The Asean Football Federation (AFF) has contradicted earlier statements by the Football Association of Singapore regarding a $500,000 donation by Bill Ng.
The FAS had previously said that it was former FAS president Zainudin Nordin, who had approached Ng with a proposal to support the AFF’s Football Management System (FMS), and that Ng had decided to donate the money directly to AFF through a soccer club that he owns.
“It is clear that the amount of $500,000 was never meant to be donated to the FAS or any Singapore footballing activity… This was not a case of FAS accepting a donation and thereafter channeling the amount to AFF instead of using it for local football.” – FAS
FAS provided a quote which it claimed was from“an AFF spokesman” saying:“We are thankful to our donors and partners who have come onboard to support this new programme, including one of the FA Singapore NFL clubs who donated S$500,000 towards the system.”
Team Game Changers which is led by Ng and will be contesting the FAS elections on April 29, issued a four-page statement yesterday to refute the FAS’ assertions. Read their press statement here: https://theindependent.sg.sg/we-are-here-to-serve-singapore-football.
The following is a press release by the AFF in full.
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PETALING JAYA (17 April 2017) – As a result of various queries from the media on the subject of the FMS, the AFF would like to clarify particularly on the system.
The Asean Football Federation (AFF) Football Management System is an initiative aimed at enhancing the capabilities of football associations and clubs which will then better position them to achieve success in key result areas including but not limited to income generation, information technology, corporate governance, and facilities utilization, among others.
The sharing of resources among football associations in this region will strengthen ongoing efforts aimed at raising the standards of football management in Southeast Asia. We are in the last phase of preparations and we expect to launch the system within the next nine to 12 months.
The AFF Council members were informed at the 3 Council Meeting held on 6 December 2015, that the FA Singapore had donated a sum of SGD500,000 on 4 November 2015 as a payment to develop the System. The Council recorded its thanks and appreciation to FA Singapore for their effort to make the project a reality.