SINGAPORE – The Football Association of Singapore (FAS) on Friday pledged to “build a better future” for its South-east Asia (SEA) Games squads that are sent to the biennial competition, as it announced 10 key areas to work on in the next three to six months after the conclusion of its review of the Phnom Penh Games in May.

In the wake of the Young Lions’ disastrous campaign in Cambodia and a public backlash, the FAS appointed a panel comprising former Singapore coach Jita Singh and its council members Razali Sa’ad, Lim Tong Hai and Harman Ali, to conduct a review of the team’s performance in the regional Under-22 competition.

At a news conference at FAS headquarters at Jalan Besar Stadium on Friday, the panel said it had discovered “major structural or procedural issues” affecting the Under-22 team.

The Republic, which has never won a SEA Games football gold, finished last in their group, suffering three defeats, including a 7-0 thrashing by fierce rivals Malaysia. Their last semi-final appearance at the Games was in 2013, and it has been 30 years since Singapore has reached the final.

The panel spent four weeks interviewing players, coaches, administrators and backroom staff before presenting their reports to the FAS. The governing body came up with the 10 recommendations based on this feedback, as well as from internal operation reports and discussions with other football associations.

Mr Singh, who led the Lions to four SEA Games when it was still a senior tournament, said: “I agreed to head this panel because I wanted to find out what really went wrong. Based on our findings, we need to make some structural changes based on the recommendations, and we believe these are achievable.”

One proposal is for the men’s U-23 and U-22 sides to be under the purview of men’s national teams and the national coach. This will accelerate the transition of players to the senior squad, and allows access to greater resources, noted FAS acting president Bernard Tan.

The status of SEA Games coach Philippe Aw, the FAS assistant technical director and head of methodology who was granted a leave of absence after the campaign, remains unclear. Mr Tan said a SEA Games coach for the 2025 edition in Thailand will be appointed after the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Under-23 Asian Cup qualifiers in September.

That is another key part of the blueprint moving forward, with each SEA Games competition to be viewed as a two-year project, allowing the coach – who will also take charge of the Young Lions in the Singapore Premier League (SPL) club competition – and team a longer runway to develop. The players will be able to chalk up experience in the SPL, while eight to 10 “high-tempo, high-intensity” international matches will be arranged during that period.

Through his conversations with the players, Mr Tan noted that “they were not prepared for the high-tempo games played at the SEA Games... the tournament was played at an intensity beyond that of the SPL”.

At the start of each SEA Games cycle, a long list of eligible players will be drawn up, with individual developmental plans designed for each to aid in their progress as well as track their physical conditioning.

Another area to address will be to review SPL rules and increase playing minutes for key U-22/23 footballers. In 2018, most SPL clubs had to sign a minimum of six local U-23 players and field at least three of them for the entire first half of a game. In the 2022 season, this was reduced to one.

Only eight of the 20 players in the SEA Games squad were playing regularly – 50 per cent of the total game time – in the 2023 SPL season, noted the FAS. The majority had not completed a full season in the professional league yet.

Given the country’s small talent pool, and national service and school commitments, the FAS will also be more selective in sending the Young Lions for international competitions, with the SEA Games and AFC U-23 Asian Cup qualifiers, which serve as Olympic qualifiers, prioritised over other tournaments.

The FAS had withdrawn the team from the Asean Football Federation U-23 tournament in August and is likely to do the same for the Asian Games in late September, with a decision likely to be announced next week.

Mr Tan stressed the review exercise was not to attribute blame, and said: “The No. 1 thing from the recommendation is we want to put a majority of resources (into the SEA Games effort). The other steps are trying to make sure that players enter the tournament well-conditioned and competition-ready.

“We are very seriously looking into how we can change the ecosystem... a lot of things need to be done.”

The FAS’ 10 recommendations are below:

1. The Under-22s/23s will be categorised under the men’s national teams and fall under the purview of the Lions coach. This elevates the importance of the age-group team, accelerates the transition of these players to the senior squad, and allows access to greater resources ahead of major tournaments.

2. Every SEA Games will be run as a two-year project. This allows the head coach, who should also take charge of the Young Lions in the Singapore Premier League (SPL), and team to develop over a longer period. The team will play in eight to 10 international matches during each cycle. Of the 20 players in the 2023 Games squad, only seven had prior international experience before the Merlion Cup, a tune-up competition.

3. A long list of SEA Games eligible players to be curated at the start of the two-year cycle, and each to have individual development plans (IDP). The 2023 batch arrived for pre-tournament training with different levels of fitness and there was incomplete data regarding their physical conditioning. IDP will be in place three to six months before a tournament.

4. The U-22s/23s, which has to cope with national service and school commitments, will prioritise the SEA Games and AFC U-23 Asian Cup qualifiers, which serve as Olympic qualifiers. All other tournaments will be regarded as developmental opportunities. In 2023, the team has the SEA Games, the AFF U-23 Championship (which they have since withdrawn from), Asian Games and AFC qualifiers, plus the Merlion Cup.

5. Changes in SPL rules will be reviewed to increase playing minutes for key U-22/23 footballers. Currently, all clubs except Brunei DPMM and Young Lions must field a local U-23 player for the entire first half in their matches. Only eight of the 20 SEA Games players were playing regularly (50 per cent of the game time) in the 2023 SPL season.

6. The U-23s/U-22s will have a minimum of two weeks to prepare for priority tournaments; FAS to adjust SPL scheduling and/or enact rules changes for this. Due to NS and school commitments, the 2023 team had only the Merlion Cup in March and a friendly against Geylang International to prepare for the SEA Games.

7. Mental preparation and team-building activities will be compulsory. A trained sports psychologist will be involved in pre-tournament preparation. The 2023 Games campaign did not have a sports psychologist playing an active part in preparations.

8. Players’ diets will be planned when the FAS has control of meals. Currently, only hydration is monitored, while players are advised on healthy eating. In Cambodia, players ate whatever was on offer at the SEA Games hotel.

9. A comprehensive analyst team that provides pre-game opponent analysis, in-game analysis and recommendations, and post-game review and objective feedback, should be built at the national level. The SEA games team was supported by just one analyst.

10. All injuries during tournaments have to be verified and signed off by a medical doctor. Control of players, including those leaving early, should be cleared by the head coach. This protocol was not in place and there was a limited selection of players in the final group-game loss to Malaysia.