Singapore Floorball Association breaks with men’s coach in drive for 2029 SEA Games fillip

SINGAPORE – The Singapore Floorball Association (SFA) has moved to strengthen its set-up, following a poor showing at last December’s SEA Games as it aims to make an impact at the 2029 edition on home soil.

The national sports association earlier in March appointed Wilson Ang as technical director and Mariyanto Aribowo as general manager.

In a social media post on March 24, SFA announced that men’s national coach Pasi Rosti will be replaced by assistant coach Syazni Ramlee on an interim basis.

Rosti was appointed just nine months ago.

The changes follow disappointing results at the SEA Games in Thailand, where the Singapore women’s team were dethroned by the hosts and the men came home with a joint-bronze.

SFA president Ben Ow told The Straits Times: “We evaluated the past results at the SEA Games, along with our regular check-ins with Pasi, weighed the pros and cons, and we decided to part mutually.”

On the search for a new national coach, he added: “We have been looking at various coaches and having a coach from overseas requires not only expertise and performance at a high level, but (also) cultural understanding and ability to assimilate with coaching our local senior athletes...

“So, of course there have been some shortlists and there will be more news in the months to come.”

On his brief tenure, Rosti, 46, said: “It’s been fun, interesting, even though it was a relatively short time. We have been able to establish good foundations for the next coach to continue.

“It was a bit sudden... I have a few family issues with my kids living in Finland, so it is a difficult task to live here. It started out well, but it’s been a tough few months.”

The Finn has taken up an offer to be the coach of Swiss top division side UHC Waldkirch-St Gallen, a move which will allow him to be closer to home.

He believes the men’s team have progressed and can now play a faster and more creative game, but admits that they “could have done better” at the SEA Games.

Rosti was assistant coach for the women’s team who won the Asia-Oceania qualifiers for the 2025 world championship, before taking over the men’s side last June following the departure of Sonia Chia.

Under Rosti, the men’s team settled for a joint-bronze with Malaysia at the SEA Games, with Thailand and the Philippines taking gold and silver respectively.

In January, the men sealed a berth in the 2026 world championship after topping their group with three wins and a draw at the Asia-Oceania qualifying tournament in New Zealand – but lost 5-1 to Thailand in the final.

Singapore, who had finished last in the field of 16 at the 2022 world championship in Switzerland, are targeting a top-12 spot at the Dec 4-13 edition in Finland.

Syazni, who admitted feeling “a lot of pressure” after taking up the new role on short notice, said his main aim is to keep his players focused on preparations for the world meet.

“We will be working to address our weaknesses that were evident during the SEA Games and qualifiers,” he added.

Ow said technical director Ang will handle the “pathway development as well as the high-performance side of floorball” in line with the 2029 SEA Games project.

Ang, who had been serving in an advisory capacity since 2024, came on board officially on March 1.

He said: “My role in this narrative is really to curate and calibrate the system, from community to talent pathway all the way to high performance.

“Of course, along the way, it is really about regaining the titles and ensuring that we have certain systems and processes that are ready to sustain excellence and performance.”

Meanwhile, Mariyanto, who took over from Ryan Quek, said: “There is definitely strong potential to grow and I hope I can contribute, strengthen the organisation and support the growth in a more structured and sustainable way.”