Fandi sees bright future for H-TWO-O/ITE Dream Team quartet
Fandi tips H-TWO-O/ITE Dream Team quartet to play in S.League one day
Remember these four names - Lim Eden, Muhd Abdul Irfan, Norshahiran Jumari and Sabran Abdul Rahman.
If all goes well, the quartet from the H-TWO-O/ITE Dream Team could very well be plying their trade in the S.League in the near future, says head coach Fandi Ahmad.
The team were playing for the last time together in yesterday's H-TWO-O/ITE Ultimate Dream Team finale at ITE College Central.
They marked the occasion with a 5-0 rout of the Singapore Deaf Lions, with Lim, Irfan and Norshahiran contributing a goal each.
The curtain-raiser saw the H-TWO-O women's team take on a side made up of ITE staff and former football stars. The latter won 2-0 with goals from Fandi and former Home United captain S. Subramani.
"I've already got enquiries about some of the players who want to play for NFL (National Football League) teams, or even Prime League teams," Fandi told The New Paper.
"We will try and give their names to the clubs. So at least after this, they can continue their progression.
"Some of them can go even further - the SEA Games team, national Under-18s, Under-21s. Hopefully, we can unearth more talent.
"We are very happy with this programme because many of them have managed to get into Prime League and S.League teams."
One such example is midfielder Ignatius Ang, who plays for Balestier Khalsa.
Under the tutelage of Fandi, Subramani and a team of coaches, the 22-strong H-TWO-O/ITE Dream Team have been training together for four months.
They train two or three times a week and play friendly matches every fortnight.
WORKOUT
"The intensive training provided by these coaches… makes a difference to (the players') skills," said Yeo's vice-president for marketing May Ngiam.
"Boys who never had the opportunity to be talent-spotted were given the opportunity as well.
"The programme was successful for three years; we can see that half of the players (former graduates)have gone on to play in the Prime League or the S.League."
Lim, the team captain, said: "This is our last match, but we will still stick as a team and, hopefully, all (my teammates) can get a club."
The 21-year-old credited the team's training stint in Malacca, where they played two friendlies earlier this month, as the main factor behind the team's camaraderie.
"The Malacca trip really bonded us together," he said.
"I'm really honoured to be mentioned by Fandi because he's a legend.
"My goal is to hopefully play in the S.League and represent Singapore one day. That's why I joined this Dream Team."
Central midfielder Irfan is already looking to the future.
"I used to think that it was not possible to play in the S.League because the players are a lot more skilful than me," said the 18-year-old.
"I will work very hard to get to the next level. I have a few clubs in my mind - Tampines Rovers and Balestier Khalsa.
"But I know it will be very difficult because the standard is very high."
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now
