A somewhat familiar face in the football fraternity looks set to be named as the next general secretary of the Football Association of Singapore (FAS), TMSG can reveal confidently.
Chew Chun-Liang, the former CEO of the Lion City Sailors, will take over the administrative seat to be vacated by outgoing general secretary Yazeen Buhari.
Sources have confirmed that the 47-year-old former navy officer who left the Sailors at the end of 2022 and assumed the role of Deputy Chief at the Silver Generation Office, will be the new general secretary.
The role of the general secretary is one which is mostly operational, with the position not wielding any power, according to the amended constitution of the football body, made in 2017.
Changes were made then after the reign of Winston Lee, a former general secretary, currently at the ASEAN Football Federation.
Two sources TMSG spoke to had mixed reactions about Chew, based on their interactions with him.
“He is a nice person, and it would be tough for him to be in that position to make any kind of change, given the state of the leadership,” said one observer.
Another football official said that while Chew was a naval officer, he will have to deal with Bernard Tan, the President who was a former Brigadier-General.
The one positive observation about Chew’s imminent ascent to the role is his knowledge of the game, and of many of the players in the system, especially those who have come through the Sailors over the last few years.
As Lions skipper Hariss Harun had said when Chew departed from the Sailors at the end of 2022, “It was his openness and warmth that struck me the first time I spoke with Chun-Liang, and that never changed whether the team was on a high or going through a bad patch.”
MAIN PHOTO: LION CITY SAILORS