Despite having to pull themselves up so early on a weekend morning, there were nary a bleary, sunken eye in the house as coaches, parents and young budding footballers gathered on the pitch, ready to create a piece of history of their own in the local footballing arena.

Prior to the kickoff, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed by Little League Pte Ltd and the Institute of Education.

Mr. Paul Masefield, Managing Director of Little League, said Pro League 2006 was “the fruit of six months of hard work from all the respective parties”.

“Basically, when we had this idea in mind, we were trying to create for Singapore what was it like in Europe, a league for kids to enjoy playing football with the competitive element,” said Mr. Masefield. “We are glad that FAS, SSC and ITE recognised the importance of what we are doing. Without all their support, we won’t be standing here today.”

FAS General Secretary Mr. John Koh termed the launch of Pro League “an auspicious moment before the World Cup”, with a beaming smile on his face.

“Private organisations like Little League help to build that broad base that is much needed in our goal of attaining football excellence. There are the National Football Academy and Centres of Excellence at FAS, but they only select the elite, the cream of the crop. Many football-loving kids are thus left out and not given the chance to develop their skills,” said Mr. Koh.

“FAS has drawn out a roadmap for the future of local football. We hope to reach further and further heights, but we cannot do it alone; it takes co-ordination and sharing from our fellow football aficionados.

“This is where Pro League comes in, providing a much wider platform for children to play and nurture their talent. It is definitely a significant step forward, as I’m sure this will be the start of more collaborations between private organisations and educational institutions.”

Not only were the children excited at the prospect of playing in a league, so were their parents, who took in their children’s joy wholly. Mr. Heng Fook Boon, a traffic officer, said his son has been playing with Elias Park FC for close to three years now, but this is the first time a proper league is started. “I feel it’s very good for Singapore football. I can tell (referring to his son) he is looking forward to all the games lined up and the chance to compete with other local Under-12 teams.”

Week 1 Results:

Under 8's
No	Day	Date	Timing	Pitch	Home Team	Score	Away Team	Score	Stadia
1	Sun	21-May-06	8.30am	1	LITTLE LEAGUE 1	1	ALBIREX NIIGATA 1	1	Tampines ITE
2	Sun	21-May-06	8.30am	2	LITTLE LEAGUE 2	0	TAMPINES ROVERS	0	Tampines ITE
3	Sun	21-May-06	8.30am	3	ALBIREX NIIGATA 2	0	ELIAS PARK	3	Tampines ITE
Under 10's
No	Day	Date	Timing	Pitch	Home Team		Away Team		Stadia
1	Sun	21-May-06	9.10am	1	HOME UTD	7	ALBIREX NIIGATA 1	1	Tampines ITE
2	Sun	21-May-06	9.10am	2	BALESTIER	1	LITTLE LEAGUE 1	6	Tampines ITE
3	Sun	21-May-06	9.10am	3	TAMPINES ROVERS	3	ALBIREX NIIGATA 2	1	Tampines ITE
4	Sun	21-May-06	10am	1	ELIAS PARK	7	LITTLE LEAGUE 2	0	Tampines ITE
Under 12's
No	Day	Date	Timing	Pitch	Home Team		Away Team		Stadia
1	Sun	21-May-06	10am	2	HOME UTD	10	ALBIREX NIIGATA	0	Tampines ITE
2	Sun	21-May-06	10am	3	ELIAS PARK 2	0	TAMPINES ROVERS	4	Tampines ITE
3	Sun	21-May-06	10.45am	1	ELIAS PARK 1	2	LITTLE LEAGUE 1	1	Tampines ITE
4	Sun	21-May-06	11.30am	2	LITTLE LEAGUE 1	3	BALESTIER	2	Tampines ITE	Friendly Match
Under 14's
No	Day	Date	Timing	Pitch	Home Team		Away Team		Stadia
1	Sun	21-May-06	9am	1	GEYLANG	0	WOODLANDS 2	1	Bedok ITE
2	Sun	21-May-06	9am	2	HOME UTD	13	LITTLE LEAGUE	0	Bedok ITE
3	Sun	21-May-06	10.15am	1	TAMPINES ROVERS	0	WOODLANDS 1	2	Bedok ITE
4	Sun	21-May-06	10.15am	2	ELIAS PARK	2	BOMBONERA	2	Bedok ITE

Week 2 Fixtures:

Under 8's
No	Day	Date	Timing	Pitch	Home Team	Away Team	Stadia
4	Sun	11-Jun-06	8.30am	1	LITTLE LEAGUE 1	LITTLE LEAGUE 2	Tampines ITE
5	Sun	11-Jun-06	8.30am	2	ALBIREX NIIGATA 1	ALBIREX NIIGATA 2	Tampines ITE
6	Sun	11-Jun-06	8.30am	3	TAMPINES ROVERS	ELIAS PARK	Tampines ITE
Under 10's
No	Day	Date	Timing	Pitch	Home Team	Away Team	Stadia
5	Sun	11-Jun-06	9.10am	1	ALBIREX NIIGATA 1	TAMPINES ROVERS	Tampines ITE
6	Sun	11-Jun-06	9.10am	2	HOME UTD	BALESTIER	Tampines ITE
7	Sun	11-Jun-06	9.10am	3	LITTLE LEAGUE 1	LITTLE LEAGUE 2	Tampines ITE
8	Sun	11-Jun-06	10am	1	ALBIREX NIIGATA 2	ELIAS PARK	Tampines ITE
Under 12's
No	Day	Date	Timing	Pitch	Home Team	Away Team	Stadia
5	Sun	11-Jun-06	10am	2	HOME UTD	ELIAS PARK 2	Tampines ITE
6	Sun	11-Jun-06	10am	3	ALBIREX NIIGATA	ELIAS PARK 1	Tampines ITE
7	Sun	11-Jun-06	10.45am	1	TAMPINES ROVERS	BALESTIER	Tampines ITE
8	Sun	11-Jun-06	11am	2	LITTLE LEAGUE 1	LITTLE LEAGUE 2	Tampines ITE
Under 14's
No	Day	Date	Timing	Pitch	Home Team	Away Team	Stadia
5	Sun	11-Jun-06	9am	1	GEYLANG	HOME UTD	Bedok ITE
6	Sun	11-Jun-06	9am	2	WOODLANDS 2	TAMPINES ROVERS	Bedok ITE
7	Sun	11-Jun-06	10.15am	1	LITTLE LEAGUE	BOMBONERA	Bedok ITE
8	Sun	11-Jun-06	10.15am	2	WOODLANDS 1	ELIAS PARK	Bedok ITE

Regular updates and results of Pro League will be up on www.fas.org.sg