I AGREE with Mr Yeo Kheng Hui that the practical thing to do is to end the LionsXII and close the Young Lions, and promote youth development at S-League clubs ("S-League clubs in triple bind"; Tuesday), which was proposed at the recent Football Association of Singapore (FAS) meeting.
I hope that the FAS and the S-League will come up with a plan to take Singapore football forward.
In another proposal, the FAS had indicated the need to have four S-league teams to represent Singapore in regional competitions such as the Asean Super League.
By combining the proposals, the FAS could use the same funding for a hybrid S-League of four professional local teams and six semi-professional local teams.
The four professional teams could have an enlarged team size if they have to compete in the regional competitions. However, the FAS would still need to limit the number of foreign players - to maybe three - to ensure the standard gap is not big.
The semi-professional teams could be formed from the previous participating S-League clubs, National Football League (NFL) teams or business-sponsored league teams.
The commitment and quality of these semi-professional teams should be of a higher standard than the current NFL, which is an amateur league. These semi-professional teams would need some full-time players and staff to ensure that there is minimal disruption to the S-League fixtures.
This proposal would allow the FAS to implement a promotion and relegation component, without affecting the quality of the top four professional teams.
This would create more opportunities for passionate local players with potential and encourage more parents to allow their children to play football as it will be available to them at a semi-professional level.
Ivan Goh Sian Lung
