Sea founder Forrest Li announces bid to run for FAS president
Forrest Li's announcement comes after FAS on Monday (Mar 17) said it will hold its election on Apr 28.
Mr Forrest Li, who runs gaming platform Garena and online marketplace Shopee under New York listed and Singaporean parent company Sea Group, spoke to CNA during the Singapore FinTech Festival.
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SINGAPORE: Forrest Li, billionaire founder of tech giant Sea and chairman of Singapore Premier League club Lion City Sailors, has announced his intention to run for the Football Association of Singapore's (FAS) top position.
Responding to CNA's queries, a Sailors spokesperson confirmed this on Monday (Mar 17), after FAS said it will hold its election on Apr 28.
“More information will be available within the next two weeks or so," said the spokesperson.
The 47-year-old's decision comes after FAS on Monday called for the election of council members for a four-year term from 2025 to 2029.
The election will take place during the association's Extraordinary Congress on Apr 28, said FAS in a press release. Its annual congress usually takes place in the third quarter of the year.
In the slate basis election, a team comprising nine candidates for the positions of the president, deputy president, four vice-presidents and three council members are proposed and elected en bloc.
In the individual basis, the remaining six council members will be proposed and elected individually, said FAS, adding that the council has to include at least one female member.
Nominations opened on Monday, with the deadline for nomination of candidates to the FAS general secretariat closing on Mar 31.
An announcement will be made on Apr 18 on the candidates who qualified to contest.
Incumbent FAS chief Bernard Tan has not indicated if he will be taking part in the election.
In response to CNA's queries on Monday, he said: "I have no comment. I will have one at a later date."
Another potential candidate is a veteran in the Singapore football fraternity, former Woodlands Wellington manager R Vengadasalam.
When contacted, he said that he is looking to put a team up.
"We have a team (of) four members right now and will (be) looking forward to find the rest before the dateline," he said.
"We are football people who have worked on the ground for many years. For us it's football first."
LI'S INFLUENCE IN SINGAPORE FOOTBALL
Li, listed in 12th position on Forbes' Singapore's 50 Richest list, is no stranger to local football.
Garena, a gaming unit under Sea, previously inked a sponsorship deal with the Young Lions, in 2016.
The two-year deal, worth S$4 million (US$3 million), was the largest deal for a club in Singapore's football history. It comprised a S$2 million cash sponsorship and another S$2 million set aside for the team's developmental programmes.
In February 2020, Sea took over ownership of Home United, and renamed it Lion City Sailors.
A year later, the club smashed the Singapore transfer record when it signed Brazilian footballer Diego Lopes for a fee of S$3 million.
Joining him was experienced Brazilian defender Jorge Fellipe, in what the club said was the next step towards becoming "Singapore’s, and ultimately the region’s, premier club". The Sailors won the league in 2021 and finished runners-up in the following two years.
They have also made some headway at the Asian level too, recently reaching the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League Two semi-finals at the expense of Sanfrecce Hiroshima.
Although they lost 6-1 in the first leg of the quarter-finals, the result was chalked off and the Sailors were awarded a 3-0 win by AFC as Sanfreece had fielded a player who was serving a suspension. The Sailors then drew 1-1 with the Japanese side in the second leg to win 4-1 on aggregate.
The Sailors currently sit atop the Singapore Premier League.
