Minister Edwin Tong answers hard questions on Singapore football | Talking Point
Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong has been actively promoting Singapore football for the past decade. As part of a special Talking Point series investigating the current state of the game, he's getting on the pitch with host Steven Chia, two football establishment stalwarts, a fan and a critic to tackle the hardest questions surrounding Singapore football. Here's the conversation in full. Watch Part 1 of the special series: https://cna.asia/3TQ0xX2 Catch Part 2 on Oct 3, 9.30pm, on Channel 5. Subscribe to our channel: https://cna.asia/youtubesub 00:00 How would you rank the state of Singapore football today? 00:51 What's new and different about the Unleash the Roar! project? 10:20 Should football clubs go private and not receive government funding? 13:16 Why it's so hard to attract new fans and private funding 16:55 Is World Cup 2034 still the target? 18:01 How can this new project be sustained in the long term, compared to Goal 2010 and previous initiatives? 20:32 Can we see results in the short term? 23:05 What is the approach towards naturalised players and naturalisation? 24:32 What about the impact of National Service? 26:48 Is the level of the Singapore Premier League high enough? 29:06 Minister Edwin Tong on the criticism towards Singapore football 31:28 Supporting the pursuit of football and sport as a viable career 32:52 Significance of fan support Subscribe to our news service for must-read stories: Telegram - https://cna.asia/telegram WhatsApp - https://cna.asia/whatsapp Follow us: CNA: https://cna.asia CNA Lifestyle: http://www.cnalifestyle.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/channelnewsasia Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/channelnewsasia Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/channelnewsasia TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@channelnewsasia