GE2015: Spore football was great until...

GE2015: Spore football was great until...

While most were at the Worker's Party rally to hear rousing speeches on national politics, few expected the WP chairman to talk about football.

Ms Sylvia Lim even briefly spoke about her boyfriend, former national footballer Quah Kim Song, who scored in the 1977 Malaysia Cup final.

She told the audience: "I am so proud that the man who headed in the winning goal is here tonight as my personal driver."

But Ms Lim was trying to raise a point: Singapore football used to be "a force to be reckoned with" until the PAP decided to nominate PAP MPs to be in charge of the Football Association of Singapore.

Football was her example of how the PAP-led Government wants a hand in "every aspect of Singaporean life, including sports, businesses and professional groups".

Glory

She spent a large part of her speech bringing up Singapore's football glory in the 60s and 70s.

She said Singapore was fourth in Asia in 1966, finishing the Asian Games behind Burma, Iran and Japan.

Said Ms Lim: "Everyone had football fever, not just the football fans but even grandmothers and housewives too."

She told the crowd at Boon Keng Road that the football example was relevant as they were near Jalan Besar Stadium.

Said the Aljunied GRC candidate: "Where is Singapore football today? According to (international football federation) Fifa, Singapore dropped from No. 70 in the world in 1993 to a new low this year of No. 157. We are classified by Fifa as one of the worst movers down the rankings.

"It is time for Singaporeans to take charge of what we care about. Let our passions take us to greatness.

"We have done it before, and we can do it again."


This article was first published on September 4, 2015.
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