August 28, 2004

Football teams from Thailand & China have all been linked with the S-League this year as Singapore's only professional sports league continues to attract foreign talent but now even a team from Africa has entered the picture for the first time.

Planet FC a Camernoon team could orbit their way into the S-League, when it begins its 10th season next year.

The president of Planet FC, Francis Ngankeu Djine, confirmed hat discussions with the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) have been going on since last month.

He said their first step is to get the players here to play matches against the S-League teams to show how serious they are. The next step will be to seek formal approval to play in the S-League.

The interest of the Cameroon side further add proof to the speculation that officials intend to increase the number of teams in the S-league.

Planet FC, whose players are between the ages of 18 to 22, are being backed by Crystalene International, a Singapore-based company which has business interests in Africa.

The company's directors were involved in the meetings with the FAS

S-League CEO Chan King Fook said the Cameroonians seem to be serious about playing in the S-League & they look impressive but it is still early days.

The FAS are currently arranging a match between an S-League All-Star team and Planet FC in October.

Planet FC had toured Malaysia late last year & provided stiff opposition against top Malaysian league teams Kedah, Sarawak & Selangor MPPJ. They beat Kedah (3-2), Selangor MPPJ (2-1) and Sarawak (3-1).