Aspiring female footballers in the heartlands can now look forward to dedicated girls' football programmes by the ActiveSG Football Academy (AFA).

From July 2026, AFA will offer girls-only programmes at its Tampines Secondary School and Ang Mo Kio Secondary School centres, in addition to its existing age-group offerings for children aged 3 to 16 years old. The new programme gives girls a clearer pathway to develop their skills at the grassroots level, with opportunities to progress to more competitive teams as they advance.

The announcement was made at the AFA Football Fiesta at Our Tampines Hub on 24 May 2026, where Mr David Neo, Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth and Senior Minister of State for Education, was the guest of honour. Over 1,000 children took part in this edition of the biannual AFA Football Fiesta, held across 16 and 24 May — an event that also marks AFA's 10th anniversary.

A Decade of growing the beautiful game

AFA started out with 500 children across five centres in 2016. A decade on, enrolment has grown to more than 4,000 footballers — including 600 girls — across 17 regional centres.

Since April, AFA has been operating as part of Sport Excellence Singapore (SpexSG) under the Unleash The Roar! (UTR!) national football project. The move streamlines all Government-supported football initiatives and allows for a more holistic youth development ecosystem from which aspiring young footballers can benefit from.

"Since we started AFA in 2016, the interest in girls' football has been growing," said AFA Principal and former Singapore international Aleksandar Duric. "We started a pilot all-girls programme in Tampines last year and, given the strong interest, we decided to open it up to two centres and for all age groups."

From AFA to the Lionesses

Also present at the fiesta was national women's footballer Irsalina Irwan, whose footballing journey began at AFA at the age of nine. The 19-year-old midfielder for the Lion City Sailors women's team credited the programme for instilling in her a love of the sport — a foundation that led her to earn a UTR! Overseas Football Scholarship at the prestigious IMG Academy in the United States, and a regular place in the Lionesses squad.

"AFA really shaped me as a player and as a person. Playing alongside boys challenged me to become stronger, more confident, and more competitive," said Irsalina. "But having the option of an all-girls environment is equally important because it gives girls a space to feel comfortable and supported — and provides an encouraging platform for more girls to take up the game."

Building the next generation

The girls-only programme forms part of AFA's broader support for the UTR! national football project, complementing existing efforts to grow the women's game in Singapore. These include girls-only categories in the Singapore Youth League and overseas training opportunities for promising female talents, with the most exceptional prospects able to earn football scholarships to the United States and Spain.

National women's captain Rosnani Azman, 29, is set to be among the coaches helming the new programme. Having coached at AFA's Queensway Secondary School centre, she brings both experience and passion to the role.

"The aim of the AFA programme is to provide a platform for young girls to learn and enjoy football," said Rosnani. "We hope to instil in them a good football foundation and our core values of honour, resilience and teamwork — life-long traits which will serve them well on the pitch as well as off it."

Girls keen to join the programme can look out for registration details from June, with announcements to be made on AFA's social media pages. The programme will be priced at $130 per term for ActiveSG members.

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ActiveSG Football Academy Launches First Ever Girls-Only Programme