Singapore Lions to get total $2 million reward for Asian Cup qualification: Forrest Li

SINGAPORE – Forrest Li, the president of the Football Association of Singapore (FAS), announced the doubling of the rewards for the historic feat to “around $2 million” after the Lions

secured a maiden Asian Cup qualification

on Nov 18.

Billionaire Li, who is also the chief executive officer of SEA Limited, said during a doorstop interview at the Changi Airport on Nov 19: “There will be a big reward. We want to make a statement – if you are a good footballer, you make contributions to the country, you bring pride and joy to Singaporeans, you deserve it and you should be rewarded.

“Just to give you a ballpark number, within the qualification campaign, the whole team will probably get around $2 million.”

Earlier,

The Straits Times had reported

that each player was promised up to $40,000 if they made it to the Finals in Saudi Arabia, depending on their level of involvement, with staff also included.

This is on top of their regular bonus for winning matches, which awards $6,000 for each player who takes to the field, regardless of the number of minutes, and less than half for the others in the squad.

Li thanked companies such as Singapore Airlines and Shangri-La, as well as national sports agency Sport Singapore, for their support and urged more agencies to come on board.

When asked about the bonuses at the 2027 Asian Cup, he quipped with a laugh: “It depends on how much I can raise. If every Singaporean contributes $1, we have several million dollars for the players.”