New Young Lions coach Firdaus Kassim wants his team to regain connection with the fans

SINGAPORE – When he was just five, Firdaus Kassim was inspired by the fervour and adulation that the Lions garnered during the 1993 SEA Games on home soil.

While the Lions bowed out after a semi-final penalty shoot-out defeat by Myanmar at the National Stadium and settled for a bronze medal, their campaign was still a memorable one. It started with a 7-0 hammering of the Philippines, and players such as Fandi Ahmad and V. Sundramoorthy evoked strong support from fans.

The football competition at the biennial Games has since become an Under-22 affair, and local football has also slipped into the doldrums. Repeated SEA Games disappointments, including a 7-0 thumping by Malaysia in 2023, have drained public confidence in the team.

Now 37, Firdaus wants to revive the passion in a new generation of fans. On June 25, he was announced as head coach of the Young Lions for the 2025 SEA Games, which will be held in Thailand from Dec 9 to 20.

In a media statement announcing various appointments, FAS said Lion City Sailors coaches Yeong Sheau Shyan and Ashraf Ariffin will lead the U-16 girls’ and boys’ teams respectively at the July 8-13 Lion City Cup, while Firdaus will be supported by team manager Hafiz Sujad, 34, a former Singapore international.

Referencing the 1993 team, Firdaus said: “If you speak to the older fans, it’s not about how attractive the team played, but it’s more of the fighting spirit where they were prepared to give their all and I feel that this is also the demand that we have to put to the (current) players. Of course, I’m not trying to exaggerate things and say that we have to go to war....but this is the mentality we must have.

“We have to give our all, put