Your S’pore Story: ‘I hope to leave a positive impact on the football scene’
On the cusp of a budding auditing career, he quit his corporate job to work on creating football-related content – all for the love of the game
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Football content creator Shaun Ye has worked with some of the biggest names in sports, but he says his real goal is to change perceptions.
PHOTO: SPH MEDIA
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It is potentially an Asian parent’s worst nightmare: Your child leaves a well-paid job to pursue a career on TikTok – and you only find out about this after they have handed in their resignation.
Mr Shaun Ye is one such child. A former auditor, he did not want to be stuck behind a desk and decided to quit to pursue his passion as a football content creator at the age of 28 in 2023.
Watch his video.
His parents, to his surprise, did not kick up a fuss and were even supportive of his decision.
Today, he rakes in brand deals and endorsements as well as secures partnerships with some of the biggest names in football, including legendary football clubs Manchester United and Arsenal.
Across TikTok Instagram
That is why he has made it his mission to use his platform to support local teams and inspire a new generation of football fans. Here, Mr Ye talks about his unlikely journey from corporate auditor to content creator, and why he believes Singapore football deserves more respect.
Through content creation, Mr Ye (left) channels his passion for football into building a stronger fan culture.
PHOTO: SPH MEDIA
“When I first started about five years ago, I was just recording videos and posting them for fun. It started with really simple things – tricks that I was good at, like the nutmeg
So that is what I specialise in. I would go and challenge random people on the street and post those videos, and those were the ones that gained the most traction at the start.
For the first two years, growth was pretty slow. But three years ago, there was a sudden surge in viewers and followers, because I had transitioned from Instagram to TikTok, and that really helped – even though they were the same videos on both platforms.
I was working full-time as an auditor, so I did not really have much time to film videos, even though I was trying to post three or four times a week. And when you are in the auditing line, the working hours are crazy. There is no work-life balance at all. I was really tired.
On top of that, I had a couple of brand deals that were paying pretty well, but because of my job, I also had to turn down a lot of opportunities. So I thought, maybe I will just take a break for a while and do this full-time, and if it does not work out, I will just rejoin the workforce.
Of course, corporate work pays more and is more stable. But the main thing with my content creation job is the joy and satisfaction you get when the final video comes out. You feel like you really put in effort, and when the result comes out, you can look back and think: Maybe next time I will film or edit it another way, and it will add further value to the final product. That gives me a lot of motivation.
The best part about doing this is the perks. There are a lot of opportunities to travel and meet awesome players. I travelled to Kuala Lumpur in May 2025 to watch a Manchester United game. I managed to get VIP training access and partner access, and it was a huge opportunity to make some great content with the players there. These are experiences that money just cannot buy.
People are still really negative about the local football scene. In fact, I didn’t watch any local club football myself – only the national team. But recently, Lion City Sailors have done a really good job with all the funding, the format and the way they develop their players. You can go to any Sailors game now and you will see a huge increase in fan turnout compared to a few years back.
As a content creator, I feel like I should use my platform to support the local teams and try to convince people to show up and watch the Singapore Premier League. I would definitely love to work with local teams to reach out to the younger audience, to motivate or inspire them to try football.
There are a lot of parents who are always saying, ‘Oh, in Singapore, one cannot play football. It is not the right path, it does not pay well’ – that kind of thing. But we can still enjoy and love the game.
Of course, earning money is important, and getting more followers is important too. But I think at the end of the day, what I really hope to accomplish with my platform is to leave a positive impact on the football scene in Singapore.”
For generations, The Straits Times has told The Singapore Story. To celebrate our 180th anniversary, we’re putting the spotlight on our communities – for you to tell us yours, from all around Singapore. Discover the stories from your neighbourhood as the series continues at Your Singapore Story.
