The organisers of the Singapore Youth League (SYL) – Football Association of Singapore and Unleash the Roar which comes under the ambit of government agency Sport Singapore – have apologised after two SYL Under-13 fixtures involving Woodlands Lions FC, Hougang United FC, Geylang International FC and the National Development Centre (NDC) Girls U15, scheduled to have been played at Bukit Gombak Stadium on 27 Apr 2024 were postponed because of a double booking at the venue at Bukit Gombak Stadium.
The first match between Woodlands and Hougang was due to start at 8am which means players had to be at the venue before 7am if regulations were being adhered to.
TMSG had shared the photos and the story about the incident after upset parents submitted photographs and their frustration on 27 April in the early morning after reaching the stadium before 7am.
One parent said that their child had to be awake at 4.30am to be on time.
“Our preliminary finding is that this was caused by a miscommunication amongst the SYL organisers on venue availability,” said the SYL in a social media statement posted at almost midnight on 28 April.
“It is clear that this postponement has caused a great deal of inconvenience and grief to the affected teams, parents, spectators, match officials and staff who showed up on time for the matches,” it added.
The organisers added that the staff on site had tried his best to search for alternatives but to no avail.
“The SYL is deeply sorry for this occurrence,” the statement said.
“It has fallen short of the standards expected in the organisation of the SYL.
“There will be an internal investigation and responsible staff will face disciplinary measures.”
The statement added that the “SYL will also reach out formally to all affected parties including clubs, parents and players in the coming week to express our sincere regret over the incident.”
it added that the organisers of the SYL will also reschedule the matches and inform the clubs as soon as possible.
“The SYL is a key tenet of the Unleash the Roar! national football project” and it “undertakes to review its processes to ensure that such an error does not occur again.”
EARLY MORNING SYL MESS
Parents who wrote in to TMSG on early 27 April morning after discovering archery boards on the Bukit Gombak expressed their anger and disappointment at the fiasco.
See earlier story.
Another reader also submitted this message at past 10am on 27 April.
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