Warriors FC asked to sit out, club rejects decision

Singapore’s most successful football club is being asked to sit out the 2020 Singapore Premier League season.
However, the Warriors FC management has disagreed with the decision taken by the Football Association of Singapore (FAS), and has responded to the FAS to ask for a meeting to discuss a way forward.
Said club chairman Philip Lam in a statement: “We have rejected their decision, and have asked for an urgent meeting, while we also seek legal counsel on the matter.
“We do hope to hear from the FAS soonest over this decision to have the Warriors FC sit out the 2020 season.”
The Warriors (which was formerly known as Singapore Armed Forces Football Club), have won the league nine times since the inception of the S-League in 1996. It was runners-up on four occasions.
It has also won the Singapore Cup on four occasions.
The club’s financial position has been in the news over the last few months after it was brought to court to face charges of non-payment of salaries and Central Provident Fund contributions.
The club has started to restore payments to the players and had indicated that it would make all payments due to all players under its roster, as well as all other dues over a scheduled period of time.
“Our expected revenue for the year was not met which is why we ran into a cash flow issue. However, it did not stop us from trying our best to find alternatives to ensuring that we are in a better financial position.
“For example, we have tried to move to a better location for our gaming room, which is where the main source of our revenue comes from. The fact remains that the gaming revenue is the lifeline of the club, and we need to get the gaming room relocated to a better area.
“But we have faced one obstacle after another in trying to secure a better location,” the statement added.
The Warriors have also indicated that they disagree with the decision of the FAS as they had “started planning for the 2020 season with a reduced player roster, and have also suggested to the FAS that we cut back on the women’s teams and also relook our strategic partnerships with BVB Dortmund.”
“The management committee, along with the advisor have provided more than $1.36million in loans to tide the club over, and there must be a plan for us to be able to recoup this loans.
“More importantly, it is sad that the FAS has not engaged us in this matter and hear us out before it reached this unfortunate conclusion.”
The Warriors are not the only club with outstanding debts.
Tampines Rovers, it has been reported, still has a debt of $1 million which it is currently servicing.