FAS to Make U-22 Appeal

Young Lions, runner Soh not on SEA Games list, but football body will contest decision

- David Lee

Singapore will be fielding its largest-ever contingent for the Dec 9-20 SEA Games, but high-profile names such as the national men's Under-22 football team and two-time marathon champion Soh Rui Yong have been omitted from the initial list.

The Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) on Aug 6 announced the first batch of athletes and teams selected for the Games, with a total of 762 athletes across 42 sports provisionally picked for the event. The national sports associations have until Aug 15 to lodge appeals for their athletes.

It is understood that the Young Lions missed the initial cut as they have not produced any international results that meet the SNOC's qualifying criteria of matching the third-placed finishers of the previous edition.

The Football Association of Singapore (FAS) had withdrawn the team from the Asean U-23 Championship from July 15 to 29, whose results could have been used to support their nomination for the SEA Games.

This would be the first time since 1969 that Singapore are not competing in the football competition at the Games. The Republic first played in the SEA Games men's football tournament in 1965 before sitting out in 1967 and 1969—they have featured in every edition since, winning three silvers and four bronzes when it was a senior competition until 1999.