Football
ESPN staff 7y

Lim Kia Tong 'willing to change', gets support ahead of FAS election

Ahead of Saturday's Football Association of Singapore (FAS) election, Team LKT has received positive feedback from some grassroots' organisations.

Team LKT is led by former FAS vice-president Lim Kia Tong, who will contest the presidency against Hougang United and Tiong Bahru FC chairman Bill Ng , who heads Team Game Changers, in the historic vote.

The first-ever democratic football elections have been surrounded in controversy, with Singapore authorities questioning Ng, his wife Bonnie Wong, FAS general secretary Winston Lee, and former FAS president Zainudin Nordin.

An investigation continues into a S$500,000 donation from Tiong Bahru FC to the ASEAN Football Federation, via FAS, with calls to postpone the election.

Even so, Team LKT held a closed-door discussion with 29 affiliates at the Amara Hotel on Wednesday night. With an eye on Saturday's big decision, some of the attendees pledged their support for Lim.

"The most important thing about [Team LKT] is their willingness to change, and listen to the affiliates as to where and how they can improve," Siglap CSC chairman Mohd Rafique told The New Paper.

Sathish Naidu, manager of NTUC Club's youth squad, said he'd worked closely with Lim in his previous FAS role for many years.

"It is good that he and his proposed committee are looking at positive changes for the sake of football, whether at grassroots level or corporate governance," Naidu said.

"If we need to start from ground zero, then I feel his team have the right people. I'm in his camp."

But Ng still has support from those who link Lim strongly to FAS. They say the governing body hasn't done enough for Singapore football for many years.

"All of a sudden, because of the election, they [Lim and Co.] changed their tone. They weren't like this before. It's very hard for me to accept their act," Buenaventura Alphonsus, of NFL Division 2 club Starlight Soccerities, told The New Paper.

"It's a bit too late. I want to allow a new group to come in. Whether they make a mistake, at least they're a new team."

The results of the election at the Black Box Auditorium at Singapore Sports Hub should be known by Saturday afternoon -- unless there's a last-minute decision from FIFA to delay proceedings, due to the ongoing police probe.

 

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