Fan's Rice Bowl
Eighteen year-old late-blooming defender Fan Hongkai proved that hard work pays off in the end, as he won a contract with Lithuanian Fifth Division club FC "Labas Aš Krabas", and let Grilled pocket S$150000 in the process.
Not only that, he attracted bids from eight other outfits, namely: local fourth division side N.R.C United, Barra Sunset (Brazil Division Seven), CoeMa (Italian Division Eight), fc king_re (Italian Division Ten), DINAMO__GEORGE (Romanian Division Seven), FC BARTINAMASRA (Turkish Division Seven), Nebulisti (Slovenian Division Six) and Győr 99ers (Hungarian Division Seven).
All this attention overwhelmed Fan, whose footballing ambitions were left in tatters after he was turned down for a youth academy place twice, first by jas16 of Sentosa club kampong, and then by Batok Tremors, affiliated with the Batok Earthquakes.
"I was ready to switch to basketball by then, but football remained my first love, and I went for one last trial with the Chicken Wings." the newly-minted professional recalled. "It all turned out for the best in the end."
