Meet Daniel Bennett, a professional footballer. Originally from England, he now holds Singapore Citizenship under the Foreign Sports Talent Scheme (FST) which was given to him in 2002 in order to play international football for Singapore. At 41 years of age, shuttling between Singapore and England, he holds valuable experience of what it’s not only like to be a professional footballer but what it’s like to play in a team in which the members are different than you and what it’s like being a long reining member of the team.
Let’s learn more about the man who currently holds 137 caps for Singapore, therefore holding the national record for the most international matches played. Bennett is no foreigner to Singapore. He moved from England to there and for a majority of his schooling life, studied in the United World College of South East Asia in which his father was a teacher turned headmaster. He then later pursued an honors degree in Sports Science from Loughborough University.
To follow his football career we would have to follow and list the many clubs he’s played for in Singapore and England. From what he’s told us, his football journey started at the young age of 12, playing for Tiong Bahru, a district in Singapore. And for those who are into the more technical stuff, he plays center-back and full-back.
However, what’s really interesting is everything beyond this general knowledge of who Daniel Bennett is. He’s one of the few people who has managed to bag a position in a football team despite his age. He tells us about how that, along with his ethnicity, make him a tough competitor with the newer, younger additions to the team. He also speaks to us about the nerve-wracking wait of The Contract. Now, every footballer signs a contract in which it states the number of years that one will play for a specific team. If you’re good enough, you might get your contract renewed and Bennett weighs in about how he’s been very lucky t have his contract renewed despite his age.
But now, Daniell Bennett, the famous footballer, is, in fact, a senior associate realtor. He told us about the shift between jobs and how his job as an associate realtor provided him with the flexibility of managing a job and his position on the Tampines Rover team.
He hopes that Singapore would place more importance on Football, especially in terms of funding. With no hate towards Singapore, he told the avid listeners about how England placed more importance on resources and how much more football is valued in England. Additionally, like most Singaporean sports players, he sees National Service as an obstruction. National Service requires all male Singaporean citizens, first hand and second-hand permanent residents to be drafted at 18 till 20, and they are liable to be called back for a maximum of 40 days of National Service every year until the age of 50 years (for officers) or 40 years (for others). This poses a huge problem to those who have contracts lined up for them to join teams or have matches to play. Furthermore, he hopes the career path and hobby of sports is more widely accepted by parents who encourage their kids to follow their dreams as he recognizes most Singaporean parents to favor academics.
It was a pleasure to get such detailed, insider information on what the highs and lows, ups and downs are of being a professional footballer.