SINGAPORE - The Football Association of Singapore (FAS) will take the unprecedented step of holding public trials to look for potential national youth players, in a departure from its usual methods.

The trials will be held across three dates in December, and the FAS is scouring for players under the age of 14. Previously, invitations to trials for FAS teams and clubs were sent directly to all 139 secondary schools.

The move, said FAS technical director Joseph Palatsides, is meant to make sure that "everyone can get an opportunity" and that no players fall through the cracks at an early age.

"We're not looking for professional-level players," said the 54-year-old Australian. "This is just about how I can look at young players in a different manner.

"In Singapore we don't have a huge pool of talent, so this is about getting everyone an opportunity.

"We have to look at players at a younger age, who may not be involved with clubs or academies. You always hear stories of this player or that player slipped through the net... We want to prevent this."

Palatsides was appointed in his role by the FAS in May on a two-year contract with the option of a further two years. Prior to coming to Singapore, the former defender was the head of A-League club Melbourne City's youth academy.

As technical director, he oversees the development of Singapore football in all aspects, which includes enhancing the development of the national age-group teams, grassroots and women's football, as well as further strengthening the youth development and coaching structures.

While he stressed that the FAS trials were not intended to "form a team", he said the national body is looking at players born in 2006. This group comprises players most likely to form the team that will take part in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Under-16 qualification matches in 2021.

It is hoped such an early start at preparing players for the tournament can prevent a repeat of poor performances by national age-group teams in recent years.

Earlier this month, the national Under-18 team were beaten 11-0 by South Korea and 8-0 by Myanmar in the AFC U-19 qualifiers.

The U-18 team in 2017 also suffered embarrassing defeats - 7-0 by Japan and 4-2 by Mongolia - in the same qualifiers. That same year, the U-15 team were trounced by Japan (11-0) and Malaysia (6-1) in Asian qualifiers as well.

Said Palatsides: "In a sense, now we wait for players to enter (youth-set ups of professional) clubs when they are 14, and yes we have a grassroots programme with ActiveSG, which we work closely with.

"The question is, can we make it better? Can we work with these players before they have to play at the international level?"

Palatsides said the goal of the upcoming trials are to identify potential players and track them through a database that will be set up. Noting it will "not be a foolproof system from the start", he said the move would be the start of an ongoing process and says there are plans to open up more open trials in the future.

The trials will take place at the Jalan Besar Stadium on three dates, depending on which part of the country the players hail from. Dec 9 is for students from the North and South Zones, while Dec 11 is for those from the East and West Zones. Shortlisted participants from the the two days will be invited back for a final session on Dec 13.

Links to registration can be found on FAS' website or on its Facebook page, and closes on Sunday (Dec 1).