Lion City Sailors (LCS) Football Academy became the first in Singapore to be given a one-star rating by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) yesterday, an affirmation of their comprehensive youth development programme.

The ranking, which is part of the Asian body's elite youth scheme, has a top grade of three stars. It comes as a boost to the youth set-up of the first privatised Singapore Premier League club, who had announced multi-million dollar development plans in recent months.