Ben Davis scored his first goal for Thailand’s national team on May 9th, 2022 at the SEA Games in Vietnam. Interestingly, his strike from the penalty spot helped Thailand take a one-goal lead over Singapore - the nation he used to represent at the U16 and U19 level before choosing to join the War Elephants.
Now playing for Port FC in the Thai League 2022/23 season, it is worth reflecting on the crucial turning point which saw him choose Thailand instead of Singapore.
Follow along with Main Stand as we dive into the backstory of Benjamin James Davis.
Singapore’s hope
Ben Davis was the hope of Singaporean football since he was 15. Massive football media agencies such as Goal Singapore, Fox Sports or Four Four Two often ran articles about the young boy, usually promoting him as the future of the Singaporean national team.
At 17, Davis was scouted by English Premier League side Fulham FC and joined the West London side’s academy. After representing the Cottagers in the U18 and U23 Premier Leagues, he made his senior debut in August 2019, coming off the bench for a League Cup match against Southampton, with much adulation from the Singaporean media.
By this point, Davis had represented Singapore at both the U16 and U19 levels but was yet to make his debut for the senior team. Many in the Singaporean press believed was still ‘testing the waters,’ and that it was unfortunate that he didn’t make the FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Yemen and Palestine.
However, Singaporean fans were left shocked and disappointed when they found that their rising star was called to Thailand’s U23 squad for the 2019 SEA Games. Why did the talented youngster choose the War Elephants over the Merlions?
From Singapore to England
Ben Davis was born in Phuket, Thailand to a Thai mother and English father. He moved to Singapore in 2005, aged 5, and eventually became a citizen in 2009. This made him potentially eligible to represent England, Singapore and Thailand internationally.
His family originally moved to Singapore because his father opened a football school named JSSL Singapore, which partnered with Fulham from the United Kingdom and Tampines Rovers in the Singapore Premier League. In 2016, Davis received a Fulham scholarship to study and practice with the team for two years.
Davis was already set on fulfilling his dream and becoming a professional footballer. He was highly dedicated to his goal and joined Singapore Sports School alongside the country’s top rising athletes.
“When I was in Singapore training at JSSL and Sports School, I knew I had to work my hardest at each training session to push myself beyond my limits,” Davis reflected in an interview with Goal Singapore in 2019. “Additionally, when I was studying last year, I was traveling up to three hours a day to get to and from training while sitting for my exams.”
“However it’s safe to say that I excelled academically and that mattered greatly as having a solid education is vital.”
Not long after he started high school, he got an invitation to join Fulham’s academy in London. He rose through the U18 and U23 teams and officially signed as a professional player in 2018 when he was only 17 years old.
“With the scholarship and now my professional contract, I am based ten minutes from the training ground so this helps, but still being away from friends and family is still my biggest challenge,” he said.
After Davis signed his professional contract, Singaporean media became hugely invested in his story. Search data from Google shows he gained far more attention than many other footballers in lower-to-middle Premier League teams.
Singaporean football hadn’t seen a player earn their stripes in Europe since national team legend Fandi Ahmad played for Groningen FC in the Dutch League in 1983. Having a Singaporean star in the world's most watched league greatly boosted the nation's footballing prospects.
A two-way love affair
However, this euphoria wasn’t just the fans’ projections. Throughout his rise, Davis has always been giving interviews as a representative of Singaporean football. When he talked about his future, it was usually about him representing the senior team or the nation as a whole. He left little doubt that he wanted to represent the Merlions.
“Getting a Fulham Scholarship over a year ago was a great feeling, but now getting a professional contract is just an amazing feeling,” he said. “I hope this will encourage more Singaporeans to play and train hard and give them the belief that someone from Singapore can make it into a Premier League academy and become a professional footballer.”
When he was playing with Fulham’s U23 side, Davis was called up to play for Singapore’s national team for Asian Cup qualifiers against the Maldives and Taiwan in March 2018. However, he didn’t end up seeing the pitch and wasn’t yet tied to Singaporean allegiance.
“When I was called up earlier last year, I was excited at the chance to represent the national team and wear Singapore’s colors. I feel that I can really contribute to the Singapore team and help them become the Asian powerhouse we used to be.” Davis reassured about his determination.
Up to this point, it seemed like nothing could go wrong and Ben Davis was ready to play for the national team very soon. However, an inevitable regulation in his homeland was about to make things very difficult.
The war he could never win
Shortly after Davis celebrated his 18th birthday, he was called for national service, an obligation for all Singaporean citizens. However, it came at too important an age in his football career, at a time when stars need to prove themselves to make it to the top.
Davis is no different from many children across the globe. His dream was nearly in reach and he was giving his best to grasp it. Taking two years away from his budding career could prove fatal.
“A man who holds Singaporean citizenship must enlist for National Service when they are 18 years old even though they live overseas, and cannot renounce their nationality until they are 21. They must serve for two years after they are enlisted and will be imprisoned for three years if they resist.”
This is how the Royal Thai Embassy of Singapore explained Davis’ situation and the cruel reality he had to face.
Davis’ first move was to try for a deferment. However, Singapore's Ministry of Defense rejected his request, deeming it unfair to others who have completed their national service dutifully as required. Furthermore, they added that Davis could not pin down the date when he would return for national service.
Many in the Singaporean public sided with Davis’ deferment request, arguing that he was on the way to achieving fame for the country. However, the Ministry of Defense stood firm and insisted he needed to fulfill his national service requirements.
Unable to find a compromise, things reached a breaking point. Davis was left with only one avenue left to him if he wanted to pursue his dream.
He went on to renounce his Singaporean nationality.
“Mr. Davis has committed offenses under the Enlistment Act and is liable upon conviction to a fine of up to $10,000 and/or imprisonment of up to three years,” said the statement referred by The Straits Times.
No longer a Singaporean citizen, Davis’ dream of representing the Merlions was dead in the water.
With no other options left available, he opted to represent Thailand, which had already shown a keen interest in him. He joined the squad for the AFC U23 Championships in 2020, hosted by Thailand, and made his debut in a 1-1 draw against Iraq.
Since that day, Davis has been welcomed with open arms by the War Elephants, much to their ASEAN rivals' chagrin. While he is yet to make an appearance for the senior team, he has risen in stature with the U23s and was a star of their most recent Asian Championships campaign in Uzbekistan.
Now on the books of Oxford United in EFL League One, Davis recently signed for Thai club Port FC on a season-long loan deal and will hope to be one of the division’s standout performers. Thai fans will finally get to see the energetic midfielder up close in his first full season playing senior football.
After having a turbulent, headline-grabbing ascent into the professional game, Ben may finally be able to put that all behind him and let his football do the talking.
