SINGAPORE — They impressed over the course of the year with their good conduct, attitude, discipline and achievements in football.

As a reward, 12 local student-athletes were chosen to participate in the Singapore Olympic Foundation-Peter Lim (SOF-Peter Lim) Amunt Valencia Football Camp in Spain, which began on Dec 12 and will end tomorrow.

Singaporean businessman Lim is the owner of Spanish La Liga outfit Valencia CF, having bought the club in 2014.

Of the 12 budding footballers chosen, 10 are recipients of this year’s SOF-Peter Lim Scholarship, which was set up in 2011 with the aim of supporting promising young athletes from financially challenged backgrounds achieve their sporting goals.

As part of the trip, the youths — who hail from Hong Kah Secondary School (HKSS), Jurongville Secondary School (JVS), Meridian Secondary School (MSS), the Singapore Sports School (SSP) and the National Football Academy (NFA) — undergo a training programme under the tutelage of experienced coaches from the Valencia GloVal Academy. In addition, the students, who are aged 14 to 16, will also experience a tour of the Spanish club’s home stadium, the Mestalla, and play friendly matches against various Valencia youth teams.

Reflecting on the training stint so far, 14-year-old Haziq Rosni of MSS said: “I knew that the weather here would be very cold, and I have already prepared myself for the cold weather and the tough training in the Valencia GloVal Academy.

“The training is fun and tiring as we do a lot of passing drills and movements. I also get to work on my stamina and my accuracy of passing. I am very thankful for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

Agreeing, HKSS’ Nabil Iman, 16, added: “I have learnt a lot in this camp, such as the coaching techniques from our Spanish coach. The Valencia footballers’ technical abilities are better, and they are faster and stronger. This camp has motivated me to train harder and improve myself as a player.”

This is the second time the SOF has sent youths to the Valencia Academy for a training stint.

Last year, a total of 17 youth footballers and four coaches were chosen for the programme.

Applications for the 2017 SOF-Peter Lim Scholarship will open on Jan 3. For more information, visit www.sof.sg.