Singapore Floorball Association admits ‘areas where we could do better’ after selection storm

SINGAPORE – The Singapore Floorball Association (SFA) has apologised to veteran player Ishwarpal Singh after a selection storm erupted ahead of the team’s participation in the men’s World Floorball Championship (WFC) qualifiers in Pasig, the Philippines.

In response to queries from The Straits Times, the SFA said on July 15 that it had reviewed the incident and “acknowledged that there are areas where we could do better”.

It added: “We appreciate Ishwarpal’s frank sharing and extend our apologies for the distress inadvertently caused by the delayed feedback on his performance and the short notice of his non-deployment for the WFC (qualifiers).

“We would like to assure our fans and supporters that we are taking steps to strengthen our processes as well as engaging our athletes.”

The controversy surfaced after Singh criticised men’s floorball coach Sonia Chia on social media for her “disrespect and unprofessionalism”.

He said that she had told him just 48 hours before the flight to the Philippines that he would not be given any game time and was “offered the option” to withdraw.

Adding that he has “sacrificed a great deal to train and compete”, Singh said that the late notice came despite having met the selection criteria and having been chosen over two months ago.

He also added that Chia had informed him that “she never thought I was good enough for this level to begin with” and he was also not given any feedback on areas to improve on.

In its press statement, SFA said it will continue to work with players and the community to raise Singapore’s floorball standards to world competitive levels.

“Moving forward, we will work closely with our coaches to ensure they continue to provide timely feedback to players to help them improve their game. We will also look to ensure our selection policies are unambiguously clear and transparent to all relevant stakeholders.

“Some of the actions we plan to implement, include a consultation with CoachSG to explore ways to improve our processes, hold regular coach meetings to unify selection criteria, and have more opportunities to communicate with players.”

In response to queries, a spokesperson for national agency Sport Singapore said it is aware of the feedback on SFA’s athlete management and national team selection process, and added that it has urged SFA to review the matter carefully.

The spokesperson said: “We will work with SFA to take appropriate steps to address the gaps that came through its review process.”

When contacted, Singh, 30, said he is “thankful” for the apology and hoped to see SFA implement a change in processes.

Singh, who has also represented Singapore in hockey, said that he is currently taking a break from floorball to focus on his master’s and he will re-evaluate a return later in 2024.

He said: “I am heartened to know that they have reflected and accepted that there needs to be steps taken to address the matters I raised. I hope to see them follow through on their words and for there to be a positive change in the sport, and for floorball players to feel there is better professionalism and respect from officials.

“National sports associations, in general, need to realise that most athletes are not full-time and are not paid but, instead, they sacrifice their time, career, family time, physical and mental health.

“I just hope there is more respect for them and they are treated professionally.”

At the qualifiers in Pasig in May, the Singapore men’s team had narrowly missed out on a WFC berth for the first time since 2014 after losing 4-3 to Australia in the third-place play-off.

SFA said in its statement that it had appointed an acting technical director, Wilson Ang, to review the performance.

“All of us, including the coach and the players, are disappointed with the results of the qualifiers,” it said.

The next assignments for the men’s team are the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in November and the 2025 SEA Games, both in Thailand.