Fulham made a little bit of history back in 2017 when Ben Davis, a 16 year old from Singapore signed to the academy. A Singaporean has never played in the Premier League or Championship, and Davis could be the first one to do that. The only other player from Singapore to play in the professional game in England is Daniel Bennet, who played for Wrexham in the old English Third Division a number of years ago.
However, back when Davis signed for Fulham, the question of his duty to complete National Service in Singapore when he became 18 came up straight away. In Singapore, every male at the age of 18 must complete some form of National Service for two years. Around the same time that Davis signed, he and his family had applied for deferred NS, but his request was rejected. NS can be deferred, but it mostly happens for academic purposes, but it can happen for the Arts and for sport. Sport is a difficult one, because it’s only for sportsmen and women who are “…representing Singapore in top-tier international competitions,” or “…displaying potential to win (medals).”
While Davis is seen as a huge talent in Singaporean football, he isn’t yet close to helping them win medals at an event. In fact, deferring NS for sport has only happen three times since 2003, twice for national swimmers and once for a sailor. Davis has been called up to the Singapore national side but is yet to win a cap which could be one of the reasons why he hasn’t been able to defer it. It’s important to note that Davis is not trying to get away with doing his NS altogether, rather it’s putting it off until his football development is much further on.
We are now at the stage were Davis should be back in Singapore starting his NS, so because he has essentially defaulted, he is now in danger of being sent to prison if and when he returns home. He is at the age were NS is due, and he should have reported back to Singapore in January. According to ‘Singapore Legal Advice’, any defaulter can be punished with “…a fine of $10,000 and/or a term of imprisonment up to 3 years.”
This is a potentially very serious issue for Davis and his family if he ever wants to return back to Singapore, but his family are said to be appealing the original decision to reject to request of deferment. Generally speaking, countries who have NS are very strict with it. In the case of Son Heung-min of Spurs, he had to actually win the Asian Games with his South Korean football side to be spared military service there, so who knows if Davis will ever be in a position were he can help Singapore win a competition.
One thing is sure though, taking two years out of football at 18, just when you could be on the brink of making it, is more of less kissing goodbye to a career in England. Watch this space.
