SINGAPORE – Strictly speaking, Jared Gallagher could write this story if he wanted to.
Sat down on a couch at the Kallang Football Hub for his first interview as a national team footballer, Gallagher could not help chuckling at the “odd situation”.
The 22-year-old is usually the one asking questions and working on features as part of his communications and new media course at the National University of Singapore, where he is a second-year student.
But as one of two new faces – the other is 19-year-old Young Lions fullback Fairuz Fazli – in Tsutomu Ogura’s first Lions squad announced for back-to-back World Cup qualifiers against China on March 21 and 26, Gallagher is experiencing a role reversal.
Both rookies were involved in Ogura’s first training session on March 11.
Gallagher, whose father is Irish and mother is Singaporean, was in the gym when he received news of the call-up from team manager Eric Ong.
He said: “Every international window, I have hopes and this was similar. And when my phone lit up with Eric’s name, I knew this was the moment I had been waiting for.
“It was an amazing moment and something I will never forget. It’s the ultimate goal to become a senior national team player. I’m super grateful for the call-up and, hopefully, I can repay coach Ogura’s faith in me.”
Earning his first cap against China will be extra special, considering he spent eight years of his childhood in Shanghai, where he first picked up the sport after initial dabbles with wushu and badminton.
Midway through Primary 2 at St Anthony’s Primary School, Gallagher’s family migrated to China. In 2018, the family moved to Hong Kong, where Gallagher linked up with Kitchee SC’s youth side.
He returned in March 2020 to fulfil his national service obligations and has stayed on since.
Gallagher loves to read, especially sports autobiographies and history-based books, and write. In 2022, he won the Story of the Year gong at the Football Association of Singapore’s (FAS) annual awards night.
He has recently interviewed his BG Tampines Rovers teammates Glenn Kweh and Amirul Haikal as well as Lionesses midfielder Venetia Lim for a piece on how student-athletes manage the pressure that comes with balancing studies and sport. While he hopes to write about sports or work on a podcast in the future, he is now focused on his playing career.
On Gallagher’s inclusion, Ogura said the midfielder had endorsements from his assistant coaches Nazri Nasir – who worked with Gallagher at Young Lions – and Gavin Lee, coach at BG Tampines.
Gallagher, who can play in central midfield or at right-back and has stood out for his energetic displays and tidy passing, joined BG Tampines earlier in 2024.
Ogura said: “I have watched him in training and in the matches (in pre-season). Of course, I also had a chat with Gavin and Nazri and learnt more about him as a player.
“He has good abilities and he is an effective player, so I selected him for the team. When selecting the players for the squad, we also looked at whether they fit the kind of football that we want to play.”
Gallagher is keen to impress the Japanese, who was hired on Feb 1. He said: “The next thing is to show coach Ogura that I deserve to play.
“As much as it is an amazing feeling to be called up, the ability to have a cap or to play in front of a crowd at the National Stadium or away in China or just play at all for the country is the ultimate honour.”
In some ways, he is only just writing the first chapter of his next football journey.
