Darwin Jalil seeks Fifa intervention after his team were disqualified from FAS elections

SINGAPORE – Former Balestier Khalsa vice-chairman Darwin Jalil has lodged an appeal to Fifa after his team were deemed ineligible to contest the upcoming Football Association of Singapore (FAS) elections following the disqualification of a replacement candidate.

He had planned to lead a nine-member slate under the “Football First” banner in the April 28 elections at Raffles Town Club.

However, the rejection of Neo Gim Chye on eligibility grounds led to the team’s disqualification, paving the way for tech billionaire and Lion City Sailors chairman Forrest Li to assume the FAS presidency unopposed.

On April 18, FAS confirmed that Li’s team are the only candidates nominated on a slate basis for the 2025-29 term.

When contacted on the same day, Darwin confirmed he has sent a letter to Fifa to seek intervention over what his team deem as unfair disqualification.

In the 40-year-old’s appeal letter seen by The Straits Times, he outlined a timeline of events that he claims demonstrate irregularities in the electoral process.

Chief among his concerns was the rejection of Neo’s candidacy for the role of deputy president.

The FAS electoral committee cited that Neo did not meet the eligibility requirements set out in the FAS constitution, which states that candidates for the office of the deputy president must have played an active role, either in association football, or an official within Fifa, a confederation, an association, or an active role in the management of sport in general, or a sport in particular (as an official of the sport organisation or educational institution), for two of the last five years.

Darwin, however, argued that Neo, who is the president of the ITE Alumni Association, qualifies through his role at the Institute of Technical Education (ITE), having promoted and organised various bowling and golf events during his tenure since 2010.

ST had earlier reported that Neo was a replacement for one of two initial candidates who failed the integrity checks.

After receiving official notice from the electoral secretariat that Neo did not clear the eligibility checks on April 12, Darwin’s subsequent appeal filed on April 14 was dismissed two days later.

His submission to Fifa states that the current electoral code bars appeals to government bodies or the Court of Arbitration for Sport, leaving no domestic recourse for candidates to challenge disqualifications.

On what he hopes will come out of the appeal, Darwin told ST: “By the virtue of timelines, we’ve already passed our eligibility but of course we’re looking at justice to be served because at this point of time, the scenario is such that we feel it’s an unfair disqualification for the slate.”

He added: “This incident reflects exactly why I wanted to come forward because for many years there have been a lot of such arrangements that have been done and that’s not for the betterment of football and it actually obstructs our development.

“My main objective is we should be given the opportunity to address these matters. Football is for the masses and does not just belong to an elite group of people.

“Football belongs to the people and that is where we want to serve the larger community and it should be a fair competing ground so we can focus on the development of the sport instead of the politics involved in it.”