SINGAPORE – He made his name as an uncompromising centre-back during his playing days, and scored the goal that gave Singapore the 1998 Suzuki Cup (then known as the Tiger Cup), before starting sports marketing agency Red Card Group when he retired

And now it looks like he plans to get involved in the upcoming FAS elections.

TODAY understands that former Singapore international R Sasikumar has been in discussions with people to contest the first-ever Football Association of Singapore (FAS) elections for office bearers which must be held by May.

When contacted, Sasikumar declined to comment. However, it is understood that the 41-year-old is currently in discussions with Team Majulah over the possibility of being part of their line-up and contesting for the post of FAS president.

Team Majulah, which was formed by ex-Woodlands Wellington manager R Vengadasalam – who serves as the team’s campaign manager – last year, has yet to unveil their full line-up for the elections. They are the first and only team to have publicly confirmed their intention to contest the elections.

The only official memeber of the team to date is lawyer Alfred Dodwell.

When contacted by TODAY, Venga confirmed that he has had discussions with Sasikumar over the prospect of contesting the elections, and compared him to Richard Scudamore, the executive chairman of the English Premier League.

“Sasi has spoken to me about taking part in the elections, and I told him to go for it,” said Venga. “He is not just a real football man, but he also has business expertise. I will be very happy to see him involved in the elections. In my opinion, he is the Richard Scudamore of Singapore football.”

Sasikumar has been heavily involved with the regional footballing scene in recent times. Apart from being a Fifa-licensed agent, he also played an instrumental role in helping the Philippines Football Federation (PFF) set up the country’s first-ever professional football competition, the Philippines Football League (PFL), which is slated to kick-off later this year.

He also revived the Lion City Cup in 2011, and was responsible for getting the youth teams of top English, Italian and South American clubs to compete in the annual tournament, and played a part in bringing former Liverpool and Arsenal winger Jermaine Pennant to play for Tampines Rovers in the S.League last season.

TODAY also previously reported that Sasikumar was tasked by the FAS to come up with a working proposal to privatise the S.League, an idea which he is publicly in favour of.

In a previous interview with The Straits Times, Sasikumar said that local football is potentially worth a billion dollars. "If I was leading football, that would be my KPI (key performance indicator) in the next five to eight years.... You can print that. People will laugh at me but so what?

"My belief is Singapore football can be worth that much. That's why I'm in the industry. And if you fall short, that's still a lot more money than you had before."

The FAS elections are due to be held by May this year. Under the new constitution, election candidates will have to meet certain eligibility criteria before they are allowed to contest for a seat on the FAS council.

This includes the need for any FAS presidential candidate — who will contest as part of a slate of nine, including the deputy president, four vice-president and three council members — to have played an active role in association football in two of the last five years.

In addition, FAS council candidates will have to pass integrity checks before they can be cleared to stand for elections.