From the sidelines: insights from Singapore and Malaysia Sports Leaders Delegation

The delegation meeting with the CEO of the National Sports Institute Malaysia, Dr. Vellapandian Ponnusamy

The plane banked right, turning into its final descent into Changi. From the centre aisle, I caught my first glimpse of Singapore.

The Singapore Strait, which separates Singapore from the islands of Indonesia, looked like a car park—cargo ships from around the world scattered as far as the eye could see. It was a stark reminder of the interconnectedness of the region. This notion of interconnectedness would surface time and again over the next ten days.

We started our 10-day delegation in Singapore by meeting with a sport consultancy firm, a sport and event PR agency and government agency, Sport Singapore.

Our day with Sport Singapore was one of the standouts of our time there. In a nation where land is scarce, sport too must adapt to spatial constraints.

Touring the National Sports Institute provided insights into national sports science, medicine and technology in Malaysia

We saw firsthand how they’re rising to the challenge—through bold policy choices and smart facility design that make every square metre work harder. Highlights included:

• The Dual Use Scheme, where Sport Singapore manages public access to sports facilities at more than 200 schools outside of school hours, making better use of existing spaces without the need for new infrastructure.

• Sport Singapore works with government partners like the Singapore Land Authority and JTC Corporation to run joint tenders, activating state-owned land for sport and fitness use.

• Activation and innovation in temporary spaces, such as car parking.

• The Kallang Alive Sports Precinct Master Plan outlines the next phase of development in Singapore’s central sport precinct, with bold ideas for stacked facilities and a new home for Team Singapore and the Singapore Sports School.

During a visit to Singapore City Gallery, I learned about the Urban Redevelopment Authority's work in planning and shaping the built form of Singapore. I learned about Singapore’s Landscape Replacement Areas legislation, which requires greenery lost to development to be replaced, with public-facing vertical greenery encouraged.

Despite having the third highest population density of any country in the world, Singapore has a wealth of sports grounds and facilities

Incubating innovation: Singapore’s sport-tech ambitions

Singapore’s approach to innovation extends well beyond physical infrastructure. A standout theme was its commitment to cultivating a dynamic and globally connected sport-tech ecosystem.

Sport Singapore spoke candidly about its ambition to become the “Silicon Valley of Sports Technology.”

The agency plays a central role in driving this vision—supporting and incubating innovation, attracting international talent, and collaborating with organisations like the Global Sports Innovation Centre to build and connect the ecosystem.

From squash courts to screens: Malaysia’s sport ecosystem

Visiting the sights of Kuala Lumpur

After four days in Singapore, we travelled to Kuala Lumpur, where we engaged with a wide range of organisations across the Malaysian sport ecosystem.

These included the Nicol David Organisation—a sport-for-development charity founded by the world squash champion herself—along with government-led high-performance agencies. We also visited eSports Integrated, a government-run facility dedicated to the rapidly growing eSports sector.

Many of the challenges raised by these organisations echoed familiar themes from the New Zealand context: advocating for the value of sport—particularly to parents; partnering with the education system to improve participation and physical activity outcomes; and shaping the right policy and investment settings to strengthen high-performance outcomes and pathways.

Hamish: "For me, [Malaysia's eSport integrated facility] was a strong signal that the Malaysian government is meeting young people where they are."

I was particularly impressed by the government-run eSports integrated facility. The visit sparked a good debate among our delegation about the role of eSports within the broader sport sector back home. For me, it was a strong signal that the Malaysian government is meeting young people where they are—investing in the spaces that matter to them.

Global perspectives: performance, power and diplomacy

In our conversations with sport leaders in Singapore and Malaysia, one theme stood out: success is often framed in comparison to regional and global peers—not just in terms of on-field performance, but in how systems, innovation, and infrastructure stack up.

Singapore, for example, spoke openly about its ambitions to be a global leader in sport technology and a regional hub for sport tourism. The work that Saudi Arabia were doing in sport (and the investment they were committing) often came up in conversation, too.

This outward-looking lens was novel. Compared to New Zealand, where sport work is often assessed in a domestic context (other than high performance sport), these countries seemed more focused on benchmarking themselves against international standards.

This global orientation also extended beyond sport performance and into geopolitics. Several moments on the trip underscored sport’s emerging role in diplomacy and regional cooperation. With the delegation taking place just after the US tariff announcements and amid broader shifts in global order, the timing gave these conversations even more weight.

Sport as a platform for shared values, cultural exchange, and soft power was a key theme in our visits to both the New Zealand High Commission in Singapore and in Malaysia.

Portas Consulting works with an initiative that "uses sport not just for development, but as a tool of diplomacy."

Sports consultancy firm Portas Consulting illustrated this dynamic through their work on the ASEAN Football 4SDGs programme, Goals beyond Goals, funded by the Japan-ASEAN Integration Fund (JAIF). That initiative uses sport not just for development, but as a tool of diplomacy—supporting Japan’s strategic relationships in the region.

Portas suggested that New Zealand could adopt a similar approach in the Pacific, using our strengths in coaching, athlete development, and high-performance sport as part of a broader diplomatic toolkit.

The demand for high-quality sport IP in both Singapore and Malaysia suggests that weaving sport into trade agreements—like the 2025 Memorandum of Cooperation with India—could be a promising path forward.

Throughout these conversations, the sense of interconnectedness was apparent.

Whether it was the influence of Saudi investment, ASEAN regionalism, or Japan’s soft power strategy, it became evident that sport is deeply woven into broader systems of power, policy, and international exchange.

Much like the network of cargo ships I glimpsed on our descent into Changi, the sport sector in Southeast Asia is part of a wider global web—where decisions in one place ripple across borders.

Whanaungatanga on the Road

Hamish: "Travelling alongside like-minded sport leaders created genuine space for connection, reflection, and shared learning."

One of the unexpected highlights of the trip was the cohort itself.

Travelling alongside like-minded sport leaders created genuine space for connection, reflection, and shared learning.

I’ll fondly remember the rhythm we found—stepping out of meetings, jumping into a Grab or MRT, and diving straight into debriefs filled with insight and laughter.

About the author

Hamish Rogers is an experienced sport management consultant with over 15 years in New Zealand’s sport sector. He’s held diverse roles across central and local government, NGOs, and academia, specialising in project management, facility planning, and sport development.

The Foundation's Sports Programme provides New Zealand sportspeople opportunities to grow more knowledgeable, connected and confident with Asia.