More tie-ups between Singapore and Thai football club BG Pathum after signing of MOU

SINGAPORE – Thailand-based Lions such as striker Ikhsan Fandi could be among those adding spice to the Singapore Cup when it kicks off in January 2025.

Football Association of Singapore (FAS) general secretary Yazeen Buhari told The Straits Times on June 14 that it is in talks with Ikhsan’s club, Thai League 1 side BG Pathum, to take part in the 2024-25 season’s cup competition.

Yazeen was speaking after a memorandum of understanding (MOU) was inked between national agency Sport Singapore (SportSG), FAS and BG Sports, the company which owns Pathum, at the Kallang Football Hub.

“The last time we had a Pathum senior team in a competition was more than 10 years ago in Singapore,” he said, referring to Bangkok Glass, who won the competition as an invited team in 2010.

“Now with this MOU, that is something that we’re going to explore, given the fact that our Singapore Cup for the current domestic season is going to happen early next year. That’s a conversation that we’ve already started, and Pathum would very much like to be part of (this).”

Under the MOU, Singapore’s youth footballers will get the opportunity to train and compete in Thailand, while those who show promise could get training stints with Pathum.

The partnership, part of national project Unleash The Roar! (UTR), will also see Pathum taking part in the Lion City Cup, a youth tournament. 

Aspiring Singaporean coaches will get attachment opportunities with Pathum, while the senior national squad can also access Pathum’s facilities to hold training camps.

Pathum’s director of international operations Philip Tan said they are proud to collaborate on this “meaningful partnership”.

He added: “Apart from working together in the areas of youth and coach development, we’re very excited about the prospect of taking part in competitions like the Singapore Cup and the Lion City Cup and showcase our brand of football.” 

The ceremony was also attended by Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong, BG Sports’ chief executive Piyasak Bhumichitra and SportSG’s sport development group chief Marcus Tan.

To commemorate the signing, a friendly was played between Pathum’s Under-16 team and Singapore’s national development centre (NDC) U-16 side. The Thai side won 1-0.

This is not Pathum’s first involvement in local football. They had signed a three-year deal with Singapore Premier League club Tampines Rovers in September 2023.

Three Singapore national players – Ikhsan and Irfan Fandi, and Ryhan Stewart – also played roles in them finishing fourth in the recently concluded Thai League 1 season. Ikhsan and Irfan’s last appearances in domestic club competitions had come with the Young Lions in 2018.

Pathum’s youth side also won the Lion City Cup in September 2023, defeating Singapore in the final.

Yazeen said: “Our boys really enjoyed that... so it will happen again and be very much a permanent fixture, I would say at least in the short- to mid-term.”

The MOU came about when Mr Tong met Pathum’s chairman Pavin Bhirombhakdi in Thailand and proposed the idea in March.

He told the media after the ceremony: “I saw their facilities, they were really first-class and very close to Singapore as well.

“The MOU allows us to plug into their facilities and whole training infrastructure but, more importantly, it also gives our future boys a chance to play top-level football regularly competitively, and allows them to pitch their skills and match themselves against their peers in Asean.”

The partnership is a step forward for youth football here, allowing them to gain exposure against players abroad. The NDC team will be participating in the Asean Football Federation U-16 Championship next week.

Winger Uchenna Eziakor, one of the UTR scholarship recipients, told ST: “In Singapore, there’s not really much competition for us now.

“Playing against teams overseas can help us strengthen our team even more and help us learn better.”