IndexContextCurrent Challenges in Singapore Women's FootballRecommendationsRecruitment of PlayersRetaining Athlete Skills and AbilitiesBenefits of Development TeamsConclusionConclusionFootball can easily be called one of the most popular sports in Singapore. Both males and females enjoy not only watching but also playing this sport. In schools we also see that children love to play football, especially during recess or even after school, when they gather on the pitch for a match, just to have fun. Having said that, there are 3 different national teams for both men and women in Singapore and they are; the Under 16 national team, the Under 19 national team and obviously the main national team. In Singapore, women's football is also growing in terms of community. There are multiple clubs participating in the different local leagues organized by the Football Association of Singapore (FAS), such as the Women's National League (WNL) and the Women's Premier League (WPL). Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essayCompared to the past, nowadays women are more exposed to football, through physical education (PE) lessons and co-curricular activities (CCA) in schools. Participating in football CCAs also allows students to take part and showcase their talent through inter-school competitions organized by FAS, which exposes them to practice the sport more and be more competitive in the sport. This will give students the push to train harder, as they would like to achieve better results, thus improving their football skills. In addition to schools, girls can also get introduced to football by joining public transport at the grassroots level, led by ActiveSG, for children aged 3 to 17. Since however, the program is aimed at both genders, so it does not specifically focus only on women. Unlike males, Singapore females do not have development teams. There is a scheme for boys made up of four different development teams called the FAS Football Academy. The age groups included range from Under 15 to Under 18. Having these teams allows kids to train and develop from a young age, which allows them to progress as players and in terms of their skills, ultimately helping them earn a place in the different national teams. Current Challenges in Singapore Women's FootballReference From the 2016 FIFA Youth Survey, it was found that there is a large disparity between men's and women's youth teams, worldwide. More countries have men's youth teams than have both men's and women's youth teams. Figure 1 shows the percentage of FIFA member associations with national youth teams for men's and women's players. Figure 2 shows part of the FIFA Women's World Ranking. Not having development teams may be a reason why the women's national team has not performed well internationally. Currently, the Singapore women's national football team's FIFA world ranking is 101 out of 140 countries, as shown in Figure 1. Singapore is also the lowest among neighboring countries Malaysia and Indonesia, which are ranked at 87 and 79 respectively. This shows that there is still a lot of work to be done for Singapore women's football to develop. To do this, it would be wise to start with the younger players as they will ultimately be the future of Singapore women's football, keeping in mind that progression takes time. POLICY For Singapore women's football to develop as a whole, there should be a need for training courses specifically aimed at women, startingfrom a young age. That said, girls development teams should be implemented. Using the same scheme as the FFA, the FAS is expected to implement four development teams from Under-15 to Under-18 for female footballers in Singapore. WithReferring to the long-term development of Canadian Soccer Association players, the "Training to Compete" phase is reserved for females aged 15 to 19. This is also the phase known as "International Player Development". Therefore, through these development teams, girls can train with purpose, knowing that their training will help them shape and develop into even more skilled players, with the ability to help them be even more competent when they move on to the next stage. age group team or even the national team. With such early and specific training, girls are able to seamlessly progress in their education and maintain or even improve their skills and abilities. Recommendations Player Recruitment To recruit players for development squads, trial sessions must be conducted. Given that there are many women playing football today, particularly through FAS interscholastic competitions, recruiting players for development squads would be quite simple. Registration forms for development team trials can be delivered to MOE secondary schools where teachers can distribute them to girls in football CCAs or even other girls interested in the sport. Furthermore, FAS can also promote trials through social media platforms, such as Facebook and Instagram, where girls or even their parents could meet, thus getting more girls to register for trial sessions. At the end of the registration period, the girls will then undergo trials to be selected for the different teams and will finally be able to officially begin training for the four development teams. Maintenance of Athletes' Skills and Abilities Once in their respective development teams, testing will be conducted to ensure that the girls have trained well and are maintaining their fitness level. Girls can be tested on the skills and exercises they were instructed on during their training. More importantly, passing, receiving, shooting, dribbling and saving should be tested for goalkeepers. These are the fundamental skills that every footballer should be able to perform with quality, regardless of their level of play. Fitness tests should also be conducted annually before girls can move on to the next development team. Acoustic tests and shuttle runs can be conducted on players as they are the ones commonly used to test the fitness of athletes. In addition to the tests, friendly matches will be organized regularly so that the girls can get used to different match situations. Furthermore, they can also apply what they have learned during training in the game. They can try different skills and perfect them since that is where they can make mistakes and learn from them, before participating in tournaments. Having regular friendly matches can also boost their morale and confidence, which would lead them to perform better during tournaments. Friendly matches can also be international, so that girls have the chance to play against other national teams and see different playing styles, thus being able to broaden their football knowledge and skills. Advantages of development teams There are many advantages to have development teams. One of the benefits of having development teams is that girls will be even more exposed to football as they practice it.