Football: President Tony Tan honours Lions for AFF win

SINGAPORE: Singapore President Tony Tan has honoured the national football team for their recent AFF Suzuki Cup win, with a pleasant surprise for former coach Raddy Avramovic.

The team was at a reception at the Istana on Saturday.

The AFF win last month meant Singapore became the first country in South East Asia to win the ASEAN football title for an unprecedented fourth time.

Avramovic was recognised for his nine years of service with a special award.

The 63—year—old Serbian had stepped down after the tournament, after delivering three AFF Suzuki Cup titles.

"I am really shocked, I am really surprised, nice surprise. It’s great, absolutely great," said Avramovic.

Dr Tan said: "This is a historic win and that’s why I thought that we have to mark this achievement of our footballers and I was very happy to host this reception here for Team Singapore and not only for the players, but also for those who have worked behind the scenes: the FAS (Football Association of Singapore) management, the ministry’s support, all the other coaches, players, team managers, because it is not only 11 players on the field, they need a whole back—up."

— CNA/xq