FIFA steps in after Singapore Football Association presidential election scandal

Mr Darwin Jalil has asked FIFA to intervene, after exposing irregularities in the election process of the president of the Football Association of Singapore (FAS)...

Mr. Darwin Jalil (vice president of Balestier Khalsa Club) has sent an appeal to FIFA - Photo: Straits Times

A few days ago, the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) confirmed that Mr. Darwin Jalil's team is not eligible to participate in the election taking place on April 28.

This means that tech billionaire and Lion City Sailors club chairman Forrest Li will become the new FAS chairman for the 2025-2029 term, as there is no opponent in the election.

But then Mr. Darwin Jalil (vice president of Balestier Khalsa Club) sent an appeal to FIFA. In his appeal letter, Mr. Darwin Jalil meticulously outlined a series of events that he said "exposed irregularities in the election process".

"We have run out of time for the election. But of course we are expecting justice to be served because we feel that our removal from the electoral roll is unfair," Darwin Jalil told the Straits Times (Singapore).

The reason why I want to speak out is because over the years there have been many such arrangements. And it is not for the purpose of improving football, but to hinder our development.

Football is for the masses, not just for an elite group. Football belongs to everyone and that is where we want to serve the larger community. It has to be a level playing field so that we can focus on the development of football, rather than the politics surrounding it."

Darwin Jalil's election team, called "Football First", has nine members. Darwin Jalil is running for FAS president, while his colleague Neo Gim Chye is aiming for the vice-president role.

But the FAS Election Committee found that Neo Gim Chye did not meet the requirements of the FAS charter, so Darwin Jalil's team was disqualified. Mr. Darwin Jalil affirmed that this reason was incorrect and decided to ask FIFA to intervene.

In his submission to FIFA, Mr. Darwin Jalil also highlighted an important issue: the current FAS election law prevents candidates from appealing their disqualification through domestic channels, or even the Court of Arbitration for Sport . That leaves them with no other legal remedies and is forced to ask FIFA to intervene.

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/fifa-vao-cuoc-sau-lum-xum-bau-cu-chu-tich-hiep-hoi-bong-da-singapore-20250419120413513.htm