Two Singapore legends will come together in the name of youth development with Steven Tan joining forces with Aleksandar Duric for ActiveSG Football Academy's programme.
Tan, along with Richard Bok, Robin Chitrakar, Hyrizan Jufri and Mohd Hairil Amin, have been announced as the head coaches of the academy, alongside academy principal Duric.
Duric said that the coaches were chosen because of their proven record in developing young players.
"I really wanted them because it's important to have coaches who know how to work with kids," Duric told Today. "I'm very passionate about football, and I'm definitely looking to expand in the future, and also for the older kids to join.
"That's what we need, a big number of kids playing football. We're here for the long term. We're part of the ecosystem, and this is a quality programme that is affordable."
Tan, 46, was known as 'Supersub' during his days with the successful Singapore side in Malaysian competitions two decades ago. He will look after ActiveSG Football Academy's programme at Kallang Cricket Field, located close to the original Mountbatten field where he was a junior player at the Milo Soccer School.
"I believe in this project ... I'm trying to help, to share what I've learnt since my playing and coaching days," said Tan, who is head coach of Temasek Polytechnic and Anglo-Chinese School and technical director of the F-17 Football Academy.
"We will find talents, there are always one or two who fall out of the filter. Those with lower incomes will not be able to afford some of the other academies, so with this, we expect more kids to join as it's easy access for them."
The ActiveSG Football Academy Programme begin on May 28, with 200 boys and girls aged from six to 12 signed on for the June holiday programme.