Six boys and three girls will be based in Spain and the United States to fast-track their football development.
(From left to right) Recipients of the UTR! Overseas Football Scholarship
Charis Han, Nadila Nur Danisha, Charlotte Chong, Putera Nur Muhammad Irfan, Gavriel Lai, Aidan Irfan, Chia Wayne Hon, Miguel Garcia, Lukyan Tan with Minister Edwin Tong at the scholarship award ceremony today.
Six male and three female student-athletes have been awarded The Unleash The Roar! (UTR!) Overseas Football Scholarship this year to accelerate their football development. The nine student-athletes, aged between 14 and 17 years old, will be based in Spain and the United States.
Graced by Minister for Culture, Community and Youth and Second Minister for Law, Edwin Tong, the scholarship awards ceremony was witnessed by more than 150 members of the local football community, including former national players and football clubs and academies, at Kallang Football Hub. The scholarship provides promising young football players opportunities to study, train, play and compete overseas under robust football development programmes at reputable institutions.
The nine scholarship recipients are: Charis Han En, Charlotte Chong, Nadila Nur Danisha, Miguel Garcia, Lukyan Tan, Putera Ismail, Gavriel Lai, Chia Wayne Hon and Aidan Irfan.
Said Sport Singapore’s Chief of Sport Development Group, Mr Marcus Tan: “We are excited about sending our second batch of UTR! Overseas Football Scholarship recipients to train and study in both Spain and the United States. The scholarship is meant to give our brightest talents a chance to accelerate their football development in more established football nations like Spain, the reigning men’s European and Women’s World Cup champions. Our inaugural batch of scholarship recipients have benefited greatly from their stints and we look forward to expanding our base of overseas-based young players who can represent and strengthen our national team in the long run.”
From the inaugural batch of the UTR! Overseas Football Scholarship recipients, five of the six female players have gone on to earn call-ups to our senior national team while the other player has featured for our national Under-19 team. The two male scholarship recipients have also played key roles for their respective national age-group sides.
The mission of UTR! is to uplift Singapore football at all levels, and a key part of this national project is to put in place strong support systems to nurture our next generation of talents.
Central to this is ensuring Singapore has a structured football development system in place, systematically identifying and grooming young, talented footballers and giving them opportunities to train and compete both locally and overseas.
Among the initiatives put in place under UTR! in the past three years are:
Starting the Singapore Youth League (SYL), where young footballers of all abilities, from the ages of 8 to 17 can play regular football. With the SYL, youths play an average of about 30 matches a year - more than double what kids got before the SYL. It also mirrors the recommended match time for youth in Europe.
To boost the number of kids playing football in schools, 15 School Football Academies (SFAs) have been established. Five have dedicated programmes for girls. Over 750 boys and girls were in SFAs last year – more than double the 300 youths in 2022.
The introduction of the Junior National Development Centre (JNDC) and the National Development Centre (NDC). Through these, the nation's most promising talents are exposed to high-intensity training and overseas competitions, bringing them together to learn from a common footballing curriculum, and having them play together to build up their teamwork and camaraderie.
Sending the most promising young footballers on both local and overseas football scholarships to fast-track their football development and allow Singapore's best to be pushed in more challenging football environments overseas.
Setting up of the Kallang Football Hub (KFH), the new home of Singapore's top youth footballers. With a state-of-the-art football gym, three full-sized pitches and four smaller-sized pitches, which includes sheltered training fields, KFH is a game-changer in providing Singapore's brightest talents with a weather-proof, quality training centre.
A need for strong overseas partners
This year, two new partner institutions were added: Madrid-based club Rayo Alcobendas CF, which has a good track record for grooming young talent, and King’s College Soto de Vinuelas, a British international school in Madrid.
Mr Tan shared that UTR! is constantly on the lookout for strong overseas partners who will provide the optimal daily training environment for Singapore’s young talents while allowing them to continue their academic pursuits.
These programmes also provide opportunities for the young players, if they do well, to attract the attention of college recruiters and talent scouts from American universities and European clubs.
Said Mr Tan: “As we send more of our talents overseas, we will continually evaluate our partnerships to ensure that they provide relevant and quality training and playing opportunities for our UTR! scholars. Football is ever evolving; to keep up with the pace of the modern game, we will not hesitate to adjust our approach.”
Recipients look forward to training overseas
This year’s scholarship recipients were selected from an initial shortlist of about 30 candidates, following preliminary assessments from the Football Association of Singapore and Singapore Sports School.
Candidates were observed during training sessions and competitions, and assessed for footballing abilities and potential. From the shortlist, a smaller group of players was invited to an interview with representatives of the UTR! Executive Committee before scholarship offers were made.
One of the 2024 recipients is Lukyan Tan, 15, who hopes to follow in his siblings’ footsteps. His sister, Lila, has played for the women’s senior national team while older brother Louka was recently called up to the national U-19 team. Said Lukyan: “My siblings have always been my greatest inspirations. Seeing them achieve their dreams has taught me the value of dedication and hard work. They have set a high standard, and I’m determined to not only reach it but surpass it. My dream is to play at the highest level of football, representing Singapore on the international stage. I want to continually improve my skills and one day play alongside my brother.”
Like Lukyan, Nadila Nur Danisha is also relishing the opportunity to train and play in Spain. Nadila had in fact been a contender for the scholarship in 2023 but was eventually not selected. But she put her head down, continued to work hard and was rewarded this year. Said Nadila: “While I was disappointed to have missed out on the scholarship last year, I now understand that everything happens for a reason. This year, I am better prepared to pursue my dreams. I am truly grateful for this second opportunity to showcase my potential and passion. I hope my journey serves as an inspiration to other footballers, illustrating the power of resilience and never giving up on one's dreams."
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