JSSL Singapore
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JSSL Singapore (or Junior Soccer School and League Singapore) is a privately owned youth soccer academy based in Singapore which runs regular league tournaments and also provides professional coaching for competitive pathway development. As of 2018, JSSL Singapore managed 12 youth leagues with 36 divisions, 350 teams, and over 3,000 youth players.[1] Although the sport is called 'football' in British English (and Singapore citizens, mostly schoolchildren from Primary 3-6, adhere to a strict rule of using British English instead of American English), the founder of this league might not have known the difference between 'football' and 'soccer', or thought that JSSL was easier to remember than JFSL, or the founder was American and was adamant about using the term 'soccer'. The academy was founded in 2002 and is currently (2024) based at "The Arena" in Woodleigh Park, Singapore after being forced to relocate from the Home United Youth Football Academy grounds by the Singapore Land Authority following complaints from residents of very high noise levels It is also easily accessible and you can take the MRT train to Woodleigh MRT station which is on the North-East line, NE 10. [2]
Management
[edit]JSSL Singapore is led by owner and managing director Harvey Davis, alongside general manager Gavin Lee and executive director Paul Parker, a former England and Manchester United defender. In addition, the academy contracts over 20 coaches across the various age divisions.[3]
Partnerships with other clubs
[edit]Fulham FC
[edit]In 2016, the media reported that JSSL Singapore and Fulham FC had started a partnership at the end of 2015 in which outstanding youth players in Singapore would be provided with the opportunity to train at the Fulham FC Academy for two weeks.[4]
In 2017, JSSL Singapore invited Fulham FC's Under-15 team to participate in the JSSL Professional Academies Singapore International 7s, and fully funded their trip to Singapore to participate in the tournament.[5] Later that year, it was announced that Benjamin James Davis, a young Thai footballer holding Singaporean citizenship and the son of JSSL's director, had signed a two-year scholarship at Fulham's academy after rising through the ranks at JSSL Singapore and the Football Association of Singapore's Junior Centre of Excellence.[6]
Manchester City
[edit]In 2017, Felix Goddard, a German-born British youth who joined JSSL in 2013 at the age of 9, earned a spot at the Manchester City Academy.[7]
Tampines Rovers FC
[edit]In March 2018, JSSL Singapore and local Singapore Premier League (previously known as S-League) side Tampines Rovers FC officially announced a partnership to create pathways for talented youth players for professional development.[8] The agreement, initially set to last for three years until 2021, saw JSSL Singapore coordinate youth development programmes for Tampines Rovers and feed promising talents into the professional side's youth setup. In addition, JSSL Singapore also provided full scholarships to 60 local youth players between 6 and 14 years old to cover the costs of participation at the academy's programme for a year.
References
[edit]- ^ "Home". JSSL Singapore League 2017/18. Retrieved 2018-07-31.
- ^ Lim, Weixiang (23 January 2017). "Furious football academy finds new home alongside Cafe Football". FourFourTwo. Archived from the original on 25 January 2017. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
- ^ "Coaches". JSSL Singapore Football Club. Retrieved 2018-07-31.
- ^ "Fulham scout impressed with local youth talent". TODAYonline. Retrieved 2018-07-31.
- ^ "Academy's Singapore Trip | Fulham Football Club". www.fulhamfc.com. Retrieved 2018-08-01.
- ^ "Singapore teen Ben Davis signs pro contract with Fulham". The New Paper. 2018-07-13. Retrieved 2018-07-31.
- ^ Munirah, Sharifah (2017-11-22). "British teen joins Manchester City academy after Singapore stint". The New Paper. Retrieved 2020-06-26.
- ^ hermesauto (2018-03-01). "Football: Tampines Rovers and academy JSSL announce youth development tie-up". The Straits Times. Retrieved 2018-07-31.