Written by: Phoon Jia Hui

Youths aged between seven and 12 from RHB’s clients, staff, Muhammadiyah Welfare Home and Gambas Community Sports Club participated in the inaugural edition of the RHB Singapore Junior Football Programme at Jalan Besar Stadium on Sunday (2 July) morning.

An extension of the RHB Singapore Cup aimed at nurturing the younger generation’s love and passion for the game, 129 participants took part in a football clinic where they learned techniques under the guidance of coaches who have undergone the FAS Grassroots Coaching course.

Also gracing the occasion were Guest of Honour, Mr Mike Chan, CEO and Country Head, RHB Singapore, FAS President Mr Lim Kia Tong as well as special guest coach in former Singapore captain Mohamed Noh Rahman.

After Laos and Cambodia, Singapore is the third country RHB has expanded its grassroots football programme to and Mr Lim expressed his gratitude for the former’s support.

“I would like to thank RHB for organising an event like this and I look forward to more opportunities where we can work together like that again,” he said.

“It’s positive for a start. It gives us the impetus to continue expanding the size of such events and we are definitely looking to do that. We are starting small for now but are looking to make it bigger in the years to come.”    

Lim, 64, was also keen to stress the importance of organising such events.

“It is one of the council’s vision to grow the game from the grassroots and engage the community,” he explained.

“It’s an excellent platform for kids to come together to enjoy the game; to learn the values of teamwork and to build up the basics so that they can learn the proper technique of playing the game when they grow older.”

Echoing Lim’s sentiments, Chan added that it is a possibility a similar event could be organised again.

“If the interest is good, why not?” he quipped.

“This being the inaugural event, we are definitely keen to make it a larger scale in the future. The reason we chose football is because it is easier to reach the community and also to build a healthy lifestyle.”

Noh meanwhile, was heartened to see the participants coming together to enjoy themselves as well as the support RHB has given Singapore football through the years.

“It’s encouraging to see RHB come onboard support an event like this, which I think the FAS and the S.League truly appreciate,” the 36-year-old said.

“I’ve seen the kids having fun in this event and it’s a good sign to see all this happening. I have spotted a couple of talents but at this stage, it’s all about having fun where there is a good number of both boys and girls participating.”

“Also, it’s nice to see the FAS President and some of the council members coming down to take a look at how this event is being run.”

The programme was targeted at empowering the youths with valuable skills and instill confidence, and Nur Syazanah Khalisha believes she has benefited from this.

“I actually enjoy playing with the boys,” the 11-year-old enthused.

“This is my fifth time that I’ve participated in an event like this. Yes, the rest may be rough but I have gained some experience through this and I also try to combine with them to improve myself as a player.”