SINGAPORE: Members of the LionsXII and the Courts Young Lions will form the bulk of the Singapore football squad for the 2013 SEA Games in Myanmar.
Despite its regional powerhouse status, Singapore has never won a gold medal in football at the SEA Games competition and the Lions are gunning to end the barren run in Myanmar this year.
To achieve that, the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) is looking to bring the teams together for centralised training ahead of the Games.
It is critical that the Young Lions and LionsXII have more playing time together.
This will allow selectors enough time to get the SEA Games team to gel and make changes before the December tournament.
FAS president Zainudin Nordin said: "If we are able to pick a suitable month where both calendar can fit in, why not. We can have a team going on a training programme that will put them into a single fighting unit. I think we will work hard towards that."
A good result at the 2013 SEA Games will continue the momentum from the 2012 AFF Suzuki Cup win where the Singapore team clinched a historic fourth ASEAN football title.
On Monday afternoon, the Courts Young Lions received a boost when its sponsor, Courts, decided to stick with the team for another year with a sponsorship deal estimated to be in the region of S$500,000.
The support will keep the focus on the youngsters and allow them to prove themselves, especially with better quality star players signed by some teams.
Courts Young Lions coach Aide Iskandar said: "The objective of the Courts Young Lions this year is to provide a platform, to create a wider pool of players for the coach to bring the team and to select the team for the 2013 SEA Games."
- CNA/fa
Football: Centralised training for S'pore team for 2013 SEA Games
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Football: Centralised training for S'pore team for 2013 SEA Games
