Fandi Ahmad Juniors Part-1

By Ernest Luis

No spoiling Fandi juniors

TO HAVE the name Fandi as part of your name, can be a blessing.

Or not.

But for eldest son Irfan Fandi, 11, and his younger brother Ikhsan, nine, they have already been thrown into the deep end by their parents.

If they succeed in the next 10 years, they could be the first Singaporean footballers to make it overseas in a league - consistently - and stay the course, hoping to follow in the footsteps of current Asian stars like Manchester United's Park Ji Sung.

It's an extremely long road, and the destination may never be reached.

But Fandi Ahmad clearly doesn't want his first two sons to follow the same route that he, and so many other Singaporean footballers, have taken over the decades.

That is, either short yearly stints with overseas clubs in this region, or the odd trial during the cold winter period in Europe, just because it comes after the S-League season ends in Singapore.

So Fandi has placed his two sons' budding football development in the hands of R Sasikumar, 33, who scored the famous winning goal with his shoulder blade in the 1998 Tiger Cup triumph.

Now, he is the director of sports management agency, The Red Card, and sometimes appears as a guest presenter on ESPN STAR Sports.

He explained their agreement.

'I do this for free. As a Fifa match agent I organise matches, but under my agency, we manage the boys, their rights, images and so on. I will get a commission only if they make it next time and sign for a club.

'But I do it because I know Fandi and with the hope that his sons can create a new path for Singaporean footballers, something he couldn't do properly.

'And to be fair, he has opened up business opportunities for me in Indonesia.

'So when the sons travel overseas with me, there's only my wife, Piffany, as company.

'She ensures they learn to do almost everything themselves, like washing boots, washing their clothes, folding them, and so on, in the hotel.