Commentary: ‘A fight to survive’ - former national swimmer Joscelin Yeo on the financial hurdles Singapore athletes face

SINGAPORE: A lot of times when people hear that I was on the national team for 17 years, they often assume that I must have been a full-time professional swimmer with a high income.

I started swimming at 5 years old and at 11, made the national team in 1990. As a student-athlete, I was able to work my school timetable around my training schedule and therefore balance both. But as I transitioned from being a student into an adult, that involved finding work and holding down a job.

Being a professional athlete should have meant that sports was my one and only job. Yet, back then, no company was willing to pay me merely to swim.

I was fortunate to find a sponsor who was willing to sponsor me in cash (it was as rare as striking lottery), and that enabled me, together with a scholarship from the Singapore Sports Council (now known as Sport Singapore) to further my sporting career beyond student life. It enabled me to survive. But it was far from thriving.

The same question that I asked myself some 20 odd years ago remains: Is a professional sporting career viable in Singapore?

Let’s take a closer look.

Currently, the only professional league in Singapore is for football. Both local and international professional football players play in our league, with international players commanding much higher salaries.

Their salaries reportedly range from less than S$15,000 per annum for those just starting their careers to upwards of S$1 million for international players, according to local media reports.

While the higher end offers a comfortable life, these salaries are typically reserved for a few international players. This is for the men’s league. The Women’s Premier League, the highest level of competition in Singapore for women's