Every child with an interest in football should have a chance to pursue it, regardless of background.
Holding strong to this belief, together with his talents and skills in soccer, fuels Al-Qaasimy Rahman in his hopes and aspirations to set up a football academy for underprivileged children, when he retires from professional football.
“To help the less fortunate and those with low income is something close to my heart.”
“Football should be a sport for everyone, and I hope more individuals who are interested in venturing into it will do so, regardless of their capability,” he said.
For that reason, he is also working towards the goal of gathering professional football talents for football coaching.
Despite being far from the ‘retirement threshold’, the 25-year-old professional footballer has already considered some plans after leaving the field.
Recently, he has completed his Bachelor’s Degree in Human Resource Management from Murdoch University, held at Kaplan Singapore, and intends to continue building capacity in this field besides football.
“Prior to this, I had the desire to go abroad to further my studies, but I did not want to compromise my football career so I decided to stay in Singapore and study instead,” he said.
Al-Qaasimy admitted that he was relieved to receive his Degree earlier this month, because for three years he had to balance between his studies at Kaplan and football training at the same time.
“I sacrificed a lot of time with family and friends, as well as my own leisure time, because I had to find time to review my lessons, do school assignments and also my school projects.” he said.
He was worried initially about not being able to pass his exams as he did not have enough time for his studies due to football training conducted abroad.
“I had to train abroad and only just returned to Singapore a day before an important exam.”
“It was a big worry then, but I had to try to balance the time between football training,” he said.
Qaasimy, who is playing in the defensive position of Geylang International Football Club, said that his focus now is still given to playing football.
“At the same time, I will continue to look out for any opportunities that will help me grow and develop in other fields or organisations,” he said.
Other than having plans setting up a football academy, he also expressed interest in pursuing his career alternatively in the Singapore Police Force (SPF), where he had served while undergoing National Service (NS).
Despite having plans after retiring from professional football, Al-Qaasimy said he wants to remain playing till at least 35 years old.
Asked whether he would be building a family in the near future, Al-Qaasimy said:
“Of course I do dream of building a family, but now I want to establish myself, and achieve what I want to achieve first.”
Article by Siti Aisyah Nordin
Source: Berita Minggu© Singapore Press Holdings Limited. Permission required for reproduction.