FIFA has confirmed that it is monitoring the build up to the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) elections on April 29 after the country's national sports agency filed a police report against a club affiliated to one of the two presidential candidates.
Sport Singapore (SportSG) revealed on Thursday that it had approached the police to look into the alleged misuse of funds at National Football League club Tiong Bahru FC, whose chairman is Bill Ng of Team Game Changers.
Game Changers are vying with ex-FAS vice-president Lim Kia Tong's Team LKT to earn the support of the association's 44 affiliates.
Later on Thursday, the offices of FAS at Jalan Besar Stadium were raided, as well as the clubhouses of Woodlands Wellington, Hougang United and Tiong Bahru.
There have been calls to postpone the elections until after the investigations are complete, but the FAS Electoral Committee says there is no reason for delay or disruption.
FIFA took action against the Indonesian Football Federation (PSSI) in 2015 after a dispute with the sports ministry by slapping a 12-month ban on the nation. It would have jurisdiction to act again if it saw anything irregular in Singapore.
"In relation to your query, FIFA is monitoring the situation concerning FAS. Please understand that we can't speculate on potential future scenarios," a FIFA spokesman told The New Paper.
The police investigations adds uncertainty to the process of choosing the new leaders for Singapore football, which has struggled in recent years.
"Looking at the current scenario, maybe a deferment or postponement of the election to a later date could be in order," ex-Geylang International chairman Patrick Ang, told The New Paper.
"This way, the affiliates can have a clearer picture, to make an informed choice in an important vote that will decide the leadership of football."
At the heart of the election campaign has been a S$500,000 donation from Bill Ng to FAS that ended up going to the ASEAN Football Federation. FAS disputes Ng's claim that he intended the money only to be used for Singapore football development.