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MP Tin Pei Ling adds polish to Eagles

SINGAPORE – She may not be a familiar face in local football, and while Tin Pei Ling admits that she “runs better than I kick”, that has not stopped the MacPherson Member of Parliament (MP) from joining one of the S.League’s most storied clubs, Geylang International Football Club (GIFC).

Geylang International advisor Tin Pei Ling (centre) playing football with some of the club's players. PHOTO COURTESY: S.LEAGUE

Geylang International advisor Tin Pei Ling (centre) playing football with some of the club's players. PHOTO COURTESY: S.LEAGUE

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SINGAPORE – She may not be a familiar face in local football, and while Tin Pei Ling admits that she “runs better than I kick”, that has not stopped the MacPherson Member of Parliament (MP) from joining one of the S.League’s most storied clubs, Geylang International Football Club (GIFC).

The 32-year-old was unveiled as the club’s new adviser in a sponsorship announcement last week. Tin follows in the footsteps of past and present female MPs Cynthia Phua and Lee Bee Wah, who were involved with the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) and the now defunct Super Reds respectively.

Tin will advise and work with Geylang International on its community outreach programmes, corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives, and fundraising activities for talent development.

The mother-of-one is looking forward to her new role at GIFC, one of the most successful teams in Singapore with the most number of titles in the FAS Premier League. The club has won two S.League titles since 1996, and lifted the Singapore FA Cup and Singapore Cup respectively in 1996 and 2009.

“GIFC is one of the most prestigious clubs in Singapore’s history with many former national players such as Samad Allapitchay, Fandi Ahmad, Lim Tong Hai, Robert Sim, E Manimohan and Lionel Lewis,” said Tin in an interview with TODAY.

“When GIFC first approached me, I was pleasantly surprised, as I have not been publicly known to be linked to football. I was drawn to GIFC because of its focus in youth development and community outreach.

“I believe it is important for the club to be engaged in the community – for the players to contribute to the community and the community to support the team. Moreover, I believe that sports is a great way of engaging youths and building their characters."

Despite their illustrious past, GIFC have had to weather some storms in recent times. The Eagles finished eighth in the league in 2014 (among 12 teams) and 2015 (among 10 teams), while home games at Bedok Stadium have been hit by falling attendances.

Tin is happy to be a part of the club’s rebuilding efforts led by a newly-elected management team, as she added: “During the conversation with (management committee members) Ben Teng, Bambang (Sugeng), and Paul (Fernandez), I also learnt that GIFC went through a very tough patch and I could personally relate to how the team must have felt. I felt very drawn to the team at a personal level as well.”

Calling Tin a “role model” for young people, GIFC president Teng is hopeful that their new adviser, and community outreach programmes, will be able to get more young Singaporeans interested in the club.

“She is very active at the grassroots level…she brings a lot of followers and supporters to the table especially people of her age group,” said Teng.

“This year, besides working on football, we want to do more in community outreach. We are currently planning the activities at MacPherson and the players will be involved. Through this outreach, we can definitely get more fans.”

Tin was present at Jurong West Stadium last night (Feb 15) for the Eagles’ 3-3 thriller against Tampines Rovers, and met the players for a pep talk ahead of the clash.

Local fans can expect to see more her in the stands, as she said: “I am a Team Singapore supporter, but in the S-League, I support Geylang International of course. I do not know a lot about football, but I know how it is played and enjoy watching well-played games. I used to stay up overnight to catch the World Cup finals with my friends and I got very excited watching the LionsXII win the Malaysia FA Cup.”

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