SM believed budget should have given something to sports

With the 2011 budget announced, there have been a series of walkaround conducted by the ministers and the various MPs in order to explain the benefits of the budget.

When asked by the media what can be improved, most ministers and MPs of course answered the most obvious one, inflation.

But Senior Minister Goh once again show sports hold a place in his heart.

While addressing the media and the public, he noted the budget can be considered 9 out of 10 but it failed to address issues about sports and the mentally disabled.

He could be pointing out that the recent tax revision on jackpot machines and the opening of the IRs had a big impact on the funding of sports especially football) and must be hoping the budget can address that.

Unfortunately it did not.

But the SM words show the possibilities if he was in charge as S-league could have never started, in my eye, if not for him.

The leadership of (FAS President) Ibrahim Othman, (General-secretary) John Koh and (FAS advisor) Mah Bow Tan may have claimed they had dreamed up S-league as early as back in the early 90s but history does not lie and they make no moves to aid grassroots football and instead divert millions away from it to fund the various Malaysia Cup teams under their term thus destroying Singapore own foundation.

That was certainly not one looking to build a league especially when it lead to a mini-revolt at the grassroots level with teams sending their foreigners away and closing down youth development.

It was only when then-PM, now SM Goh, spoke that these trio really dream of it or else Singapore football will not have to wait another year for them to set a committee to look at the S-league project as they had over 3 years to set one before 1995.

After that, if the Asian Financial Crisis and the Bosom ruling had not happen, with one diverting the PM attention away while the other make the sport as expensive as it is today, who know.