‘It’s a privilege’: Gavin Lee set to be announced as Lions coach

SINGAPORE – After guiding the Lions to a historic Asian Cup qualification, Gavin Lee is set to be rewarded by the Football Association of Singapore.

The Straits Times understands that the 35-year-old, who steered the Singapore national team to the 2027 continental showpiece in Saudi Arabia after taking charge of the last three qualifiers as interim head coach, has been offered the job on a permanent basis.

After three consecutive foreign hires, he will be the FAS’ first permanent local coach since V. Sundram Moorthy in 2016.

Sources have indicated that Lee, who returned to Singapore on Nov 26 following a short break overseas after

clinching the ticket to Riyadh with a 2-1 win over Hong Kong on Nov 18

, has met with FAS officials and accepted the offer.

ST understands that an official announcement on the matter is imminent and that it is an 18-month contract.

Lee told ST at the Jalan Besar Stadium on Nov 27, just before a meeting with FAS officials where he was expected to sign his contract: “Nothing’s been signed yet, but to be even considered in the first place, it’s a privilege, something I’ve mentioned many times before.

“Ultimately, just like when I first started (as interim coach), all I want is the best for the national team and to continue the progress that I think we’ve made in the last few windows.

“Just like when I was a youth player, all you ever dreamed was to represent the national team and to put on that jersey.

“So now I can’t wear the jersey, but I can still represent the country and so that ultimately is one of the biggest honours you can have in football, regardless of which country you come from.

“So personally, for me, it’s a lot of pride, a lot of satisfaction as well.

“I wouldn’t be here today if not for many, many people who were kind enough and generous enough to open doors for me, starting with my dad.

“Naturally, and obviously, I’ve been helped along the way. I’ve met coach Kadir (Yahaya), Harvey Davis (who runs the JSSL football school), (former Warriors coach) Alex Weaver, and, of course, (former BG Tampines Rovers chairman and current FAS deputy president) Desmond Ong, and not forgetting (FAS president) Forrest (Li) for giving me this opportunity to begin with. So without them, I wouldn’t be me today.

“My target? The same premise as when we first started, is to give people a national team that they can be proud of, that they want to come and watch, they want to go and support. And that hasn’t changed.”

Lee’s first major assignment will be the 2026 Asean Championship, which will take place from July 24 to Aug 26.

As interim coach, he helped the Lions to two wins (both

2-1 over India

and Hong Kong) and a draw (

1-1 with India

) in three competitive matches.

He has the honour of being the first coach to take the Lions to the Asian Cup on merit. The only other time Singapore took part in the continent’s football showpiece was when it was hosted here in 1984. The team did not progress beyond the group stage of the 10-team event.

Following a 2-1 away victory over Hong Kong on Nov 18 at the Kai Tak Stadium that sealed qualification, public clamour for Lee to be handed the reins full-time grew, while others urged the FAS to go with a seasoned, foreign coach to lead the team into the 2027 Asian Cup.

But the FAS has decided to stick with Lee, who took on the role of interim Lions coach in June, when then Lions coach Tsutomu Ogura of Japan resigned due to personal reasons.

While the FAS commenced its search for the next permanent coach, Lee, who had just left Singapore Premier League (SPL) side BG Tampines Rovers after almost eight years, was handed the interim role, primarily due to his familiarity with the team as Ogura’s assistant.

The Straits Times reported in July that a host of names such as

World Cup winner Fabio Cannavaro and former Liverpool winger Harry Kewell

were on a shortlist compiled by the FAS. The process saw two men –

Nick Montgomery and Jesus Casas

– fly in for face-to-face talks with the association and Sport Singapore officials.

Montgomery eventually took up an assistant coach role at Nottingham Forest, a position he has since been relieved of. ST understands that initial contractual negotiations had also begun with Casas, who had been the FAS’ top choice.

Intending to leave no stone unturned in their search, more top names were considered and contacted recently.

But, with navigation to the continental tournament secured, Lee rose to the top of the shortlist.

Regional football consultant and former youth coach Khairul Asyraf said that it is clear that the Asian Cup qualification was the catalyst.

Expressing his support for Lee, Khairul said: “It did seem that early on they were looking for a high-profile coach but the result that Gavin has brought swung the public sentiment (and) the FAS has decided to keep faith with someone local.

“Now I hope they back him and ensure they have proper player management where they can ensure our local players going to the Asian Cup will all be physically ready.”

Former Lions defender turned entrepreneur R. Sasikumar, who had previously called on the FAS to hire an experienced coach, said that he was not surprised that the national football body opted for Lee.

He said: “I can understand why they’ve done that and the writing was on the wall. The euphoria of Gavin getting us there also played a big role in people saying that we should give him a go. The past has also shown that not all foreign coaches can be successful in our environment, where it’s very unique.”

He also called on the FAS to empower Lee to possibly gain the experience he needs overseas, adding: “He needs to be out there, learning, upgrading and getting mentorship. He needs to look at a place where he’s going to grow professionally and then prepare himself for the next 18 months.

“The national team coach is not a day-to-day role so that leaves him time that he should use wisely to gain some experience.”