ST Picks Can new FAS V P Sean Bai bring European expertise to S pore football

SINGAPORE – Seven time zones and 11,000km away, Sean Bai has been working tirelessly as Burnley’s chief of staff to help the English Championship club gain promotion to the English Premier League.

With that assignment accomplished on April 21, the 40-year-old will turn his sights on helping to lift the fortunes of Singapore football a week later.

The Singaporean is one of the four new vice-presidents who will be sworn in alongside incoming Football Association of Singapore (FAS) president Forrest Li at the FAS extraordinary congress on April 28.

Despite the distance, he assured that his job with Burnley will not affect his commitment and effectiveness as a key member of the FAS council.

He told The Straits Times: “We can be busy and never have enough time for a lot of things, but when you are passionate about something, you will always be able to find time for it.

“I had a chat with Forrest about this as well, and we reached a conclusion that we are comfortable with this. It’s about being organised to ensure our schedules are aligned, that we are coordinated and communicating and we are able to work around that.

“It is always in the back of my mind to think of angles that are relevant to Singapore football. And I’ve been in constant conversations with FAS, Unleash The Roar, Sport Singapore, clubs, players and parents, regardless of where I am.

“I don’t think we should be overly worried about it because ultimately, it’s a team effort and we know that we have a very strong team with a lot of different attributes.”

Bai, who played water polo for the National University of Singapore, has a master’s in public policy from Peking University and is pursuing a Master of Business Administration with UBI Business School.