Tan Kin Lian's Blog: Singapore Goal 2010

Friday, April 02, 2010

Singapore Goal 2010

In 1998, Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong said in a National Day speech that one day Singapore could qualify to play in the World Cup. The Football Association of Singapore set Goal 2010 as the year that Singapore could achieve this dream. We are now at year 2010 and this dream is still far away. It seems that the last 10 years have been quite disappointing for Singapore on many angles, including sports. More information here.

13 comments:

Vincent Sear said...: Whilst I was a kid and teenager, our most prized possessions were our footballs, boots and jerseys. Neigborhoods formed serious teams and played serious football.

How could this be? It was because neighborhood school fields didn't care much about outsiders using their fields after school hours. Then the fences came up and the guards came out. No more playing football. Bad for the grass and threats of trespassing charges.

Now football jerseys are bought as fashion wear, not for playing football. Real footballs and boots, some so-called fans have never even seen or felt before, much less worn or kicked. How to produce footballers like that?

Talk about qualifying for World Cup? Why not talk about qualifying for World Cup telecast first?; April 02, 2010 10:27 PM
Ghim Moh Resident said...: I still remember that goal and was gave up in the end. Main stream newspapers i notice is quite quiet about it but of course we still remember about it given that we Singaporeans are die-hard soccer fans.

We should at least try to qualify for Asian Cup before thinking about World cup.

We shouldn't however stop trying to enter the world cup despite the tougher circumstances now where Australia is part of the Asia grouping. We only have 4.5 slots with the 0.5 slots going to New Zealand this year. When I was young, I saw so many talented footballers around that wasn't developed into modern footballers. No need for foreign footballers to represent us, we have enough talented players if spotted and developed properly.; April 02, 2010 10:58 PM
Anonymous said...: I wonder would it be cheaper to just spend $10k to make a gold plated World Cup and display it at the entrance of the new sport hub when it is ready?

Joke aside, can anyone tell me what pride is there if we were to win any major international sport tournament via the foreign talent scheme?

I will watch and support all "live" TV telecast local born and breed Singaporean taking part in all international sport events even if their chance of winning is ZERO. All I ask of them is to give their best shot.

In the 1980s and 1990s, I used to watch our table tennis team competing in the SEA Games. Now, I can't be bother about any news about local table tennis.

By the way, coming back to my earlier joke, will it be cheaper for the table tennis association to spend $10k to make a gold plated Olympic medal?

Merlion; April 02, 2010 11:46 PM
Anonymous said...: Now you see the importance of being consistent.

If only he had said that Singapore would qualify for the World Cup by "YEAR X."

Imagine the possibilities if applied in other areas:

Affordable housing - Year X
good public transport - Year X
full employment - Year X; April 03, 2010 9:01 AM
Anonymous said...: Just like Vincent, in my youth, we use to play every evening without fail at our neighbourhood school's field and we were a serious neighbourhood team, with team Jersey, boots and even with a neighbourhood bussinessman as our sponspor.

Those days if there is a field, there will be a game of football.

We will travel most weekend for either competitions or games with other teams in various parts of Singapore.OH!, what a great time it was.(70's)

We will never be a playing Football nation when almost 80% of the youth dont play the game, like we used to.

Can you imagine almost all the elite schools dont play football!!; April 03, 2010 10:26 AM
C H Yak said...: Whether its about the economy or sports, having a vision is one thing but implementation and making it happen is another.

Like what Vincent said above, if we value more about regulations to keep school fields "clean and green" , then natural talents may still be prevented from arising in the process, even that we have a Sports School now.; April 03, 2010 10:49 AM
Anonymous said...: Talk is not enough,we need action.
The moment this goal was set,I knew very well this was a dream too big for Singapore.How could this dream be achieved if we can't even beat our neighbour in football competitions.Even Thailand would not dare to dream abt it when they were much superior than the rest in ASEAN.
For how long that this dream can be achieve, it can only be remained as dream only.You pay peanuts and aspect to get what???Keep on dreaming.....

Kumpong Kid; April 03, 2010 11:25 AM
Football Player said...: You can still play on the school's football pitch. (Some of which has been astro-turfed) for free.

Just register your representative with the school's office with details of when and how many players etc.. they will give you a key to unlock the gate into the field.

This system is meant to maintain some sense of accountability. or else any one can mess up the goal nettings, benches and school property.

Many schools offer this.; April 03, 2010 4:13 PM
Anonymous said...: Plse lah, you think just buy some retired ex-pro can get into world cup. He's still living in his dream. Hoe about the target of reaching Switzerland standard of living in 2010?

Many of his policies are just dreams that never materialize. The only thing that materialized is the sky-high property prices, started by HDB upgrade, enhance your living surroundings and all that craps. In the end, many S'poreans suffer.; April 03, 2010 4:31 PM
Anonymous said...: Well...as the saying goes "If your head is not big enough, do not wear a large hat", it is true in this sense as "Singapore is just a little red dot!" Anyhow, most leaders are well-trained and capable of giving false hopes to motivate people.; April 03, 2010 5:22 PM
Parka said...: Three things are required before this dream can become a reality.

1. Support from top level.
2. Capable person who can run this
3. Resources.

GCT's dream didn't materalise because of the lack of 1.; April 03, 2010 6:17 PM
Vincent Sear said...: Seriously, not being negative but just being realistic, Singapore has no chance of qualifying for the World Cup, ever. I love Singapore as my country, and I love football as a player and a spectator. I still say that.

In 1998 when SM (then PM) Goh set the Goal 2010, he obviously lacked full information and was carried away by France's victory with half the squad not born in France.

He mistakenly believed that we could buy foreign talents to qualify for World Cup. That's not the case under FIFA rules. Those French players not born in France were born French citizens in French African colonies to French citizen parents there.

Singapore has a case like this too, Terry Butcher, born in Singapore as British citizen to colonial service personnel parents and played for England in World Cup 1982 and 1986.

A real footballing nation doesn't import players, it produce and export players that foreign clubs desire and willing to pay for.

At international level, FIFA disallows second national representation, i.e. one player can only represent one country in his lifetime. One of the greatest footballers of all time, Alfredo di Stefano (the one who won the many Euro Champs for Real Madrid) was disqualified from playing for either Argentina or Spain after migration from Argentina to Spain.

Singapore's pool of foreign originated players are untested internationally before they took up citizenship to qualify to play for Singapore in international games. That concerns talent scouting and subsequent grooming. With the state and standard of our domestic league and regional tournaments, can Singapore qualify for World Cup? You go figure.; April 03, 2010 7:27 PM
Vincent Sear said...: To: Anon 10:26AM & Football Player 4:13PM

It's too late for schools to offer their fields now. The neighborhood team spirit have been laid to rest, for good. It's nigh impossible to resurrect it now. Go around, given our environment now.

Kids has simply stopped playing football, or more accurately, stopped starting playing football, particularly Chinese kids.

The only chance left is secondary school teams. Even that is failing and dying as schools are having difficulties finding proper teacher-coaches and most students are disinterested. Understandably disinterested as unlike 70s and 80s students, they don't come from a background of kicking mini football in neighborhood parks or basketball courts during their primary school days.

TV influence is another area. Last time, Singapore used to have free-to-air broadcast of weekly English league highlights and at least one live game per week, plus League Cup, FA Cup and European club finals, and of course most games of Euro internationals and World Cup. Now all gone to cable TV.

Kids can't pay for cable TV. They watch whatever their families have. Basic cable doesn't even come with football. Frankly, I think that most families who have cable and opted to pay extra for football are more interested as spectators and punters.; April 04, 2010 11:29 AM