Singapore awards first-ever overseas football scholarships to 8 young talents
They are selected after assessment by the Unleash the Roar! project, and will train at renowned academies in Florida and Madrid
SINGAPORE — Eight of Singapore’s most promising young football talents will study and train abroad full-time under the first overseas scholarship by the Unleash the Roar! (UTR) national football project.
They will be heading to two of the world’s top institutions for developing young football talents. Five will be attending the IMG Academy’s programme in Florida, while three will be enrolling at ESC LaLiga & NBA in Madrid.
IMG has produced top talents such as AC Milan’s Christian Pulisic, the US women’s national football team’s Mallory Swanson, and goalkeeper Bryane Heaberlin who last played with Eintracht Frankfurt in the German Bundesliga.
ESC, the academy project of Spain’s top-tier league LaLiga, has hosted top prospects from around the world, including Manchester United upstart Alejandro Garnacho.
Both academies offer conducive training environments with the integration of sports science, a high-quality competition schedule throughout the year, and academic options that offer flexibility and support future academic aspirations.
This is the first time that the Singapore government is offering an overseas football scholarship. The recipients will receive the support of the UTR! network in Singapore, through mentors comprising football administrators and ex-internationals such as Aide Iskandar, Goh Tat Chuan and Fazila Latiff. These mentors will have regular check-ins with the student athletes during their scholarship journey.
Recipients went through assessments and interviews
The eight UTR! Overseas Scholarship recipients – six girls and two boys - are: Ardhra Arul Ganeswaran, Chloe Koh, Irsalina Irwan, Kyra Taylor, Seri Ayu Natasha Naszri, Yasmine Zaharin, Loo Kai Sheng and Uchenna Eziakor.
They received their scholarships from Edwin Tong, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, during a ceremony at Asian Civilisations Museum on Monday (31 July).
The recipients were endorsed by a selection panel led by UTR! executive committee chairman Eric Chua, following a robust selection process.
The process began with an initial shortlist of close to 40 male and female student athletes, based on the preliminary assessments from the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) and Singapore Sports School.
They were assessed during training sessions and competitions by a technical committee led by FAS technical director Michael Browne. From this, a smaller group of players were invited to an in-person panel interview with representatives of the UTR! executive committee.
One of the recipients, 16-year-old Irsalina Irwan, has already earned five caps with the Singapore women’s national team. The defender said, “The feeling of being given this opportunity to study and train overseas is just as surreal as my first call up to the national team.
"The thought of two to three football training and physical conditioning sessions daily over the next few years with top professionals in the US excites me, and I cannot wait to start and do my very best. I want to learn as much as possible and be a better defender.”
Upon their return, the scholarship recipients will contribute back to the Singapore football ecosystem, including representing Singapore in international competitions.
Scholarship will complement programmes in place: Edwin Tong
During his speech at the scholarship award ceremony, Tong said that the scholarship is the latest initiative that will complement programmes already in place.
He stressed that the immediate focus is to grow Singapore's footballing base, identify talents and help them realise their potential.
To support this first thrust of youth development, UTR! has introduced 12 School Football Academies since last year. Players from these academies - along with the top youth talent from the ActiveSG Football Academies, private clubs and academies, schools and Singapore Premier League’s centres of excellence - will all be channelled through to the new Junior and National Development Centres (JDC and NDC).
Coaching standards will be enhanced, with coaches being given opportunities to upgrade themselves via workshops, and even overseas training tours and attachment stints in the future.
"The top players of each cohort will form the nucleus of our national junior teams. For our best players, the JDC and NDC will be their second home," Tong said.
"We have already consolidated some of the best eight- to 16-year-old footballers at our development centres, where they train up to four times a week and go through rigorous assessments in a highly competitive environment.
"In the coming year, we will also introduce the Singapore Youth League, so that they can train and compete regularly, at high levels."
These young talents will train together, and be sent on overseas tournaments to gain more experience. The best of the cohort from the JDC and NDC will then be identified and be given opportunities for scholarships – either local and overseas.
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