New youth league, academy accreditation system among initiatives by FAS to grow grassroots football

SINGAPORE: The Football Association of Singapore (FAS) unveiled several initiatives aimed at growing the local grassroots football ecosystem on Thursday (Aug 3), including a new youth league as well as an accreditation system to recognise and support academies from 2024.

As football at the grassroots level in Singapore take on a more prominent role in terms of identifying and nurturing talent, some stakeholders will also receive recognition and compensation for their efforts in youth development. 

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, FAS acting president Bernard Tan described the current grassroots system as “quite vibrant”, but said there is currently no “umbrella” bringing the various stakeholders together.

“In the past, the FAS has tried many initiatives, but this is perhaps the most daring and most comprehensive approach in order to organise grassroots football,” he said.

BETTER TRACKING OF YOUTH PLAYERS

This begins with the Academy Accreditation System (AAS), which will consist of three tiers with varying levels of requirements.

Those who join the AAS will be accredited based on criteria such as talent identification, coaching, and player performance. Successful academies will then be accorded with different levels of accreditation, from level one (highest level) to level three (base level).

“By implementing an accreditation system, consumers of football services will easily identify FAS-recognised academies while providing a clear improvement pathway for these academies,” said FAS.

After speaking with the academies, 40 have indicated interest and FAS will be engaging them further in an upcoming discussion, said ex-Singapore international Baihakki Khaizan, who is also FAS’ head of planning.

The AAS will also allow FAS to implement a “comprehensive” database of youth players, tracking their progression from the time they are registered.

“In terms of tracking players, I’ve been here for a year, when I first came I was a little bit surprised at the lack of organised identification of players … And there were reasons for it, it wasn’t just that people didn't bother doing it,” said FAS technical director Michael Browne.

He added that FAS has also stepped up its identification of talent.

Players from the clubs and academies in the AAS system will be included in the FAS talent identification programme, and have opportunities to join National Development Centres or train with national age group teams.

“This offers the young talents avenue to advance their skills and showcase their potential on larger platforms,” said FAS.

Once accredited under the AAS, academies will be eligible for a domestic training compensation and incentive system from next year.

Training compensation refers to the financial compensation paid by one club to another club for the training and development of a young player.

“This will help to ensure fairness in the player transfer system by recognising the efforts and investments made by domestic football clubs and academies for developing young talents,” said FAS in its news release.

Compensation will apply for the domestic transfers of players from amateur to professional clubs as well as between two professional clubs. 

It will be payable until the end of the season in which the player reaches the age of 23, but the calculation of the amount payable shall be based on the years from the age of 12 to 21.

“The clubs who are going to be paying will see benefit in the sense that quantums are made manageable for them to pay compensation, but most importantly, those who are receiving compensation see value in developing the player,” said FAS’ director of competitions Aloysius Vetha.

Currently, only Singapore Premier League clubs are entitled to make claims for compensation, so the new framework will open doors for more to do so, he added.

There is also a training incentive component for clubs that “make an effort” to invest in youth development, said FAS.

Similar to the domestic training compensation, this mechanism acts as a financial recognition to an amateur player’s last training club, when a player is registered as an amateur with another club in a higher category.

“The initial amount signals the desire to support the development of young players in grassroot football and contribute to the overall growth and sustainability of the sport in the long term,” said FAS.

“For smaller clubs, training compensation will provide them with the official recognition and due status of having played a crucial role in either kickstarting or developing a youth player’s career in football."

A NEW YOUTH LEAGUE

The AAS will also provide an “avenue” into a structured competition - a new Singapore Youth League (SYL). It is expected to start in 2024, with matches played over weekends.

The competition will involve children of various age groups from U-8s, U-10s and U-12s, who will compete in small-sided games over 33 weeks of competition.

“This is an opportunity for our kids not to just play football, but to play at a significantly higher level and to play it much more frequently,” said Mr Tan.

Currently, the FAS organises competitive leagues for the U-21, U-17 and U-15 age groups. A new U-13 tier will also be added.

“The tournaments under FAS’ governance follow a programming matrix that specifies the minimum number of games each age group must play to ensure their comprehensive youth development,” said FAS.

“By establishing these competitive platforms and age-specific leagues, the SYL tournament aims to nurture young talent and provide them with the best environment to progress in their football journey.”

The idea is to have more games and the introduction of a promotion-relegation system, with three divisions planned for U-13s, U-15s and U-17s. 

FAS is working closely with national project “Unleash the Roar” to ensure that resources such as pitches will be made available for SYL games, added Mr Vetha.

He added that the SYL will allow FAS to capture the information of as many players as possible, keep a proper record via the registration systems online, and have a database of their playing pathway. 

With the introduction of the Singapore Youth League, more volunteers will be needed.

“There will be a large increase in the number of grassroots games especially if the league grows over the years with more participating teams,” said FAS.

“This in turn will require more people and organisations to come forward and assist with a multitude of tasks and responsibilities to ensure smooth operation of the matches.“

And the FAS has established a new volunteers programme which aims to attract, train, and manage volunteers who play a role in various aspects of football operations, from coaching to match organisation to event management.

The programme, which will be rolled out when the SYL begins, will ensure volunteers receive recognition as well as “proper training and support”.