Is Forrest Li's $2m bonus for the Lions good for sport?

A hush fell over the Lions dressing room at the Kai Tak Stadium late on Nov 18, the hooting and hollering that had filled it just seconds earlier replaced with a pregnant pause as Singapore football chief Forrest Li prepared to speak.

- Sazali Abdul Aziz Assistant ST Now Editor and Kimberly Kwek Sports Correspondent

"Whatever the bonus (was) we promised before," he said, "it will be triple."

Pandemonium erupted even before the billionaire and Football Association of Singapore (FAS) president could finish his sentence. Even limping hero Ilhan Fandi, who scored the winning goal in their 2-1 win over Hong Kong to secure a historic Asian Cup qualification, could not resist grabbing Mr Li and wrapping his arm around him.

While neither Mr Li nor the players had spoken publicly about any bonus before the game, the former revealed upon the squad's return to Singapore that they would receive "about $2 million". A few days later, when asked, the founder of homegrown tech firm Sea Limited - who reportedly has a net worth of US$9.9 billion (S$12.8 billion) - said the money would come out of his own pocket.

The quantum of the reward is unprecedented in Singapore football and in local sport, sparking the question: Is the bonus a boon or bane for the community?

While the act of generosity is laudable, sports administrators and observers whom The Sunday Times spoke to said such a practice should not be the way forward for how sporting achievements are rewarded.

In addition to it being unsustainable for the FAS and other national sports associations (NSAs) in the long term, it could also risk distorting athletes' motivations when donning national colours, they said.

Mr Tang Weng Fei, who led the Singapore Athletic Association (now known as Singapore Athletics, or SA) for 10 years across three stints between 2004 and 2020, said the FAS is "lucky" to have a billionaire at the helm.

"The $2 million is a yardstick not many people can match. I am not poor, but I am not in that category," said Mr Tang, who is an oil trader.

"If I were at his level (of wealth), I would probably do the same because it will lift the morale of players and is tremendous for the reputation of the association."