SINGAPORE – The Lion City Sailors will see another change in personnel after the club announced on Friday that chief executive Chew Chun-Liang will leave at the end of 2022 after two years.
His departure is the latest in a number of personnel changes at the club, which failed to retain their Singapore Premier League (SPL) title after claiming the championship in 2021.
On Tuesday, former Serbia assistant coach Risto Vidakovic was appointed head coach, replacing interim man Luka Lalic. In November, six players and several backroom staff members were let go.
During Chew’s time, the Sailors – Singapore’s first privatised football club – also opened a $10 million training centre in Mattar Road in July.
In 2021, they paid an SPL record transfer fee of $2.9 million for Brazilian playmaker Diego Lopes.
A year later, they shelled out $2 million for Brazilian centre-back Pedro Henrique, and snapped up former South Korea captain Kim Shin-wook and Belgian winger Maxime Lestienne on free transfers. Kim and Lestienne are on record salary deals worth more than $1 million annually.
Before joining the Sailors, Chew had a two-year stint as director of operations at the Silver Generation Office of the Agency for Integrated Care. Before that, he had spent 22 years with the Republic of Singapore Navy and held the rank of colonel.
He thanked fans and partners of the club for their support and said: “I leave as a fan of the Sailors, and I take with me great memories, a sense of pride that I’ve contributed to the growth of the club – and I’m ready to take on new challenges.”
Chairman Forrest Li paid tribute to Chew, 46, saying: “We have developed a great working relationship over the past two years, and I’m certain that I speak for all Sailors when I say that I’m sad to see him go. We respect Chun-Liang’s decision to leave the club, and we wish him nothing but the best in his future endeavours.”
Captain Hariss Harun wished Chew the best for the future. Recalling the first time he spoke to Chew, Hariss said: “It was his openness and warmth that struck me... and that never changed whether the team was on a high or going through a bad patch.
“He would sometimes send encouraging messages to us players that would go along with a warm handshake when we see each other in person – these little things make a difference. We really appreciate all that he’s done for the team.”
Since privatising the club in 2020, owner Sea Limited – of which Li is the founder, chairman and group chief executive officer – has pumped in millions to improve the club, building training facilities and investing in sports science and a data analytics department.
However, Sea Limited, Singapore’s largest consumer Internet company, has in recent months been buffeted by a perfect storm of an economic slowdown, inflation, increasing competition and a broader tech sell-off.
The parent of e-commerce giant Shopee and gaming firm Garena has suffered a US$150 billion (S$205.8 billion) plunge in its value since late 2021. There has been at least three rounds of layoffs at Shopee, both here and at its international offices, with the most recent exercise on Nov 1.
On Thursday, Bloomberg reported that Sea is freezing salaries for most staff and paying out lower bonuses in 2022.
