Tech billionaire Forrest Li has officially announced his candidacy for the presidency of the Football Association of Singapore (FAS).
A spokesperson for Li confirmed his bid on 17 March, stating that he looks forward to revealing his leadership team in the coming weeks.
The FAS elections will take place on 28 April during an extraordinary congress. The newly elected council members will serve a four-year term from 2025 to 2029.
Candidates can contest in two ways: a slate of nine members, including the president, deputy president, four vice-presidents, and three council members, or individually for six other council positions. At least one female candidate must be included in the council.
The deadline for nominations is 31 March, with the final list of qualified candidates announced on 18 April.
It remains to be seen whether Li will face a contest for the top position, as incumbent FAS president Bernard Tan has not yet confirmed his intentions.
Tan, who previously served as vice president and deputy president of FAS, took over as acting president in September 2022 following the passing of Lim Kia Tong.
He was later elected to complete the remainder of the 2022-2025 term in September 2023.
Tan, a former Brigadier General who later transitioned into banking and marketing at ST Engineering, declined to comment when contacted by The Straits Times on 17 March.
Another potential candidate, former Woodlands Wellington general manager R. Vengadasalam, has not ruled out contesting. The 64-year-old stated he is still assessing the possibility of forming a team.
Li, 47, is a naturalised Singapore citizen and the founder of Sea Limited, the parent company of Shopee and Garena. He has a reported net worth of US$8.4 billion (S$11.3 billion) and ranked 12th on Forbes’ list of Singapore’s 50 richest people in 2024.
His involvement in Singapore football dates back to 2016 when Garena sponsored the Young Lions with a S$4 million, two-year deal.
He later took over Home United in 2019, privatising and rebranding the club as Lion City Sailors in 2020. Li also served as an FAS council member from 2017 to 2021.
Under his leadership, Lion City Sailors have made significant strides in Singapore football. They won the 2021 Singapore Premier League (SPL) title and the 2023 Singapore Cup. The club also invested in infrastructure, opening a S$10 million training facility in 2022.
Li’s influence extends beyond domestic football. His club has gained recognition in regional competitions, securing victories over South Korean teams such as Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors and Daegu FC in the Asian Champions League.
Currently, the Sailors are competing in the Asian Champions League Two and will face Sydney FC in a two-legged semi-final in April.
However, concerns have been raised over whether his experience in club football can translate to national football governance.
While Li meets the eligibility requirement of having been actively involved in association football for at least two of the past five years, managing a private club differs significantly from running a national football association.
At the same time, similar doubts should be extended to Tan, who, despite spending a decade in the FAS leadership, has overseen a period where Singapore football has declined to unprecedented levels.
Since being appointed to the FAS executive council in 2014, Tan has yet to make a significant impact on the sport.
In 2014, when he was inducted into the council, he stated that he wanted to revolutionise schools football—an ambition that has not materialised.
In 2021, he backed the Goal 2034 project, which aimed for Singapore to qualify for the 2034 World Cup, advocating for local players to compete in top overseas leagues. However, little has been done to push this vision forward.
In 2023, Tan had to apologise for his abrupt response to a comment about Singapore’s 7-0 loss to Malaysia at the SEA Games.
Following the defeat, a netizen named nic_8276 commented on Tan’s Instagram, calling for his resignation and stating, “If you cared about the NT (national team), you should resign now! You are not worth the paycheck!”
In response, Tan wrote:
“I do not receive a paycheck. As a one-time offer, instead of berating me here, let’s meet face to face. Send me an email… I will leave your comment for 24 hours, after which I will remove you. This is my wall.”
After facing backlash, Tan deleted his comment and set his Instagram account to private. His latest Instagram bio simply stated: “Sorry.”
On 12 May, Tan posted a new Instagram update in which he apologised for his previous response.
As the election draws closer, attention will turn to the candidates’ proposed teams and manifestos.
The FAS elections will shape the direction of Singapore football for the next four years, and whether Li will face competition remains to be seen.
The post Forrest Li announces bid for Football Association of Singapore presidency appeared first on The Online Citizen.
