players' diets

Diets of the players will be planned when the FAS has control of meals.

Currently, only hydration is monitored, while players are advised on healthy eating.

Diets were not "controlled" at the 2023 SEA Games hotel as the host decided on the menu.

"The players also ate the food on offer, which the other competing teams generally ate as well."

9. Comprehensive analyst team should be built

A comprehensive analyst team should be built at the national level.

"An analyst team is now part of modern football. They provide pre-game opponent analysis, in game analysis and recommendations, and post-game review and objective feedback."

The team was supported by only one analyst at the SEA Games.

10. Injured players must be issued an MC

All injured players during tournaments have to be verified and signed off by a medical doctor.

A medical certificate must also be issued for the players unavailable for selection to cover a period post-tournament.

Control of players, including those leaving early, should be cleared by the head coach.

Objective of the review is not to attribute blame

FAS explained that the 10 recommendations will "not touch on long-term developmental issues regarding our football ecosystem".

"It is already recognised that major work needs to be done to allow our players to play at a different level. Much of this will be done under the long term Unleash the Roar! Project.

The recommendations contained within will therefore focus largely on the SEA Games tournament preparation and the tournament itself. These recommendations address major structural or procedural issues that affected the national U22 team in this tournament."

FAS added that the objective in developing the recommendations was to "build a better future and not attribute blame".

"This approach was crucial throughout the review to ensure that there was proper soul searching amongst participants, and so that everyone could be honest and constructive in a safe space," said FAS.

Top images via FAS.