How Soccer Taught Me Leadership Skills

The craze for it began when I was 10 years old. Everyone started playing football under the void deck and the best part of it was that the players were of all kinds of nationalities. The Chinese were known to set the tactics, Malays were the ones who pass the ball and the Indians were the ones who “play solo” - which meant that they dribbled the ball all the way to the goal line without passing - and that was me.

My biggest football influence is Cristiano Ronaldo. He is a great football player and not only my role model, but also my inspiration and motivation to never give up & never stop trying. Whenever I step onto the pitch or visit the gym I always remind myself a quote of his - “Your love makes me strong, but your hate makes me unstoppable” - Cristiano Ronaldo. The first ever game I played was when I was 10 and I was still a rookie at it. I remember scoring a goal and it was a proud moment for me - that’s when it all started.

This is how Cristiano Ronaldo stands before taking a freekick.

Source: Divanka Peiris

Football is much more than just a sport people play. It is a team sport, it is tough, it demands discipline, it builds character and it’s a metaphor. There were times that I felt like giving up and it challenged me both physically and mentally. But what never made me give up were the 10 men behind me who looked up to me as a captain, a leader and a role model. We learned to put others first and together we lift both ourselves & our teammates up.

The last game of the season, we won second place and it was a proud moment for me to have taken the team to greater heights, a drastic change after two years of being in the ‘loser’ pool. We scored 13 goals in 6 matches, and was the top scorer of the league.

During Awards Night in 2016 I won the ‘Sports Personality of the Year’ award presented & nominated by Fandi Ahmad (a famous football icon in Singapore). Including me there were 120 other football players who were hoping to win the award. Honestly, everyone deserved the award for their perseverance, hard work, commitment & attitude.

To this day, I live by this quote, “work hard in Silence, let your success be the screamer”

Cover Photo: Divanka Peiris