Replies to Forum ● Mar 04, 2013
FAS will continue to improve local football
We thank readers Mr Shawn Teo Yi En and Mr M Lukshumayeh for their letters (“Lions need to play against national teams to gain experience” and “Unanswered questions over Raddy’s departure”, Mar 1).
The FAS and coach Raddy Avramovic mutually agreed to focus on the AFF Suzuki Cup, and not discuss any other issues, so as not to add any distractions to what we expected to be a very competitive campaign. We are glad that players, coaching staff and other team members remained focused, and delivered a historic win. We hope that Mr Luksumayeh will appreciate that contractual terms are confidential, and it would not be appropriate for us to reveal details. Further, the talks between Mr Avramovic and the FAS were private, and any comments by anyone who was not directly involved are at best, speculative. We hope that fans and supporters will allow us to see through our process of recruiting the best available person to take over as national team head coach. We assure all our stakeholders that the FAS is putting in the utmost effort, and an announcement will be made in due course. We are also happy to take in any constructive suggestions for the benefit of Singapore football.
We are encouraged by the support of Mr Melvin Tan (“Give FAS time to pick a new coach”, Feb 16). Mr Tan made several cogent points about how even English Football Association appointed Roy Hodgson as manager just one month before Euro 2012, and three months after his predecessor Fabio Capello left. The FAS stands ready, as Mr Tan concluded, to be held ultimately accountable for our decisions.
We agree with Mr Shawn Teo that our players would benefit from playing in friendlies. That is why we had arranged a friendly match against Bahrain prior to the Asian Cup 2015 qualifying game in Jordan. The FAS is always looking for opportunities for the Lions to test themselves against regional teams, and we will keep fans informed once details are available.
Once again, we thank the readers for their suggestions.
