The biggest fixture in Singapore football this year was set at 6pm yesterday, with Team LKT taking on Game Changers at the Singapore Sports Hub on April 29.

After the deadline for nominations for its first democratic election had passed, the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) announced that it had received two applications for the nine-man slate.

It also revealed that there were 16 nominees contesting the six individual council positions.

But while it might have been a quiet day at the Jalan Besar Stadium, which saw only Hougang United general manager Matthew Tay submitting Game Changers' forms shortly after 2pm, there was a rumble when the slates were revealed.

And it appears Hougang United chairman Bill Ng, one of the two presidential candidates, is attempting to live up to his team's moniker.

Not only has he included two women in his slate - the new FAS constitution only states that at least one candidate must be female - but he has listed them as two of the four vice-presidential candidates, signalling that they are not merely token representation.

Furthermore, Singapore National Olympic Council vice-president Annabel Pennefather and Dr Teoh Chin Sim, Team Singapore's chief medical officer at the 2015 SEA Games, while widely respected within the wider sports community, have little to no experience in football.

Ng, 57, also sprang a surprise by securing the buy-in of 1977 Malaysia Cup-winning captain Samad Allapitchay. He is one of three former national captains who have thrown their hat into the ring. The other two are Lim Tong Hai and Razali Saad, both of whom feature for Team LKT, the opposing camp.

Samad, 66, told The Sunday Times that he signed up to the cause on Friday and added: "It was an invitation (from Ng) that I could not refuse. I have friends from both sides, it doesn't matter who wins, I just hope the winning team will work hard to improve Singapore football.

"There are no shortcuts to success in football. The council members should go down to the ground to see the situation grassroots clubs are facing. As for myself, I had visited Kaki Bukit SC and South Avenue SC. I hope to be the voice for the NFL on the council."

Game Changers created a Facebook account on Friday, which they introduced themselves as "men and women of integrity, intelligence and in-depth knowledge of Singapore sports, with a special specific for football".

"They come from a multi-racial, multi-intellectual and multi-gifted sector of the grassroots, with their heart-beats truly on the heartlanders to boost Singapore football," the statement added.

They aim "to convince Singaporeans that there's a future for football, right down to the HDB grassroots, where football must be totally encouraged".

While Ng's team submitted their papers at 2pm yesterday, it emerged that the team of FAS provisional council president Lim Kia Tong (Team LKT) had submitted their paperwork as early as Friday evening.

His team includes corporate heavyweights such as Bernard Tan (chief marketing officer at ST Engineering), Teo Hock Seng (Komoco Motors' group managing director), Forrest Li (founder of online gaming portal Garena) and Kelvin Teo (chief executive officer of Sembcorp Development).

Kia Tong has indicated that one of his foci is to improve grassroots football. But while he has three representatives from amateur National Football League (NFL) sides in his team, the inclusion of People's Association director Michael Foo, whose portfolio includes community sports, could prove a strategic move.

Kia Tong told The Sunday Times: "I am confident that the members I have chosen are a good balance of old and new, a mixture of experience and youth.

"It's a good representation of the kind of talent that Singapore football needs moving into the future. This is a team of passionate individuals who are highly motivated to bring our football to greater heights."

There are also four independents not affiliated to either team who will run as individuals - Edward Liu, Kumar Appavoo, James Lim and Sebastian Tan.

Teams contesting in a slate will need a minimum of two-thirds (30) of the 44 votes to win. Independent candidates need a simple majority to win. The election will be held at the Sports Hub.