MCI deputy secretary Alan Goh to take over as SportSG chief executive in April

SINGAPORE – After more than a decade, Sport Singapore (SportSG) will have a new man at the helm, with Ministry of Communications and Information deputy secretary (development and regulation) Alan Goh taking over from the national agency’s chief executive Lim Teck Yin.

Goh, who was one of the Singapore Sailing Federation’s vice-presidents from 2018 to 2019, has been at the ministry since September 2019. He will be appointed CEO (designate) from Feb 15 and succeed Lim on April 1, the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) announced on Wednesday.

Before that, Goh was in the Republic of Singapore Navy and held various command and staff appointments in the Singapore Armed Forces and the Ministry of Defence in areas such as policy and strategy, operations, planning, human resource and maritime security.

According to his LinkedIn profile, he was also involved in sports as a student, captaining the Downing College basketball team at the University of Cambridge, where he read mathematics from 1995 to 1998, and was also a competitive sailor in his school days.

Goh, 46, takes over from Lim, a former national water polo player with six SEA Games gold medals, who joined SportSG as its CEO in April 2011.

His predecessor was former national swimmer Oon Jin Teik, who helmed the Singapore Sports Council (later renamed SportSG) from 2004 to 2010.

Lim, 59, was a brigadier-general and previously commandant of the Safti Military Institute. He was awarded the Public Administration Medal (Gold) in 2015 for his contributions to Singapore sports and, under him, the local scene has notched several major milestones.

Those in the local sporting fraternity hailed Lim’s efforts in showcasing Singapore as a place that can host international sports events.

In addition to marquee events such as the Formula One Singapore Grand Prix and the HSBC Singapore Rugby Sevens, other major competitions that have been added to the sporting calendar in the past decade include table tennis’ US$2 million (S$2.7 million) Singapore Smash in March, which featured the world’s best players.

Noting Lim’s “pivotal role” in bringing the Singapore Smash here, Singapore Table Tennis Association president Poh Li San said it was “a success and raised home fan interest in world-class table tennis action”.

Singapore Badminton Association chief executive Alan Ow recalled how Lim had pushed for the Singapore Open to be upgraded from a BWF World Tour Super 500 event to a Super 750 event. The latter offers more ranking points and a larger prize purse.

Singapore Bowling Federation president Valerie Teo said with Lim’s leadership, the sport has been able to flourish, with national bowlers bringing home world, Asian and South-east Asian titles. Teo, a former national bowler, noted that this was not just the case for bowling, but other newer, emerging sports.

She added: “I hope to continue our strong partnership with SportSG and as we continue to strive for continued success I hope that we continue to grow in the areas of research, capitalising on our sports science expertise and harnessing technology to aid our athletes in achieving their goals and bring glory to Singapore.”

As the driving force behind Vision 2030 – Singapore’s masterplan for sports – Lim spearheaded the national movement ActiveSG, which was launched in April 2014 with the aim of creating a sporting ecosystem that makes programmes accessible to all.

Academies and clubs (A&Cs) for various sports were also set up to provide structured programming for locals to learn and develop skills in sports. There are currently 20 A&Cs across 20 sports and recreational activities, including para-sports like cerebral palsy football and athletics for the intellectually disabled.

During his tenure, Singapore also hosted the 2015 SEA Games and Asean Para Games.

In 2022, Lim also oversaw SportSG’s takeover of the Singapore Sports Hub after it was announced that it would be terminating its public-private partnership with the previous operator, SportsHub Pte Ltd.

There were several breakthroughs in high performance, with swimmer Joseph Schooling winning Singapore’s first Olympic gold medal in 2016, while in 2021, Loh Kean Yew became the Republic’s first badminton world champion.

MCCY Minister Edwin Tong said: “Under his leadership, SportSG has made strides to enhance our sporting culture, delivering more robust programmes and services so that more Singaporeans can enjoy and benefit from sport.

“We have much more to do, as we continue our aspiration to build up a sport ecosystem where our aspiring athletes can participate, excel and aspire to greater heights. Teck Yin’s contributions over the past decade have given us a good platform from which to make those changes.”

Ow hopes that under Goh’s leadership, there will be a greater emphasis on high performance, especially for younger athletes.

He said: “If I have a wish list, it’s hoping that Alan can come in and do something about Spex (Sports Excellence) at a younger age so it’s not just spexScholars who have achieved results, but for athletes with potential. That will encourage the next generation of athletes and their parents to allow them to embark on the athletes’ journey.”