Singapore qualifies for FIFA eNations Cup 2021 Finals for the first time

SINGAPORE, 1 MAY 2021 – Singapore have qualified for the finals of the FIFA eNations Series 2021 after three exhilarating days of virtual battle.

Our two representatives, Amraan Gani and Muhammad Syakir, will now compete with 23 other teams on the biggest stage of eSports and vie for the FIFA eNations Cup 2021™ title. The finals will take place in Copenhagen, Denmark from 20 to 22 August.

During the group stages of the competition, Singapore was drawn into Group B together with China, Hong Kong, Indonesia and Korea Republic. The five teams played once against each other in a single round-robin format from 29 to 30 April.

The Singapore duo triumphed against China and Hong Kong 4-1 on aggregate but drew 3-3 with Indonesia and lost 0-6 to Korea Republic. This meant that they finished third in their group, just behind Indonesia on goal difference (see table below).

In today’s second-chance finals, Singapore defeated Australia 6-0 to book their spot in the finals of the FIFA eNations Cup 2021™. This is the first time in the history of local eSports that Singapore has qualified for the finals of an international tournament.

On this historical achievement, Amraan said, “It feels amazing to qualify for the finals. Personally, I have felt quite a bit of pressure to do well for Singapore, but I took it positively and just gave my best efforts in every game that I played. Considering the success that we achieved from the StayandPlay Cup last year, I wanted to build upon it and I felt that the best way to do so was to qualify for the finals and represent Singapore on an international stage in Denmark.

“We hope to go as far as possible in Denmark and show everyone that Singapore is able to perform at the highest level on the global stage. It is going to be fun! I also want to thank everyone for supporting us throughout this journey and even though it may not be physical football that we are playing, I hope that we still brought entertainment to everyone. At the end of the day, I am just glad to represent my country and we will do our very best to make our nation proud.”

Syakir added, “This tournament was probably the most nerve wracking one for me even though I have played in many others before. Knowing that I was playing the game not just for myself but for my partner, my team and my country was a whole new different experience for me. The main thing was that we constantly learned from one another and gave each other advice when we needed help. Our collective confidence and morale grew as we played more games together.

“At one point in the final matchup, Amraan had already won the first match and the pressure on me was so intense. I knew at that point that I just had to try my best to put in a good performance. When we finally qualified for the finals, it was a moment of relief as we knew that we had done our part and hopefully made Singapore proud.

“During the past few days, we competed amongst some of the best eSports players in the region and there is no doubt that we will face even tougher opponents in Copenhagen since we would then be facing some of the best in the world. However, I have confidence in our team and we will ensure that we do our very best to put Singapore on the global map. Our ultimate goal is to win the tournament but we will take one step at a time and see how it phases out.”

Jonathan Wong, Director of Commercial and Marketing at the Football Association of Singapore (FAS), emphasised the importance of fan support for the emerging eSports scene and said, “We are extremely proud of our eSports players for their achievements over the past few years and will extend our support to them as much as we can. As the eSports scene grows and evolves with time, we hope that our local football fans can extend their support to these players too.

“We remain committed to helping these players gain the relevant exposure and we will support them to the best of our abilities. At the same time, we would like to wish Amraan and Syakir all the best for the upcoming finals in Copenhagen, Denmark and we look forward to seeing them bring glory to our nation!”

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