SINGAPORE, Aug 13 — Beatrice Tan cannot recall the number of times she has heard the word "kitchen” being uttered every time the subject of women’s football was being discussed.

The 31-year-old goalkeeper remembers some of the occasions, though. Once was in 2016, after she played for the Singapore women’s national team in a friendly against Sri Lanka at the Jalan Besar Stadium.

The Lionesses, in their first international match in two years, lost 1-0 to the visitors, and there were some harsh comments on social media.

"The comments wouldn’t be targeted at a specific player, but rather our gender. People would tell us to make them a sandwich, or to go back to the kitchen, things that you would never think would come out of people’s mouths,” said Tan who, having been with the Lionesses since 2014, is one of the most senior players in the national side.

Another occasion was when she was in a taxi on the way home after a training session with Tanjong Pagar United Women’s team, her club at the time.

"When the taxi driver found out I just finished football training, he told me that women shouldn’t be playing football and that we belong in the kitchen,” Tan said.

These days, however, such sexist comments appear less frequently and people are generally more supportive, she said, although some may express genuine surprise when they know that she turns out for the national team.

Fillip to women’s football

As the Fifa Women’s World Cup draws to a close later this month, in an expanded format involving 32 teams instead of 24 as in previous editions, women’s football in Singapore, too, has come a long way.

Julie Teo, 60, the chairperson of the Football Association of Singapore’s (FAS) Women’s Committee, said that women’s football was not recognised as a co-curricular activity in schools when the sport officially came under FAS’ jurisdiction in 2000.

Now, women’s football is played annually at the National School Games, with teams from eight primary schools, nine secondary schools and seven junior colleges participating.

The national women’s team also had their first ticketed international matches last year, when they played against Seychelles and Papua New Guinea in the FAS Tri-Nations Series.

An estimated record of 3,842 spectators turned up in total for both matches, which were hosted at the Jalan Besar Stadium.

Teo said that the local Women’s Premier League (WPL) now has a "home” stadium, with most matches played in Choa Chu Kang Stadium.

"In this way, football fans know that every weekend, they can find entertaining women’s matches there from 5 to 9pm,” she said.

"We also do see good attendance at the WPL, with (consistent attendance from) the clubs’ fan clubs like Albirex, Lion City Sailors and Tampines.”

However, the spotlight largely continues to remain on the male-dominated football scene.

"The main difference is that men’s football is professional while women’s are still amateur. Also, there is a vast difference in the numbers of female versus male players,” Teo said.

In a fillip to women’s football, the sport’s administrators have been making moves to increase participation among girls and women.

In November last year, the Unleash the Roar! project, launched in March 2021 to improve Singapore’s football standards, announced the introduction of two girls’ school football academies in Methodist Girl’s School and Woodlands Secondary School, effective 2023.

On July 31, Unleash the Roar! announced the recipients of its first overseas multi-year scholarship, which would provide young footballers the resources to study, train and compete at reputable sports academies in countries like the United States and Spain.

Six of the eight recipients were girls aged 16 and 17.

Ili Nadhirah Mansor/TODAYThe national women’s team training at the Kallang Football Hub on Aug 4, 2023. The team had their first ticketed international matches last year, when they played against Seychelles and Papua New Guinea in the FAS Tri-Nations Series.

A constant juggling act

One of them is Chloe Koh Ke Ying, who will be attending the IMG Academy in the US for three years.

For the 16-year-old, her football commitments mean she has to manage deadlines for her school assignments.

Playing as a forward for the national team and the Lion City Sailors, she trains up to seven days a week while constantly juggling a heavy workload as an international baccalaureate student at the Methodist Girls’ School.

"Oftentimes, I would have to beg my teachers for an extension,” she said.

"For me, I choose to put football first, and it’s something that not a lot of them understand because they think there is no pathway for football in Singapore.”

Chloe started to be interested in football at age 10, inspired by ex-Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard.

In 2017, she took part in the Fifa Girls football festival, where she scored eight goals for her school, Ngee Ann Primary. Her exploits earned her a spot in the Under-10 women’s national team.

She rose through the age groups before making her debut against Turkmenistan in April, in the AFC U17 Women’s Asian Cup qualifiers, scoring two goals in a 7-0 victory.

In July, she made her debut in the senior national team in a match against Pakistan at the Jalan Besar Stadium, which Singapore won 1-0.

Close support from her family has helped Chloe to focus on training and study.

Her grandfather and mother help to shuttle her between school, training and home, while her grandmother cooks her meals after training.

But Chloe has to make some sacrifices of her own.

"I missed a couple of my friends’ birthday parties and milestone events because of training,” she said.

"I will feel bad, but I always look at the bigger picture.”

And that is her goal of playing National Collegiate Athletic Association Division 1 football.

Seri Ayu Natasha Naszri, another recipient of the Unleash the Roar! scholarship, will be attending the Spanish sports academy ESC LaLiga & NBA in Madrid for three years.

Like Chloe, Natasha also made her debut against Turkmenistan in April, captaining the side and scoring a goal in that match, and registered her first senior appearance against Pakistan in July.

The 16-year-old Lion City Sailors midfielder hopes to one day play professionally in Europe, even if it means that her daily grind is "just school and training”.

"The little time I have between school and training is used to either study or rest,” said the Bowen Secondary School student.

"After training, I do some homework before going to bed straight away. Then it repeats.”

It is set to become more intense as both she and Chloe are disrupting their studies here to head to their respective overseas academies soon.

For Natasha, she is thankful that her family has always rallied behind her decision to follow in the footsteps of her elder sister, 19-year-old Nurhidayu Naszri who plays for the national team and Tampines Rovers.

"After training, my family takes me out to eat or cooks for me. I cherish these things because it means a lot to me that this is how they show their support for me,” Natasha said.

When asked what advice she would give to young, aspiring athletes, she said that they should surround themselves with supportive friends and family for starters, but it is the hard work that ultimately matters.

"Work hard, start young, and don’t ever let anyone stop you from what you can do,” she said. — TODAY