No challengers to FAS president Lim Kia Tong at April 28 elections
The Football Association of Singapore (FAS) yesterday announced that there will not be a contest for its April 28 elections after only one team submitted a slate of candidates.
Incumbent FAS president Lim Kia Tong is seeking a second four-year term, with his nine-man slate mostly unchanged from the last elections in 2017.
The newcomers are former national players Lionel Lewis and Goh Tat Chuan (both council members) and former Geylang International chairman Ben Teng (vice-president).
Teng replaces Edwin Tong, who relinquished his post when he became Minister for Culture, Community and Youth last July.
The others who have dropped out from the 2017 slate are Balestier Khalsa deputy chairman Darwin Jalil and Lion City Sailors chairman Forrest Li. The former will be vying for an individual council member seat.
A further six council members will be elected individually.
The electoral committee will now conduct eligibility and integrity checks on nominated personnel.
A final list of candidates will be announced at least 10 days before the FAS extraordinary congress on April 28.
The 2017 election, the first where affiliates elected the FAS leadership, was contested by opposing slates led by Lim and Hougang United chairman Bill Ng.
Previous office-bearers were put in place by the Government, until that system was found to infringe football governing body Fifa's regulations in 2015.
The last elections took place under the extraordinary backdrop of a police raid at FAS' headquarters.
They arrested Ng, his wife Bonnie, ex-FAS president Zainudin Nordin, and then-FAS general secretary Winston Lee over the suspected misuse of funds at Tiong Bahru Football Club.
They were subsequently released and no charges have since been filed.
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