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MUMBAI: Preparations for the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games has shifted into high gear with the start of the team sports draws. Kicking off the series of draws is the Football team draw organised by the Singapore Youth Olympic Games Organising Committee (SYOGOC) and the F?d?ration Internationale de Football Association (FIFA).
The draw will be held on 18 May (Tuesday), 10.30am, at the PSA Building Auditorium. The team draw will be witnessed by officials from participating National Federations and Embassies in a ceremony presided over by FIFA and SYOGOC.
The Guest of Honour is Mr Kwek Leng Joo, Board Member and Chairman of the Marketing Advisory Committee of SYOGOC. Mr Kwek was Vice President of the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) from 1997 to 2001. He had also led Singapore?s first professional football league, S.League, as the Chairman of its Board of Directors. FIFA will be represented by delegation leader, Mr Marios Lefkaritis, Deputy Chairman of FIFA Organising Committee for the Olympic Football Tournaments.
The Football competition in Singapore 2010 comprises Men and Women events. One representative per FIFA Confederation has been nominated by FIFA for the two events. The six teams per event will divide into two groups of three for the preliminaries. Each team will play every other team in the group once.
The team draw will determine the grouping and match fixtures for the preliminaries. The two teams ranked first and second in each group will move on to the semi-finals, while the teams ranked third in each group play for 5th/6th place.
Teams participating in Men?s Football event in Singapore 2010 are Bolivia, Montenegro, Singapore, Vanuatu, Zimbabwe, and a team from the Americas. Chile, Equatorial Guinea, Papua New Guinea, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, and Turkey will compete in the Women event.
?The team draws are an important milestone in getting ready for Singapore 2010. They herald the start of SYOGOC?s transition into Operations Phase for the Games. We are expecting keen competition among the teams and look forward to the exciting matches ahead,? said Mr Goh Kee Nguan, Chief Executive Officer of SYOGOC.
SYOGOC will be announcing the final team groupings and fixtures after the draw ceremony. Other upcoming draws include Basketball and Volleyball team draws on 31 May 2010, and Handball team draw on 4 June 2010. Members of the public can follow the progress of the team draws on the Singapore 2010
Twitter feed at www.twitter.com/singapore2010.
About Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games ? Blazing the Trail
Singapore will be hosting the inaugural Youth Olympic Games (YOG) from 14 to 26 August 2010. The Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games will receive some 5,000 athletes and officials from the 205 National Olympic Committees (NOCs), along with estimated 1,200 media representatives, 20,000 local and international volunteers, and 370,000 spectators. Young athletes - aged between 14 and 18 years - will compete in 26 sports and take part in a Culture and Education Programme.
The Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games aims to inspire youth around the world to embrace, embody and express the Olympic values of Excellence, Friendship and Respect. It will create a lasting sports, culture and education legacy for Singapore and youths from around the world, as well as enhance and elevate the sporting culture locally and regionally.
For more information, please visit www.singapore2010.sg
