SINGAPORE -- After guiding Singapore to a historic first AFC Asian Cup on merit in an interim capacity, Gavin Lee has been appointed the permanent head coach of the Lions on an 18-month contract -- which will take him through to the tournament in January 2027.
His promotion to the job on a fulltime basis, which was a huge topic of conversation after the Lions' qualification with a come-from-behind 2-1 win over Hong Kong earlier this month, was confirmed at a news conference held at the Football Association of Singapore's headquarters at Jalan Besar Stadium on Friday afternoon.
In addition to the Asian Cup, which will take place in 2027 from Jan. 7 to Feb. 5, another big assignment for Lee will be next year's ASEAN Championship -- officially known as the ASEAN Hyundai Cup 2026 -- set for July 24 to Aug. 26, a tournament the Lions have not won since 2012.
Lee is the first Singaporean to lead the Lions in a permanent capacity since V. Sundramoorthy was in charge from 2016 to 2018, although both Fandi Ahmad and Nazri Nasir did have similar stints as caretaker coach.
Still only 35, Lee became the youngest head coach in Singapore Premier League history when he was handed the reins of BG Tampines Rovers at just the age of 29.
The good work he did with Tampines did not go unnoticed and, last March, he was invited by then-Lions coach Tsutomu Ogura to be part of his backroom staff.
After Ogura's abrupt departure due to personal reasons in June, Lee was entrusted by FAS with the task of finishing Singapore's Asian Cup qualifying campaign -- which he proved to be a successful one as he guided them to top spot in Group C even with one final game to be played in March.
The Lions are still unbeaten under Lee in competitive action with two wins and a draw from the three Asian Cup qualifiers since he has been at the helm, although they have tasted defeat to Malaysia and Thailand -- along with a draw against Myanmar -- in friendlies.
More to follow...