April 29 will be a landmark date in Singapore sports history as the Republic ushers in a new era with the first-ever elections to choose the next Football Association of Singapore (FAS) president and council members.
With a deputy president, four vice-presidents and three council members, the winning team will be tasked to resuscitate the nation's favourite sport after a dismal few years under the helm of departing president Zainudin Nordin.
Also in the running will be 16 Singaporeans who are aiming to fill the remaining six council member slots.
While the two teams contesting as a slate will need a minimum of 30 of 44 votes to win office, independent candidates have to garner only 50 percent to take a seat as a council member.
LionsXII's return to Malaysian domestic football for four seasons delayed the inevitable need to revamp the S.League. And the national team's disastrous exit in the last two consecutive AFF Suzuki Cup tournaments was further proof that things were not right within the ranks at the game's Jalan Besar headquarters.
Here are three key areas where the battle could be won or lost by both camps:
1. National Football League hot bed
Make no mistake about it. The electoral battle will be decided at the National Football League (NFL) level. Both camps have gone on record with claims of wanting to improve the neglected, second-tier of Singapore football. The reason is simple: 23 of the 44 votes will come from the NFL, making it a must-win for both sides.
Team LKT, led by Lim Kia Tong, has already made inroads by meeting NFL clubs last week. Team Game Changers, with Hougang United chairman Bill Ng at the helm, also has strong connections with certain NFL clubs.
Despite a decent standard of play, the NFL has been embroiled by organisational problems, including a lack of training fields, poor match officials and financial turmoil.
Whoever wants the 23 votes must have a clear, unclouded passion to revamp the NFL setup. But the bigger task will be to ensure the NFL, and the S.League's Prime League, can co-exist, instead of causing harm and confusion.
2. All talk and no manifesto in sight
Both camps have come out all guns blazing, trading verbal tirades about the rival candidates' inefficiencies. But the common ground is that neither team has put out a clear manifesto of what changes they are planning to make.
Bold statements like "we will pay attention to the NFL" and "our team has many capable people to manage Singapore football" carry little weight in the real world.
Whoever wins the hot seat must have an all-encompassing vision, with practical steps to immediately improve things. This means paying attention to Singapore's elite players, the ailing S.League, while nurturing the next generation of youngsters who want to become professional footballers.
There needs to be a plan in place for the national team over the next four years. And getting more kids to play the game is good, but what happens when they want to pursue a balanced pathway of education and professional football? And what about the women's game?
Yes, there have been efforts on social media by the incumbents to show off photo-galleries of the Singapore women's team participating in overseas tournaments. But like similar efforts to promote the S.League, they barely scratch the surface of infusing football into Singapore life.
Unlike the numerous, multi-year plans that the FAS have embarked on over the past decade, both Lim and Ng must show that their long-term strategies can actually take the game to new heights.
The team with a clearer manifesto will woo swinging voters who are still sitting on the fence. The next month will be crucial in making cheap talk turn into concise visions.
3. Three key players from each camp
Lim's experience at the highest level of the game with FIFA -- he is the deputy chairman of the FIFA disciplinary committee -- will serve him in good stead. Another thing in his favour is his familiarity of the operations within Jalan Besar, having served as vice president during Zainudin's tenure.
The two biggest assets on Team LKT are Komoco Holdings Group managing director Teo Hock Seng and ex-national team captain Razali Saad.
Teo, commonly known as the godfather of Singapore football, is the key reason S.League club Tampines Rovers became a household name across Asia. He has never failed to step up to back the sport, most recently with Hyundai's co-title sponsorship of the S.League after the exit of Yeo's.
Razali, 52, earned 53 caps for Singapore between 1984 and 1993, playing in the 1984 Asian Cup. The highly respected former defender has a good relationship with many of the NFL clubs, and has a firm grasp of what is needed in the sport.
As for Ng, the businessman earned praise for the way he transformed Hougang United into a self-sustaining model. His efforts to raise the club's profile have been well-received, especially within the dressing room. He's made sweeping changes to rejuvenate Hougang Stadium, including the establishment of post-match recovery facilities and professional seats in the dugout.
Ng's masterstroke in this campaign was installing the two renowned female candidates within Team Game Changers' ranks. Renowned sports administrator Annabel Pennefather and 2015 SEA Games chief medical officer Dr. Teoh Chin Sim are both running as part of the slate.
They have also worked with other sports in the country, so they are familiar with the pressure-cooker environment of ensuring Team Singapore come away with podium finishes, amidst stiff international competition.
Pennefather's sports administrative nous -- she is the Singapore National Olympic Council's vice president and is a former president of the Singapore Hockey Federation -- will go a long way in bringing the better procedures that are currently lacking in the FAS office.
Dr. Teoh is also no stranger to working with world class athletes. After becoming the first female sports medicine specialist in Singapore, she has spent the last two decades helping the Republic's top athletes strike gold.
Ng's team are living up to their name as Game Changers with fresh but experienced sports administrators. That means Lim will need to maximise Teo and Razali's football knowledge, and strong understanding of the biggest issues.
The next four weeks of campaigning will see intriguing tactical battles. But it is imperative that the 44 FAS affiliates elect the team who have the clearest manifesto, best intentions and most openness to chart Singapore football's pathway for the next four years.
The monumental election will be held at the Sport Singapore (Black Box) Auditorum at the Singapore Sports Hub. A wrong turn on April 29, and flailing Singapore football will have to live with the consequences for years to come.