ActiveSG Football Academy Registration Opens

ActiveSG Football Academy Registration Opens

Young budding footballers can now join the ActiveSG Football Academy and learn how to play the sport from former national football players Aleksandar Duric and Terry Pathmanathan. The announcement was made during the official launch of the ActiveSG Football Academy, held today at the Jurong East Stadium, where 350 boys and girls will be participating in a football clinic conducted by Academy Principal Duric, Pathmanathan and guest coaches Hyrizan Jufri, Richard Bok, Robin Chitrakar, Steven Tan and Winston Yap – all renowned coaches in local football.

Launched by Ms Grace Fu, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, the ActiveSG Football Academy is the first of a series of sport academies that will be launched by SportSG this year.

Minister Fu said, “Many Singaporeans love football; it brings people and communities together. The Academy will create opportunities for many more young Singaporeans to learn the sport. I am happy to note that the Academy has already received strong support from former Team Singapore players and other partners. In time to come, we will have a wider talent pool, and a stronger, more cohesive football community.”

Aiming to expand the pool of Singaporeans youths playing football, the academy will start off with 500 children aged 6-12 who are keen to develop and hone their football skills; with the number set to increase as the programme develops.

Mr Lim Teck Yin, CEO of SportSG said, “There are many boys and girls in Singapore who enjoy playing football, but may not have the best platform to further their development and understanding of the sport, especially if they are not part of their school team. The academy will provide children in Singapore, in school teams and otherwise, with a consistent and systematic approach to learning football as they start out; and progressively guide them along as they grow older. The only prerequisite for them to join the academy is the willingness to learn. We are delighted to be able to work with our partners, which includes the FAS and Tampines Rovers, to fundamentally enhance the opportunities to play and train properly.”

Suitable for both boys and girls, the inaugural academy programme consists of 14 sessions which will begin on 28 May and take place over five weeks during the June school holidays. To make the programme accessible for Singaporeans, the programme will be held at five ActiveSG sport centres island-wide. Priced at $130, or less than $10 per session, the programme is currently one of the most affordable football academy programmes in Singapore.

The academy programme will adopt its core syllabus from the FAS Grassroots Manual that was developed by FAS Technical Director, Michel Sablon. It will also incorporate SportSG’s expertise in the area of character development through sport, including elements from SportSG’s “Game for Life” toolkit, to provide a more holistic programme for participants.

“It is not enough in age-group football to just focus on the technical aspect of the training. At the ActiveSG Football Academy, we will also teach important values such as discipline, respect and teamwork to our participants, as well as equip them with valuble life skills. To ensure that, all coaches at the ActiveSG Football Academy will have to undergo a comprehensive coach education programme that will help them design and conduct a training programme steeped in values-based education and life skills development,” said Mr Duric.

There will be free trial clinics conducted by the Academy in April and May leading up to the start of the programme. Parents interested to find out more information about these clinics or sign their child up for the programme can do so at the event itself or online at ActiveSG Football Academy.

Partnership with Tampines Rovers

At the launch, SportSG also announced that they will be partnering local S-League club Tampines Rovers to enhance its programme offerings.

As part of the partnership, Tampines Rovers will be providing coaches who will help conduct part of the training programme. Tampines Rovers’ senior players will also be making guest appearances during the training sessions. In addition, Tampines Rovers will offer academy participants an Integrated Match Day Experience during the club’s home game matches where the children will be able to join stadium tours; escort the players during the pre-match programme; participate in kickabouts during half time and also present the “Man of the Match” award.

Mr Krishna Ramachandra, Tampines Rovers chairman said, “I am extremely supportive of this programme and collaboration because it hits the spot – the true development of football as to be holistic and embrace all quarters. So with what ActiveSG academy presents is an enrichment of this sector of the footballing ecosystem. Tampines Rovers must always be synonymous with furthering national football and I want this culture and philosophy to outlive my reign. Finally, I am delighted that Tampines Rovers is reunited with a legendary stalwart like Aleksandar Duric. I am proud of what he is doing for Singapore football.”

Team Singapore Sport Ambassadors

Academy students will also have a chance to meet and interact with their favourite Team Singapore footballers as part of the academy programme. Team Singapore footballers and alumni such as Gabriel Quak, Lim Tong Hai, Lionel Lewis, Quah Kim Song and Razali Saad will be joining the academy as Team Singapore Sport Ambassadors.

As part of an initiative for former and present Team Singapore footballers to give back to the community, the Sport Ambassadors will be joining the training sessions as role models and share advice with the students.

Mr Lionel Lewis, former national team goalkeeper, said, “The fans have supported the national team passionately over the years and as Team Singapore footballers, past or present, we want to return the favour and help the community find the next generation of football players for the country. We know what it takes to be a professional footballer and we want to share our knowledge to help our youth reach even greater heights than us.”

Play It Forward

Under the sports volunteerism “Play It Forward” initiative, Singaporeans will be selected and groomed by Duric himself to become Volunteer Coaching Assistants for the academy. There will be a total of 50 coaching assistants selected, 10 for each centre. Since the initiative was launched more than a month ago, it has received an overwhelming response with close to 200 interested applicants signing up to try out for the selection trials.

The ActiveSG Football Academy will be the first of several sport academies that will be launched in 2016 under the Vision 2030 master plan to encourage more youths to take up a sport and live better through sport. More information on the other academies will be released later in the year.