SINGAPORE — Throw-ins are no longer part of primary school football matches this year, following a new rule change.

According to the Singapore Primary Schools Sports Council’s (SPSSC) regulations for the boys and girls’ Football Championships, they have been replaced by kick-ins, which are indirect free kicks, with effect from this year. Opposing players must keep a distance of two metres from where the kick is taken.

The primary school championships kicked off with the boys’ competition a month ago. There are two divisions:  Senior (for players aged 11-13) and junior (nine-11 years).

The Football Association of Singapore (FAS) said the rule change aims to promote possession play. “The intent is to encourage short passes, enable the team to maintain possession of the ball and build up play, especially for children aged nine to 13,” said Mohamed Basir Ellaya Kutty, who is the head of Coach Education, Junior Centres of Excellence, Club Academies and Schools Football Academy at the FAS. “The rules of the tournament were amended with reference to the FAS Grassroots Manual and in consultation with us.”

The Grassroots Manual is the 187-page blueprint for youth development written by FAS technical director Michel Sablon in August 2015. Children in the FAS youth development programmes are recommended to play small-sided games up to age 12 and throw-ins are replaced by kick-ins up until the age of nine.

In the SPSSC championships, boys play nine-a-side matches while girls play seven-a-side. Teams use the smaller size four ball instead of the usual size five.

“I was in the schools last October to explain it,” Sablon told TODAY. “We (FAS) discussed it with many people; I don’t know them all. I was there for several times to explain and make presentations.”

In response to TODAY’s queries, the Ministry of Education (MOE) explained that the National School Games organising committee recommended the rule change after their annual season review and “positive feedback” from trials with “some schools” last year.

“The SPSSC Football Organising Committee studied the practices of other countries such as Belgium and England,” it said. “The change is developmentally appropriate for our young athletes as it places less emphasis on the correct form of throw-ins and encourages the teams to build up and attack through short passes for better flow of the game.”

West Grove Primary teacher-in-charge of football and coach Zaini Zainal told TODAY: “The rule change was made with consultation and general sensing with teachers in the football fraternity and FAS. The rationale was made known to all teachers-in-charge at the annual briefing held before the start of the football championships.”

However, school coaches told TODAY that they were not consulted about the rule change nor told of the reasoning. “No rationale was given, but I could figure out why it was done … (to improve) individual technique, application and group play in accordance with how the technical director wants to build (players) for the future,” said Sengkang Green Primary coach Khidhir Khamis.

Another coach, who requested anonymity, said they were informed “a couple of weeks” before the start of the championships.

“I don’t remember a clear rationale (given) but (some) word did go around that they wanted to reduce heading of the balls,” he said. “There wasn’t a forum or discussion (with us).”

Recent studies from the United States and England have claimed that heading of footballs could cause brain damage. In November 2015, the US banned children under 11 from heading balls because of fears it could contribute to concussions.

Another possible reason could be to eliminate foul throws, which are common at primary schools matches.

“One team takes a foul throw (and when it is penalised), the other team also makes a foul throw. Referees end up stopping the game frequently,” noted former Singapore international Steven Tan, who coaches Anglo-Chinese School (Junior).

But Sablon, who took up his role in April 2015, played down concerns over heading and throw-ins.

“We adapted the rules to help them develop play by building up the game (through) short passing, good movement and technical skills,” he explained. 

“You will never have a boy, from a throw-in, be wounded or injured by making a header from five, three, metres. We can (also) teach boys to do a good throw-in in two one-hour training (sessions). What we saw before is that from almost 100 per cent of the throw-ins, they lose the ball ... that’s not a purpose of a throw-in.”
 

SCHOOLS EXPLOIT NEW RULES BY TURNING KICK-INS INTO LONG BALLS

A mindset change is needed if the new kick-in rule is to achieve its goals, as many primary school teams are now turning them into long balls into their opponents’ penalty areas, coaches have told TODAY. 

This contradicts the original purpose of the rule change, which is to encourage short passes and promote ball possession.

The tactic benefits teams with powerful and tall players who can dominate aerial duels. The problem is exacerbated by the small-sized pitches at primary school level — between 50-70 metres (length) and 30-50m (breadth) for boys, and 25-42m and 18-25m for girls.

A head coach, who declined to be named, said, “For the zone (South) we are in, the field given to us is very small; in my opinion, it’s not even a qualified seven-a-side pitch. “Players … just send the ball into the penalty box and hope someone makes a mistake or it ricochets off someone and goes in. It’s hindering the development of play; you don’t get a string of passes going.”

FAS technical director Michel Sablon told TODAY that the problem lies with the coaches’ mentality of “playing to win and not for development”. “We changed the rule to teach the girls and boys to play football, not to kick long balls for the only purpose of winning the game,” he said. “Teach and train them how to dribble and control the ball — those are the important things.”

Khidhir Khamis, who coaches Sengkang Green Primary, agreed. Calling for a mindset shift, he said, “Overall, the pros will outweigh the cons — provided the approach is right. In the long term, the players’ skills and decision-making will be improved, leading to smarter players.”

Mohamed Basir Ellaya Kutty, who is the head of Coach Education at the FAS, said they are aware of the “misapplication of the new rules” and hope to work with the Ministry of Education to resolve it “soon”.

Sablon said the FAS has already initiated meetings to “re-indicate” the original purpose of the rule change. “It’s not the kick-in (that is the issue); it’s the mindset they have to change in the coming months and years,” he asserted. “It’s going to take time, it will not be easy.”