President Tharman, Gan Kim Yong and Janil Puthucheary spotted at World Cup final screenings
Singaporean political leaders, including President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, participated in community screenings of the World Cup final to foster national unity. The leaders praised the tournament's spirit and the performance of the winning Spanish team.
Why it matters
This highlights how major sporting events are utilized by political figures to engage with the public and promote community cohesion.
Several Singapore politicians were spotted at community live screenings of the World Cup final early on Monday (July 20) morning.
Spain secured the title for a second time in a 1-0 victory over Argentina – which President Tharman Shanmugaratnam described as "beautiful end" to the tournament.
President Tharman, who watched the final match live at Taman Jurong Community Club, praised Spain for their performance in a Facebook post on Monday.
"They deserved the World Cup: Undefeated in all their matches, and utterly dominating the finals against Argentina," he wrote.
Tharman also shouted out the tiny island nation of Cabo Verde for being the dark horses of the World Cup, acknowledging that they were the only team to hold the champions to a draw this tournament.
"They both showed the world why football is called the beautiful game," he concluded, attaching a photo of Spanish player Ferran Tores celebrating his goal.
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