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A prominent government official has called on local football icon Fandi Ahmad to do what’s best for his children.
Senior Parliamentary Secretary for the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports, Teo Ser Luck, was referring to the huge dilemma Fandi faces of whether his talented kids Irfan, 13 and Ikhsan, 11, should play for South Africa or Singapore should they turn professional in future.
“How they should make the decision is: what is best for the children? Is there a better environment playing football overseas?”, said the 42-year-old, who’s an avid sportsman and triathlete.
Teo, who’s also the MP for Pasir-Ris Punggol, is also a married father with two kids aged 11 and 9 and he understands perfectly the dilemma facing Fandi.
“If I’m in the same situation as Fandi and Wendy and have to make a decision, I’ll be where the talent and potential can be tapped to the fullest, and it can be anywhere, ” he said.
“At the end of the day, as long as you are Singaporean, we will always want the best for them.”
In a recent Yahoo! Fit-to-Post blog on the issue, over 100 comments came out in support of Fandi, with a huge majority saying they would not blame Singapore’s favourite footballing son should his kids decide to play for South Africa — their mother, Wendy Jacob’s country of birth.
Irfan and Ikhsan — both forwards — are catching the eye of top European scouts from Arsenal, Chelsea, AC Milan and Valencia, despite their tender age.
But Mr Teo did emphasise that should the two boys choose to represent the Lions, they would get the full support of the government and the education system in their development as athletes.
“There is tremendous support (in Singapore). In terms of relative investments per athlete, compared to other countries, we rank very high,” he said, while side-stepping the issue of National Service.
Mr Teo recognises the ultimate decision still lies with Fandi and his family but he is confident Singapore has the right environment for Fandi’s kids to bloom.
“If we have the environment and the system, any athlete coming through the system can be successful, but the choice is still left to the athlete and the family. What we can do is build the environment for them as best we can, and we want to make sure that if they have the belief in the system, this is the place where they can be groomed.”
http://sg.yfittopostblog.com/2010/08/13/fandi-and-wendy-have-to-do-whats-best-for-their-kids/
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What do you think about his comments?
:oIo:
