Grandad's links make Whitmore keen to be a Lion

History beckons for Cardiff City's Perry Ng, with the Liverpool-born footballer to become the first to don national colours via the heritage route if he gets his Singapore passport.

- Deepanraj Ganesan

His journey has already piqued the interest of others back home in Britain.

Inspired by Ng, Welsh midfielder Kai Whitmore - who plays for EFL League Two side Newport County - has expressed interest in playing for Singapore at the international level.

The 24-year-old, whose maternal grandfather was born in Singapore, was here in May to meet officials from the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) and find out more about the process of playing for the Lions.

Whitmore, a box-to-box midfielder, made 31 appearances for Newport in the past season, including in an FA Cup first-round loss to Peterborough United where he scored.

He said in an interview with The Straits Times: "Over the years, my grandfather has always talked about Singapore, his love for the country and his early years here. I was always interested to come and see where he used to live and I felt this off-season was the perfect chance to do it."

According to Whitmore, his grandfather Gary Evans, 64, was born in Singapore in 1961 at the Changi Hospital. Whitmore's great-grandfather was in the Royal Air Force and lived in a residential unit at Opera Estate near Siglap Road with his wife and son.

When Evans was about eight years old, the family travelled to England for a short break and had planned to return here. But his parents were killed in a car accident and he never returned to Singapore.