Perry Ng closer to donning Lions jersey after getting Singapore PR status

Cardiff City defender Perry Ng (right) is in Singapore from March 18-23 to train with the Singapore national football team. ST PHOTO: ARIFFIN JAMAR

SINGAPORE – Cardiff City right-back Perry Ng is one step closer to playing for the Singapore football team after he received his permanent residency on March 21.

In an Instagram story posted on the same day, the 28-year-old was seen standing outside the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority building in Kallang Road, proudly flashing his blue identity card with the name Ng Perry Tian Hee.

He said: “Hello Singapore, I’ve taken my first steps to putting on the red jersey. I’m a bit jet-lagged but I’m so excited and I’ll see you all soon.”

Ng travelled from England to Singapore on March 18 to train with the Lions during the international break. While he is not in the Lions’ squad for the friendly against Nepal on March 21 and the Asian Cup qualifier against Hong Kong on March 25 – both matches are at the National Stadium – his PR status will be a boost as he seeks to obtain Singapore citizenship and represent the Republic.

When asked for his thoughts on the development later in the day, national coach Tsutomu Ogura, who was still seething after the 1-0 defeat by Nepal, would only say: “I’m not sure when he will be able to get his citizenship, but if it comes soon, maybe it can be good for us.”

Ng had expressed his interest to become a Singapore citizen as early as 2017, and if he is successful, he will become the first footballer to play for the Lions via the heritage route. His grandfather was born in Singapore but moved to Liverpool in the 1970s to study. The latter eventually started a family and built a business in importing and manufacturing there.

Growing up in England, Ng joined the Crewe Alexandra academy when he was five and rose through the ranks to play for the senior team in the third and fourth divisions, before he signed for second-tier side Cardiff in January 2021.

During breaks in the seasons he would make trips to Singapore and catch up with his extended family, go to a Taoist columbarium to pay his respects to his late paternal grandfather James Ng, and eat at his grandaunt’s hokkien mee stall in Bedok.

In September 2024, he made headlines in Singapore and England when he joined the Lions’ training camp for a familiarisation stint during an international break. Then, he confirmed to local media that he would be applying for Singapore citizenship.

World football governing body Fifa’s rules stipulate that individuals must have “a genuine link” with national teams they intend to play for. The basic criteria are: Place of birth, naturalisation by residence or place of one grandparent’s birth.

However, Singapore’s citizenship rules state that qualifying for a passport by descent is applicable only to individuals with at least one parent who is born in Singapore or is a citizen by registration. But special dispensation could be made for Ng to represent the Lions through the Foreign Sports Talent scheme, with Football Association of Singapore (FAS) president Bernard Tan saying last September that there is a pathway for Ng to be a citizen.

In February, FAS general secretary Chew Chun-Liang said that Ng would be invited to join the Lions for training during the international windows in March, June, September, October and November.

David Lee is senior sports correspondent at The Straits Times focusing on aquatics, badminton, basketball, cue sports, football and table tennis.

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