By FAS NewsSingapore are Asia’s biggest movers for November in the latest FIFA World Rankings released by the World Football governing body.
The Lions soared up eight places to 111 to draw level with Middle East giants and 1990 FIFA World Cup Finalists United Arab Emirates.
Radojko Avramovic’s men had won the 4-team Ho Chi Minh International Tournament in October in the build-up to the crucial AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers in November and also defeated Indonesia 3-1 in a friendly in November.
The Lions then grabbed a crucial 1-0 win away to Thailand after going down to the same opponents at home to keep on course for qualification to Asia’s most important international football tournament. Singapore next face Iran at home on 6 January in their penultimate qualifying match before facing Jordan away on 3 March in 2010.
This latest news has capped a good year for Singapore football with the S.League being recognised by the Asian Football Confederation as among the top 10 professional football leagues in Asia, earning the S.League champions a spot in the prestigious AFC Champions League this year.
With the backdrop of the S.League, our Lions have scooped several accolades in recent years, including being named the 2008 Team of the Year with Raddy clinching the 2008 Coach of the Year award after leading the team to the third round of the World Cup Qualifiers last year.
The S.League is also where the youngsters currently flying Singapore’s flag high at the SEA Games in Vientiane, Laos get their first taste of professional football and gain the necessary exposure to compete on the international arena. With arguably the youngest squad at the SEA Games with an average age of 19.8, the future for Singapore football is indeed bright.
Link to FIFA article “Lions continue to leap forward”: http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/ranking/news/newsid=1141999.html#lions+continue+leap+forward
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