Ben Davis (footballer)

Ben Davis
Personal information
Full name Benjamin James Davis
Date of birth (2000-11-24) 24 November 2000
Place of birth Phuket, Thailand
Height 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
Playing position Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Fulham
Youth career
2013–2015 Singapore Sports School
2017–2018 Fulham
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2018– Fulham 0 (0)
National team
2017–2018 Singapore U19 1 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 10 March 2018

Benjamin James Davis (born November 24, 2000) is a Singaporean footballer who plays as a midfielder for English club Fulham Under-18s, and formerly played for the Singapore U19 team.[1][2]

Ben has not been called up for National Team duties since April 2018.

Professional career

Davis started his professional career training at JSSL Singapore, a youth soccer academy owned by his father based in Singapore that has partnerships with Fulham FC and Singapore Premier League side Tampines Rovers FC. He later joined the Football Association of Singapore's (FAS) Junior Centre of Excellence, and went on to represent various national age-group teams[3].

In 2017, Davis earned a two-year academy scholarship with Fulham FC Academy after impressing in trials [4]. Davis made 10 appearances for the club's Under-18 South League team, scoring a header against West Ham's Under-18 side and recording a passing accuracy of 90 percent[5].

In 2018, Fulham FC announced that Davis, alongside other academy players, were offered professional contracts, where they would now earn a weekly wage as well as continue to play for the club's Under-18 and Under-23 side[6]. He signed his first professional Fulham contract in June 2017 [7], and is listed on the club's website as an English national.

International career

During his training stint with JSSL Singapore and FAS Junior Centre of Excellence, Davis represented various national age-group teams, such as the National Football Academy's Under-16 team at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Under-16 Championship qualifiers in 2015 [8]. In 2017, Davis earned a call-up to Singapore's Under-18 side to play in the AFC Under-19 Championship qualifiers[9].

In 2018, Davis received a surprise call-up to the Singapore national team for the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers [10], however he did not play in any of the matches[11].

International eligibility

Davis currently holds three citizenships from the UK, Thailand and Singapore[12]. According to FIFA rules, he is eligible to play for the Singaporean national team through citizenship, the Thailand national team by birthplace and heritage through his mother, and the England national team by heritage through his father.

Personal life

Davis was born in Phuket, Thailand in 2000, and moved to Singapore at the age of five. He became a Singapore citizen in 2009[13]. Davis studied at the Singapore Sports School from 2013 to 2015 before moving to London's Harrow High School in 2016 [14].

Davis is the second-youngest of four children. His mother, Sopee Davis, is a Thai national, while his father, Harvey Davis, is English[15]. Notably, his father is the Managing Director of JSSL Singapore[16].

National Service deferment

Davis turns 18 years-old in 2018, and is thus due for National Service in 2018. Davis' application for deferment was rejected by the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) on 11 June 2018, however Davis proceeded to sign a professional contract with Fulham FC on 29 June 2018[17]. They are currently appealing MINDEF's decision to reject Davis' deferment application.

In an explanation for its rejection of Davis' deferment application, MINDEF clarified that Davis "does not meet the criteria for long-term deferment from full-time NS" due to it being a "personal pursuit" to further advance his professional career, and that it was "unfair to other pre-enlistees who put their personal pursuits on hold to serve NS dutifully" [18][19]. In a later statement, MINDEF further elaborated that the deferment rejection was also based on grounds that Davis' father "would not commit to a date" on when his son would return to Singapore to serve NS, coupled with subsequent remarks to the media that he would encourage his son to renounce his Singapore citizenship in order to pursue his career[20].

In response to MINDEF's statement, Davis' father clarified that the family were unable to commit to a date for Davis to enlist as there was a possibility that he could be offered a new two-year contract in 2019, loaned to, or sold to another club. In addition, Davis' father highlighted that he agreed that his son should serve national service, but could not commit to a date as the family "would like to give him the best opportunity to play at the highest possible professional level in the UK and Europe" [21]. This was in contradiction to MINDEF's deferment policy, which only allows for a defined period of deferment, after which sportsmen must return to fulfill their national service duties.

References

  1. ↑ "Singapore teen Ben Davis chasing EPL dream hopeful of NS deferment". FourFourTwo. 2017-08-08. Retrieved 2018-04-16.
  2. ↑ "Ben's Biography".
  3. ↑ "Singapore teen Ben Davis signs pro contract with Fulham". The New Paper. 2018-07-13. Retrieved 2018-08-01.
  4. ↑ Dasey, Jason (November 1, 2017). "Fulham teenager Ben Davis cleared to play for Singapore U18 team". ESPN. Retrieved April 13, 2018.
  5. ↑ "Singapore teen Ben Davis signs pro contract with Fulham". The New Paper. 2018-07-13. Retrieved 2018-08-01.
  6. ↑ hermesauto (2018-07-13). "Football: Singaporean Ben Davis, 17, signs professional contract with EPL club Fulham". The Straits Times. Retrieved 2018-08-01.
  7. ↑ "Ben settling in well at Fulham's academy". Straits Times. 2017-08-08. Retrieved 2018-03-13.
  8. ↑ hermes (2017-08-08). "Singapore youth footballer Ben Davis settling well at Fulham FC's academy". The Straits Times. Retrieved 2018-08-01.
  9. ↑ hermes (2017-11-01). "Football: Fulham trainee Ben, 16, impresses Singapore Under-18 coach". The Straits Times. Retrieved 2018-08-01.
  10. ↑ "Fulham youngster Ben Davis and Baihakki Khaizan in Singapore squad - FOX Sports Asia". FOX Sports Asia. 2018-03-13. Retrieved 2018-08-01.
  11. ↑ Luis, Ernest (2018-07-18). "Everything you need to know about Fulham's Ben Davis – the first Singaporean footballer signed by an English Premier League club". Business Insider Singapore. Retrieved 2018-08-01.
  12. ↑ Ungku, Fathin. "First Singaporean Premier League player may appeal military service". U.K. Retrieved 2018-08-01.
  13. ↑ Luis, Ernest (2018-07-18). "Everything you need to know about Fulham's Ben Davis – the first Singaporean footballer signed by an English Premier League club". Business Insider Singapore. Retrieved 2018-08-01.
  14. ↑ "Football: Fulham trainee Ben, 16, impresses Singapore Under-18 coach".
  15. ↑ Luis, Ernest (2018-07-18). "Everything you need to know about Fulham's Ben Davis – the first Singaporean footballer signed by an English Premier League club". Business Insider Singapore. Retrieved 2018-08-01.
  16. ↑ "S'pore youth footballer signs two-year deal with English club Fulham". TODAYonline. Retrieved 2018-08-01.
  17. ↑ hermesauto (2018-07-18). "Mindef says Ben Davis' family had no intention of him serving NS but boy's father disputes this". The Straits Times. Retrieved 2018-08-01.
  18. ↑ "MINDEF rejects Fulham signee Ben Davis' application for NS deferment". Channel NewsAsia. Retrieved 2018-08-01.
  19. ↑ "Ben Davis' Fulham contract no different from other pre-enlistees' personal pursuits: MINDEF". Channel NewsAsia. Retrieved 2018-08-01.
  20. ↑ hermesauto (2018-07-18). "Mindef says Ben Davis' family had no intention of him serving NS but boy's father disputes this". The Straits Times. Retrieved 2018-08-01.
  21. ↑ hermesauto (2018-07-18). "Mindef says Ben Davis' family had no intention of him serving NS but boy's father disputes this". The Straits Times. Retrieved 2018-08-01.
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