GLOBAL football star, Cristiano Ronaldo was greeted by a rousing crowd of more than a thousand youths chanting “SIUU” as he stepped into Victoria Junior College recently.
The three-time FIFA Men’s Player of the Year was in Singapore to support a series of Peter Lim Scholarships with the Singapore Olympic Foundation, a cause he has championed for over a decade.
The scholarship is aimed at helping young deserving sports talents pursue their sporting dreams without being hampered by financial constraints.
In 2010, philanthropist and businessman Peter Lim donated Singapore $10 million to SOF to start the SOF-Peter Lim Scholarship—the single largest donation solely funded by an individual in Singapore towards sports development.
A further Singapore $10 million was committed to the fund in 2019 to extend the Scholarship till 2030.
Ronaldo’s relationship with Singapore and the scholarship began over 10 years ago thanks to his friendship with long-time confidante Lim. He has returned regularly to Singapore since then.
The Portuguese forward shared his #BeSIUPER message to youths. Born from his famous “SIUU” celebration, #BeSIUPER is Ronaldo’s encouragement to youths to pursue their passions, bring a winning mindset to advance their goals and be willing to learn in order to keep improving.
He capped off his stage segment with another one of his photo opportunities that have become signature of his Singapore visits: surrounded by over 1000 youths – and this time all cheering “SIUU” in the background to spread his #BeSIUPER message.
The sporting superstar then tried his hand at Padel ball with some youths and guests at the event to reinforce his message of being willing to learn – regardless of what level you begin at.
A relatively nascent sport in Singapore, Padel ball was the perfect game to reflect Cristiano Ronaldo’s message because players start at a more level playing field.
The Padel ball phenomenon has been picking up momentum, with many international sports stars like Ronaldo taking interest in the game, and Mint Media Sports is leading the charge to develop the game in Asia.
It is the fastest growing sport in the world, highly social and suitable for all age groups.
Ronaldo’s support of the SOF – Peter Lim Scholarship was held against the backdrop of the Fun Fest event at the Marine Parade Cluster.
The SOF – Peter Lim Scholarship was established on 29 June 2010. Previous beneficiaries of the SOF-Peter Lim Scholarship include Joseph Schooling (swimming), Shayna Ng (bowling), Martina Lindsay Veloso (shooting), Veronica Shanti Pereira (athletics) and Adam Swandi (football).
Olympians and international sport stars who have attended the ceremonies as special guests were Peter Kenyon, former chief executive of Manchester United Football Club and Chelsea Football Club (2011); Mark Foster, former swimming Olympian and world champion (2012); Danka Barteková, Olympian shooting bronze medallist (2013); Logan Tom, Olympic volleyball medalist and Valencia Football Club footballers (2016); Abhinav Bindra (2017); Mr Koji Murofushi and Schooling (2018).
From 2011 to 2022, 4402 scholarships amounting to Singapore $9.2 million were awarded to student-athletes in 54 sports.
