SINGAPORE — Singaporean youngster Ben Davis made his first team debut for Fulham Football Club on Tuesday (Aug 27), coming on as a substitute in a Carabao Cup clash at home to Southampton.

The local footballer took to the field in the 89th minute as a substitute for Luca De Le Torre, as Championship outfit Fulham fell to a 1-0 defeat against the Premier League side.

"The most pleasing thing for me was that the young players got a chance to be involved and around it," said Fulham manager Scott Parker in his post-match conference.

"This football club's known to give young players an opportunity and it's certainly something I believe in.

"I want every young player at this football club to understand that if they do things the right way, work hard, they'll get an opportunity."

Earlier this year, it was announced that Davis had defaulted on his National Service (NS) obligations, the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) had said.

Davis, 18, signed a two-year contract with Fulham, the club announced in July last year. He is the first Singaporean to sign a professional contract with a top-tier English club. Fulham were relegated to the Championship at the end of last season.

The former Singapore Sports School student had joined Fulham on a two-year scholarship deal in July 2017. 

His application to defer his national service enlistment was rejected by MINDEF, who said he did not “meet the criteria for long-term deferment from full-time NS". CNA

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