The FA of Singapore (FAS) today signed a Cooperation Agreement with the Fédération Française de Football (FFF) to further the development of football as well as to promote and grow the sport in each country.
The three-year agreement will see both parties collaborate on three main areas: Women’s Football Development, Technical Exchange Programme and Exchanges of Training and Trainers Programme, with specifics on the exchange and cooperation to be added at a later stage.
The signing ceremony took place this evening at the OCBC Lounge, Singapore Sports Hub. FAS President, Lim Kia Tong was in attendance, with FAS General Secretary, Yazeen Buhari and FFF General Secretary, Laura Georges, bearing witness to the Agreement.
This Agreement was conceived with the objectives of the Unleash The Roar! (UTR) project in mind, which aims to improve the standards of Singapore football across all levels through a structured football development system.
This includes an equally strong focus on uplifting the women’s game in Singapore, which will be aided by the Women’s Football Development aspect of the Agreement.
Both parties will share experiences and information of mutual interest, while FFF General Secretary, Ms. Georges, will take part in a dialogue on 27 March.
This dialogue will be led by FAS Women’s Committee Chairperson Ms. Julie Teo and involve other committee members; the objective of the closed-door event is for both parties to understand the women’s football scene in their local context, exchange ideas, identify gaps and opportunities for collaboration.
Topics include growing the base of female footballers, channelling players into an Elite program at Clairefontaine, club capacity development and league branding.
The other aspect of the Agreement will see the FFF share their technical expertise by providing training courses to technical staff in Singapore, as well as potential exchange and attachment opportunities for coaches, players, football science and medical personnel.
Both parties will engage in regular exchanges on footballing matters, including technical developments and coach education
development.
FAS President, Kia Tong, said: “We are very pleased to be able to partner with the FFF in order to develop and grow Singapore football. When the FFF reached out to us towards the end of 2020 through their International Relations Department with a view to a partnership, we were naturally keen on making it happen as France is one of the top countries in world football. Doors were kept open and both parties engaged in numerous conversations, which has now eventually borne fruit. The timing has been excellent as well, as the French’s expertise in football development, for both men’s and women’s, will certainly be beneficial as we strive to make progress in line with the objectives of the UTR initiative. Together with the FFF, we are fully committed to actively cooperating and collaborating on a regular basis across the aspects that are in the agreement and we look forward to embarking on
a fruitful relationship.”
FFF President, Noël Le Graët, said: “We are extremely pleased with this partnership, which comes after more than two years of fruitful exchanges. Despite the difficulties caused by the pandemic, the services of our federations have shown great resilience and have undoubtedly strengthened the links between us.
“This new cooperation allows the FFF to export its know-how and reinforce its expertise. It is important to note that the FFF has always looked at its expertise as an instrument for being at the service of the collective. Therefore, it can only benefit from these exchanges and from sharing its vision with the international partners that we support.
“This partnership between the FAS and the FFF, which is fully in line with our strategy of exporting and promoting French Football internationally, is also a way to celebrate the friendship between French and Singaporean football and their willingness to keep on working and developing together.”
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