Three young footballers and eight coaches awarded UTR! overseas scholarships and attachments

[Left to right] UTR! Overseas Scholarship recipients Naim, Aria, and Matteo; Guest of Honour Mr David Neo, Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth and Senior Minister of State for Education; and coaches under the Coach Overseas Attachment (COA), Yiguang, Hadi, Hyrulnizam, Ernie, Ahmadulhaq, and Andi, were at the UTR! Pathways and Partnerships ceremony this evening.

[Singapore, 26 July 2026] –Three young footballers - Matteo Del Rosario, Ayden Naim Fakhry Fazrul Nawaz and Aria Julie Romano - are the latest recipients of the Unleash The Roar! (UTR!) Overseas Football Scholarship.

National Development Centre (NDC) Under-15 footballers Matteo and Naim, both 15, will be enrolled in King’s College in Madrid Spain and will continue their football development with Rayo Alcobendas, one of Madrid’s top youth academies. Aria, also 15 and a member of the NDC Under-16 team, will study and train at the renowned IMG Academy in Florida.

The trio were awarded their scholarships at the UTR! Pathways and Partnerships Ceremony held at the Asian Civilisations Museum this evening. Guest-of-honour Mr David Neo, Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth & Senior Minister of State for Education presented the awards.

The ceremony also recognised eight coaches selected for the 2026 Coach Overseas Attachment programme, including former national women’s captain Ernie Sulastri, who have secured coaching attachments to either Belgian Pro League side Oud-Heverlee Leuven or Austrian club SKN St Polten.

Said UTR! Executive Director Lenard Pattiselanno: “We are pleased to award these deserving young footballers and coaches with opportunities to grow their expertise in the game.

“They will be tested against superior peers, pushed to their limit in demanding Daily Performance Environments. But I am confident that they will benefit from being exposed to more advanced football ecosystems and be in a better position to contribute further to Singapore football.”

Scholarship recipients hoping to shine

The 2026 UTR! Overseas Scholarship cohort is the fourth since the scholarship’s inception in 2023. To date, more than 17 scholarship recipients have been selected to represent Singapore at either the youth or senior level, affirming the programme’s contribution to strengthening Singapore’s football pipeline.

This year, Gavriel Lai and Aidan Irfan played key roles in Singapore's ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Under-17 campaign, while six UTR! Overseas Scholarship recipients featured in the women’s national team that finished third in the recently concluded ASEAN Football Federation Women’s Cup 2026.

Naim, son of former national striker Fazrul Nawaz, is hoping to follow in his father’s footsteps and put on the Lions’ jersey.

Said Naim: “Ever since I saw videos of my dad playing, I knew I wanted to be a footballer. This scholarship is one of many steps that will help me realise my dream of representing Singapore one day. It is an honour to be given this scholarship and be able to play in Spain, the World Cup winners and one of the best footballing nations in the world.”

Should Naim impress in Spain, he will have the chance to play in the top youth league in Madrid and potentially line up against Spanish giants like Real Madrid, which Gavriel and Aidan featured against in the league last season.

Similarly, Aria is looking forward to being part of an IMG system that has produced footballers for the US national team.

Said Aria: “I’m really looking forward to joining IMG Academy and being part of an environment that has a strong track record of producing talented footballers. I’m excited to train and compete alongside talented players, experience a different football environment, and challenge myself to grow both on and off the pitch. I hope this opportunity will help me take the next step in my football journey and bring me closer to my dream of representing Singapore at the senior level.”

Coaches gain hands-on experience from European stints

The Coach Overseas Attachment (COA) programme provides coaches with opportunities to gain first-hand exposure to professional football environments overseas, allowing them to observe training methodologies, player development practices and coaching structures that they can apply back in Singapore.

Six of the eight participating coaches were present at the ceremony and were recognised for their continued commitment to developing their coaching expertise.

Former national women’s captain Ernie Sulastri, now head coach of the combined School Football Academy (SFA) girls’ U-14 team, was attached to Austrian club SKN St. Pölten. The experience provided valuable insights into the intensity, organisation and detail required at different levels of the game. She was able to be part of the club's men's and women's teams as well as its youth sides, and saw the importance of creating training environments that challenge players to think and make decisions for themselves.

She said: “The attachment reinforced the importance of creating game-realistic training where players are encouraged to think, make decisions and solve problems. While many of these principles are already part of our coaching at UTR!, the experience challenged me to reflect on my own coaching and continue improving.”

For Mohamed Dawood Anuar, an SFA head coach, his main takeaway from his experience with Belgian Pro League club Oud-Heverlee Leuven was how structured and detailed training sessions are, across different age groups. He noted the commitment and competitive mindset of the young players he has worked with, as well as the attention to detail in the coaching environment.

He said: “What excites me most is seeing how training sessions are structured, where every detail, every instruction, every moment has purpose. Even at the Under-8 level, the players are fully committed. They compete for every ball and never give up, and that mentality is something I want to bring back home.”

Partner schools recognised

A total of 16 schools, including the SFA programme, were also presented with tokens of appreciation for their commitment to developing well-rounded student-athletes.

1) Anglo Chinese School (Barker Road) 

2) Assumption English School 

3) Bedok View Secondary School 

4) Bendemeer Secondary School 

5) Boon Lay Secondary School  

6) Crest Secondary School 

7) Deyi Secondary School 

8) Dunman Secondary School 

9) Methodist Girls’ School 

10) Montfort Secondary School 

11) Sengkang Secondary School 

12) Singapore Sports School 

13) St Joseph’s Institution 

14) Westwood Secondary School 

15) Woodlands Secondary School 

16) Yishun Secondary School

Into its fifth year, the SFA programme prides itself on having a holistic approach which promotes both athletic skills development and character building. Through football, the student-athletes learn core values like resilience, teamwork, and respect.

The SFA programme has scored several firsts. In 2025, Anglo-Chinese School (Barker Road) made history by winning its first-ever National School Games (NSG) ‘B’ Division boys' football title. The combined girls’ team, comprising players from Westwood Secondary School, Methodist Girls’ School and Boon Lay Secondary School, also made history when they claimed their maiden NSG ‘C’ Division girls’ title last year, before adding the ‘B’ Division crown this year.

Under its partnership with UTR!, St Joseph's Institution supports NDC student-athletes in balancing their football training and academic progress.

Said Mr Pattiselanno: “The journey to uplift Singapore football cannot be done without the support of key partners like the Football Association of Singapore, and especially our players, coaches and our school partners. Our sincere gratitude to all of them for their dedication, commitment and hard work.”