At the wider sporting level, MCCY announced the formation of Sport Excellence Singapore (SpexSG), consolidating the High Performance Sport Institute (HPSI), Singapore Sports School (SSP) and Unleash the Roar (UTR).
"While each entity will retain its own branding and identity, the consolidation will transform the end-to-end journey of our national athletes to be more integrated and seamless," said a MCCY spokesperson, in response to queries from CNA.
The move will provide Singapore athletes stronger support to stay longer in competitive sports while deepening partnerships with National Sports Associations (NSAs) to strengthen the broader sporting ecosystem, said the ministry.
In the immediate term, SpexSG will focus on three key things: enhanced athlete-centric support, strengthening and partnering NSAs, and deepening specialist capabilities. It will be launched next month.
This move follows the announcement last year that the Singapore Sport Institute (SSI), National Youth Sports Institute (NYSI) and SSP will be consolidated into a single entity.
SSI, Singapore's premier training centre for national athletes, and NYSI, a sporting organisation that aims to drive youth development, were first integrated last year.
UTR, a national project aimed at raising standards of local football across all levels, was launched in 2021.
With SpexSG, footballers will get more support to make the transition from the youth to senior level, said the spokesperson. Other benefits include higher Sport Science and Sport Medicine standards arising from deployment of larger team of such support within and across clusters of sports.
“By combining the expertise and capabilities across HPSI, SSP and UTR, we are able to optimise resources, enhance the athletes’ daily training environment and strengthen governance of the high-performance sport system," said the ministry.
"With the right support, we believe our athletes can realise their aspirations and their full potential," added Mr Neo.
