Sembawang in the wings After revealing plans for football academy, businessman now wants a team in S-League

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SINGAPORE - Sembawang, traditionally the hotbed of local football, has produced some of the game's biggest names for the national team.

Defender S Rajagopal, hotshots V Sundramoorthy and Quah Kim Song and his brothers are among those who cut their teeth there.

Sembawang Rangers were participants in the S-League when it was launched in 1996 but the financial strain of running the club forced them to quit after the eighth season.

Now, the Sembawang name could make a reappearance in professional football in Singapore with a new team, tentatively called Sembawang Football Club, and it will be headed by Rangers' former team manager Alfred Loi.

He has already met officials of the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) with a view of competing in the S-League from the 2012 season onwards.

"We have a capable management team, who have no previous connections with any S-League club, in place to join us if we get the FAS' nod," said Mr Loi. "We have the resources and plan to be financially independent."

The venture is backed by the same businessman who, as reported by Today in an exclusive interview on July 1, was setting up a Sembawang Soccer Academy and bankrolling a S$1 million training stint for 30 young players to Italy in collaboration with former Lions striker Fandi Ahmad. The businessman has requested anonymity.

The trainees are scheduled to leave in the next couple of weeks and train for up to five months under coaches of the Genova International School of Soccer and Serie B club Vicenza Calcio, who have appointed Fandi as their talent scout in South-east Asia.

"The reason behind the academy was to help build the football talent pool in Singapore," said Mr Loi, who was awarded the S-League team manager of the year in late 2002.

"But they would need a chance to advance their career when they return and setting up an S-League club was the next step."

FAS general-secretary Winston Lee confirmed meeting Mr Loi's team but added Sembawang was not the only side who have expressed an interest in the league.

Two other local sides and six others from Asia, Europe and Africa have also made enquiries about the 2012 season.

Said Mr Lee: "We have to see if they have the right management and the financial means to run a professional team here. There is also the issue of facilities.

"Malaysia's Harimau Muda will be making their debut next year and we haven't decided if the Young Lions will continue to field a team in the league.

"Some have suggested we increase the number of teams to 14, but at the moment 12 seems enough. It will be a couple of months before we can make a decision."

Mr Loi hopes his club will be allocated the Yishun Stadium, which is not currently used by any team, if they are successful in their bid to join the S-League.

"We want to put the Sembawang name back in football," he said