The Singapore Olympic Foundation - Peter Lim Scholarship programme to help young athletes turns 10 years old in 2020, having provided 2,930 scholarships with a total value of over 5 million euros thus far. The donations have been provided by Mr. Lim, majority shareholder of Valencia CF, and owing to the success of the programme the figure has been increased by a further 6,5 million euros for the period between 2021 and 2030.

In the present edition, a total of 289 athletes from 194 schools are benefitting from the scheme, the majority of the sportsmen and sportswomen coming from difficult economic backgrounds. They compete in 32 different disciplines, including first time beneficiaries from road cycling, ice bockey, jiujitsu, softball and waterpolo. Some 53 of the athletes are aspiring to participate in the Under-18s High Performance category.

With the money provided by the scholarship, the young talents can cover the costs of competing, purchase sports equipment and pay for schooling costs. One such example is that of 16-year-old Putri Nur Syaliza Binte Sazali, who became the youngest player to feature for the Singapore national football team. His mother, a bus driver, was the sole provider for a family of six.

“The scholarship has helped me a lot these past years. It was very difficult for me when I needed money for sports kit," says the athlete.

“Pursuing sports excellence is life changing – it gives inspiration and hope,” says Singapore Olympic Foundation chairman Ng Ser Miang, who also occupies a position on the board at Valencia CF and is president of the VCF Foundation.

“Over the past 10 years, Mr Lim's continued generosity has allowed many young Singapore athletes to pursue and excel in their sporting dreams. It stemmed from his simple wish that no young athlete be held back, or have unrealised potential because of financial difficulties.”

This initiative has been highly praised, and has had a big impact on sport in Singapore, as Toh Boon Yi, Head of the Singapore Sport Institute, explains:

“The SOF-Peter Lim Scholarship has helped young deserving sports talents fulfil their sporting aspirations by defraying the cost of their sporting pursuits. It also supports high-performing athletes to pursue sporting excellence in their chosen sports."

“Sport Singapore and the Singapore Sport Institute (SSI) look forward to continue to partner with SOF-Peter Lim Scholarship to build a strong athlete pipeline and support mechanisms within an athlete centric environment that allows each athlete to fulfil their sporting aspirations, inspiring the Singapore Spirit and uniting the Nation.

“We envisage that the SOF-Peter Lim scholarship can continue to play a game- changing role as an integral part of our national High Performance System.”

The initiative is the latest example of the constant philanthropic endeavours of Peter Lim, which have included recent activities to help in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Mr. Lim donated FFP2 masks and thermometers to Valencian hospitals, as well as lending the free use of two co-owned hotels in Manchester to the NHS and donating 600,000 eutos in food to those working in hospitals in his home country.