FAS ● Jul 11, 2023
Singapore Men’s U-22 football team to not participate in Hangzhou Asian Games 2022
Singapore’s Jordan Emaviwe (pictured in red jersey) playing against Thailand in the SEA Games group stage match, May 2023. Photo Credit: SNOC / Eng Chin An
SINGAPORE, 11 JULY 2023 – Following discussions between Sport Singapore (SportSG), the Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC), and the Football Association of Singapore (FAS), a decision was reached that the Men’s U22 football team will not participate in the upcoming Hangzhou Asian Games 2022, scheduled for in September 2023. SportSG supports this decision and SNOC has no objections.
The decision was reached following the Post SEA Games Football Review 2023 announced last week, and the decision to not participate in the Asian Games is in line with one of the recommendations from the Review, which is for the Men’s National U-22 Team to focus on two priority tournaments: the SEA Games and the 2024 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-23 Asian Cup qualifying tournament.
In addition, the team’s recent performances as well as scheduling conflicts were taken into consideration as well. The Asian Games falls outside the FIFA window and takes place in the same month as the 2024 AFC U-23 Asian Cup qualifiers.
“The past few weeks, the FAS has gone through a period of introspection, and we are right now in the midst of implementing the recommendations from the recent SEA Games review”, said Bernard Tan, Acting President of the FAS.
Added Yazeen Buhari, General Secretary of the FAS: “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. Given that the Asian Games comes off the back of the AFC U-23 Asian Cup qualifiers, this makes participation particularly challenging.”
This edition of the Asian Games was postponed from Sep 2022, because of the Covid pandemic, leading to a congested fixture list in 2023.
The National Women’s Team will continue to participate in the Asian Games.
CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT
FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION OF SINGAPORE
