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SINGAPORE: Tech company Sea will donate S$50 million (US$38.7 million) to support the long-term development of football in Singapore.
The homegrown firm, which runs e-commerce platform Shopee and owns digital bank MariBank, announced the donation on Tuesday (Mar 31).
It said S$40 million will be progressively disbursed to support "meaningful initiatives that can broaden participation, strengthen development pathways, and contribute to a more vibrant football ecosystem in Singapore".
The other S$10 million was already donated to the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) at the start of 2026, Sea noted.
The firm added it will work closely with the government and the football community to deploy the funds effectively.
Sea CEO and chairman Forrest Li, who is also FAS president, said: “We believe football can play a powerful role in bringing communities together, building character, and opening up opportunities for young people.
"Football has a unique ability to forge connections and inspire pride and joy through a shared sense of purpose.
"With Sea’s S$50 million donation, we hope to support the long-term development of football in Singapore and give back to the community that has played such an important role in Sea’s journey."
Sea, the parent company behind gaming platform Garena, has invested in Singapore’s football ecosystem for over a decade.
In 2016, Garena sponsored the Young Lions and in 2020, Sea acquired Home United and changed its name to Lion City Sailors.
Two years later, the Sailors opened Singapore's first integrated training football facility at Mattar Road, with the state-of-the-art training centre costing S$10 million.
The Singapore Premier League outfit, in a historic run, made it to the final of last year's AFC Champions League Two, before losing 2-1 to the United Arab Emirates’ Sharjah.
In November last year, Li also announced a S$2 million payout for the Lions after the national team qualified for the 2027 Asian Cup on merit for the first time.
Sea said its latest donation builds on its broader efforts to support communities in Singapore, such as its S$50 million gift to the National University of Singapore (NUS) in 2021.
The donation was pledged to support research and education at NUS' School of Computing.
"Sea firmly believes in the power of football to meaningfully engage communities; bringing together people of all ages and backgrounds as we unite behind a shared passion," said the tech company, calling on other "like-minded philanthropic" partners and sponsors to help take Singapore football to the “next level”.
Governing body Sport Singapore (SportSG) previously told CNA that donations to the sports sector increased from S$7.9 million in FY2021 to S$13 million in FY2023.
But this was the lowest among all sectors, accounting for less than 1 per cent of all donations that financial year.
A scholarship supported by Singaporean tycoon Peter Lim has given out more than S$11 million to thousands of local athletes since its inception in 2010.
However, there is no publicly available data on the overall split between private and government funding for sport in Singapore as of August 2025.
CNA has contacted Sea, FAS and SportSG for more information on the S$50 million donation and how the sum will be used to spur football initiatives in the country.
