Football: Singapore pulls out of Asian Games following review of SEA Games debacle

UPDATE: Philippe Aw, the head coach when led the Singapore Under-22s at the SEA Games, has stepped down. Ex-national captain Nazri Nasir will take over the reins.

SINGAPORE — The Singapore Under-22 national football team will not be participating in the upcoming Asian Games in Hangzhou, following a review after their dismal SEA Games outing in Cambodia in May.

The Football Association of Singapore (FAS) said in a media release on Tuesday (11 July) that the decision to withdraw from the Asiad is in line with one of the recommendations from its review, which is for the team to focus only on two tournaments: the SEA Games and the 2024 AFC U-23 Asian Cup qualifiers.

Scheduling conflicts were also taken into consideration, as the Asian Games - which will take place from 23 September to 8 October - falls outside the FIFA international window, in which players are released from their clubs to play for their national teams.

This Asian Games edition was postponed from last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to a congested fixture list this year.

Philippe Aw steps down, replaced by Nazir Nasir

Philippe Aw, the head coach when led the U-22s at the SEA Games, has also stepped down from his position. FAS said in a media release on Wednesday that Aw has decided to leave the organisation as he seeks new opportunities elsewhere.

Replacing him is former national captain Nazri Nasir, who is currently assistant coach of the senior national team. The 52-year-old will take charge of the U-22 team through September’s AFC U-23 Asian Cup qualifiers in Vietnam.

Nazri will also be involved with the Young Lions for the remainder of the 2023 Singapore Premier League season, and will have his provisional squad report for centralised training from 21 August, with the FAS having made fixture adjustments to allow the U-22s to have a 14-day pre-competition preparation time.

Focus on AFC U-23 Asian Cup qualifiers

The U-22 team will also have to focus on the 2024 AFC U-23 Asian Cup qualifiers, which are from 6 to 12 September. Singapore is drawn in the same group as Yemen, Vietnam and Guam.

“Learning from the review, we also considered the preparation time required to get the team ready for each tournament, vis-a-vis the players’ commitments to their clubs, schools, and national service," said FAS general secretary Yazeen Buhari.

"Given that the Asian Games comes off the back of the AFC U-23 Asian Cup qualifiers, this makes participation particularly challenging."

Women's team to continue to participate

FAS said it had discussed its withdrawal from the Asian Games with Sport Singapore and the Singapore National Olympic Council. SportSG supported the decision, and SNOC has no objections.

The national women’s football team will continue to participate at the Asian Games.

The Singapore U-22 team came home from the SEA Games after failing to advance past the group stage for the fifth straight time. They did not win a single game, and were thrashed by arch-rivals Malaysia 0-7 in their final match, earning the ire of the local football fans.

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