Leadership renewal at BG Tampines Rovers as chairman Desmond Ong steps aside

Outgoing BG Tampines Rovers chairman Desmond Ong hugging coach Gavin Lee during the medal presentation of the Singapore Cup final at Jalan Besar Stadium on May 31. ST PHOTO: ARIFFIN JAMAR

Deepanraj Ganesan

UPDATED Jun 01, 2025, 06:41 PM

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SINGAPORE – For the first time since 2017, BG Tampines Rovers will see a change in leadership, after lawyer Desmond Ong stepped down as chairman of the Singapore Premier League (SPL) side to make way for Japanese investment banker Shungo Sakamoto.

Ong, 56, told The Straits Times that Sakamoto, who has been the Stags’ vice-chairman since 2024 after joining the management committee in 2023, became the new chairman on June 1.

Ong will still be a member of the club’s management committee.

Desmond Ong (far left) has handed over the chairmanship of BG Tampines Rovers to Shungo Sakamoto ST PHOTO: DEEPANRAJ GANESAN

In an interview with ST shortly after the Stags lost 1-0 to the Lion City Sailors in the Singapore Cup final at Jalan Besar Stadium on May 31, Ong said leadership renewal has been in the works as he was at the helm for almost eight years.

Ong, a managing partner of law firm Solitaire LLP, said: “I’ve always wanted to step away as soon as we found the right person to take over. Over the years, there have been people who have indicated their interest in wanting to come in and take over, but this was the right time and we have (found) the right person.

“In his own way, he’s shown to be cerebral and passionate and he has supported local football for a number of years. So I’m very confident and comfortable that the club will be in very good hands under his stewardship.”

Ong also clarified that stepping down as Stags chairman was not due to his new role with the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) – in April, he became deputy president of the new FAS council for the 2025-29 term.

Sakamoto, 38, a Japanese citizen who immigrated to Singapore in 2019, is not the first foreigner to be a club chairman here. Current Albirex Niigata chairman Daisuke Korenaga is also Japanese.

Sakamoto is the executive director and founder of investment company Sakamoto Capital. Previously known as Black Clover, the firm has been a sponsor of both Albirex and the Stags for the 2023 and 2024-25 campaigns.

A social footballer, Sakamoto has spent the past few years helping to arrange casual football competitions among Japanese expats.

It was through these social matches that he was introduced to the Albirex hierarchy before befriending Tampines midfielder Kyoga Nakamura, who introduced him to the Stags’ management committee.

Sakamoto said he is eager to build on the club’s foundation, tap on the partnerships – such as the three-year collaboration with Thailand’s BG Pathum inked in 2023 – and bring about benefits with his own connections to Japanese football.

He is confident that the Stags will continue to push the Sailors and has set his sights on winning the SPL in the coming years. Their last league title was in 2013. In the latest campaign, Tampines were runners-up in the Singapore Cup and the SPL, where they finished eight points behind the Sailors.

“We want to beat the Sailors, to be the No. 1 team in Singapore, and I want more fans to support us and, hopefully in the future, our home stadium is always crowded,” said Sakamoto.

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Meanwhile, Ong admitted he had not expected to stay as club chairman for so long. He expressed happiness in helping to build a consistent pipeline of national players.

He highlighted the bold decision to offer long-term contracts to players as a way to improve job stability. He is proud of keeping the club competitive domestically and representing the nation in continental competitions despite financial limitations.

The Stags, whose last major trophy was the Singapore Cup in 2019, have finished in the top three of the SPL since the 2022 season.

Ong said when he replaced lawyer Krishna Ramachandra in 2017, the club were $3 million in debt. Together with his committee members, they worked hard to reduce it.

As a result of him putting his own money into the club, the bulk of the debt is owed to Ong, who is comfortable with the arrangement as it allows the club to operate without external financial pressure.

He also praised his coaching staff and management team for consistently punching above their weight.

He then delivered a farewell jab, saying: “Whenever anybody loses to us, they say ‘Tampines is so well resourced, they are a rich club’. I say to them show me your books and I’ll show you my books. We get the same subvention as everyone else.

“A lot of our players became national players on my watch. So to all the people out there who are tempted to say that we are a rich club who only sign national players, can you please come look for me, show the books and then we can compare.”

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