Singapore leans on former captains to boost success

Singapore: Singapore`s soccer chiefs have assembled 12 former national captains into a think tank to boost the standard of the sport in the Southeast Asian city-state.

The dozen, with more than 1,000 Singapore caps between them, will be charged with increasing the numbers playing soccer and identifying new talent.Skipper from 2003-2007, Aide Iskandar said he was confident the Captain`s Advisory Panel would be a success. "It`s a great initiative and an important one to take Singapore football forward," he told reporters on Friday. "We are currently the best in Asean and we should look to be among the top few in Asia too." "This group is comprised of experienced players from different eras and with that there will be different ideas coming out. I am confident that we will be giving a lot of positive and constructive ideas."Singapore were ranked 119th in the last FIFA world rankings -- and 17th among Asian Football Confederation countries. The Lions face arch-rivals Thailand in an Asian Cup qualifier at home on Saturday. Bureau Report