'Public holiday, sir?': Netizens cheekily lobby President Tharman as S'pore qualifies for Asian Cup
The Singapore football team's historic 2-1 comeback victory against Hong Kong, which secured their maiden qualification for the Asian Cup tournament, has sparked cheeky requests for a public holiday.
"After years of heartbreak, the Lions have qualified for the Asian Cup for the first time on performance," President Tharman Shanmugaratnam wrote in a Facebook post that has amassed over 6,000 likes and more than 340 comments as of press time.
In response, several commenters jokingly called for a public holiday.
"Public holiday Sir?" one quipped.
"Holiday lah please. Some more this year SG60," another wrote.
Million-dollar bonuses for the Lions
Singapore had never qualified for the Asian Cup on merit, with their sole appearance coming as hosts in 1984.
Ever since the Republic won the last of their four Asean titles in 2012, the national team has achieved little, going through five full-time coaches since Radojko Avramovic left in 2012.
Interim coach Gavin Lee was only appointed in June after Tsutomu Ogura left in June due to personal reasons
But now that the Lions have qualified for the 2027 Asian Cup, to be held in Saudi Arabia, the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) has two sets of bonuses in place for them, according to The Straits Times.
The first is the regular match-win bonus, which guarantees $6,000 for each player who takes to the field, regardless of minutes played, with less than half awarded to the rest of the squad.
A larger bonus — scaled according to each player's and staff member's involvement — also awaits, totaling around $1 million. Each player stands to receive up to $40,000.
