{"id":13012,"date":"2025-11-20T05:41:44","date_gmt":"2025-11-19T21:41:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=13012"},"modified":"2025-11-20T05:41:44","modified_gmt":"2025-11-19T21:41:44","slug":"forum-win-indicates-that-singapore-football-can-again-compete-at-high-level","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=13012","title":{"rendered":"Forum: Win indicates that Singapore football can again compete at high level"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">I write with great pride after watching one of the most significant milestones in Singapore football.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Our Lions have done what no previous national squad has achieved: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.straitstimes.com\/sport\/football\/singapore-secure-historic-asian-cup-qualification-with-spirited-comeback-2-1-win-over-hong-kong?ref=inline-article\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"gap-x-04 items-center inline text-primary-60 select-auto\" aria-label=\"link\" target=\"_blank\" data-testid=\"custom-link\"><\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular inline\" data-testid=\"paragraph-test-id\">They beat Hong Kong 2-1 away<\/p>\n<p><\/a> and qualified for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">This win is significant\u00a0because Singapore\u2019s only appearance in the Asian Cup, in 1984, was solely because it was the host nation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">For the first time, a team of Singapore footballers has reached Asia\u2019s premier tournament on merit, reflecting the quality, discipline and belief within the squad.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">It has been 40 years since we last took part in the competition. In that time, aspirations of returning often gave way to disappointment, but the dream never entirely faded.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">This qualification has revived confidence that Singapore football can compete at a high level.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Much credit goes to national coach Gavin Lee, the first Singaporean to guide the team to the Asian Cup via qualification.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">His emphasis on tactical awareness, professionalism and trust in local talent has helped reshape the Lions\u2019 identity\u00a0and restored optimism among supporters.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Beyond its sporting significance, this achievement has the potential to revitalise interest in local football.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Many Singaporeans remember the vibrant fan culture of the 1970s and early 1980s, when football united communities and filled stadiums.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">The renewed excitement created by this qualification may encourage more fans to return to the stands and support the Singapore Premier League and local clubs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Our Lions have shown that progress is possible with commitment and belief. Their achievement is a timely boost of confidence, pride and unity. Majulah Singapore.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-body-baseline-regular text-primary\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\"><b>A. Thiyaga Raju<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"tags-test-id\">\n<p><button data-testid=\"button-test-id\" class=\"layer-one border-default border interactive-button text-primary disabled:layer-disabled hover:disabled:layer-disabled default\" aria-label=\"button for Today's Letters\"><span class=\"font-button-md-semibold\">Today&#8217;s Letters<\/span><\/button><button data-testid=\"button-test-id\" class=\"layer-one border-default border interactive-button text-primary disabled:layer-disabled hover:disabled:layer-disabled default\" aria-label=\"button for Lions\"><span class=\"font-button-md-semibold\">Lions<\/span><\/button><button data-testid=\"button-test-id\" class=\"layer-one border-default border interactive-button text-primary disabled:layer-disabled hover:disabled:layer-disabled default\" aria-label=\"button for Singapore football\"><span class=\"font-button-md-semibold\">Singapore football<\/span><\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.straitstimes.com\/opinion\/forum\/forum-win-indicates-that-singapore-football-can-again-compete-at-high-level\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article At Source <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I write with great pride after watching one of the most significant milestones in Singapore football. Our Lions have done what no previous national squad&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10286,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2611],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13012","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-buzz-headlines","wpcat-2611-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13012","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13012"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13012\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/10286"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13012"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13012"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13012"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}