Commentary

School sports: Football competition set-up needs fine-tuning to achieve goal

Coaches, educators weigh in on how to balance encouragement and competition

Singapore Sports School players (in red) celebrating on the way to beating Meridian Secondary School in the National School Games B Division final in April 2018. The sports school has won the B Division title eight times since 2007, and its recent 32
Singapore Sports School players (in red) celebrating on the way to beating Meridian Secondary School in the National School Games B Division final in April 2018. ST PHOTO: GAVIN FOO
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Simple tweaks to the National School Games (NSG) football competition format could curtail lopsided scores in future games, school coaches and educators told The Sunday Times.

A recent preliminary-round B Division game where the Singapore Sports School (SSP) beat Assumption Pathway School (APS) 32-0 sparked debate over fair play and the purpose of school sports.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Sunday Times on February 02, 2020, with the headline School sports: Football competition set-up needs fine-tuning to achieve goal. Subscribe