SINGAPORE: Cardiff City footballer Perry Ng has been granted Singapore permanent residency (PR), putting him one step closer to being eligible to play for the country.

"Hello Singapore, I’ve took my first steps to putting on the red jersey," said the Briton in an Instagram video story on Friday (Mar 21) as he held up his blue National Registration Identity Card (NRIC), with the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority building in the background.

"I’m a bit jetlagged, but I’m so excited and I’ll see you all soon."

Ng, 28, is in the process of applying for Singapore citizenship via the Foreign Sports Talent Scheme (FST), said Football Association of Singapore (FAS) general secretary Chew Chun-Liang last month. 

Under the scheme, Singapore has naturalised foreign athletes who were not born here or have ancestral links to the country.

If successful, Ng will become the first footballer to attain Singapore citizenship under the FST since China-born Qiu Li in 2010. 

Under FIFA rules, Ng is eligible to play for Singapore via his late paternal grandfather James who was born here, but later moved to Liverpool.

However, under Singapore citizenship rules, he can only qualify for a passport by descent if at least one parent was born in the country or is a citizen by registration.

The FAS is supporting Ng’s application vis FST, with Mr Chew saying in February that PR was the first step "before he gets his citizenship and can represent Singapore".

The association then added it would wait for the authorities' decision.

The defender inked a deal last year that will keep him at Cardiff City until 2026. He has been the EFL Championship club's player of the season for two years running, although the team is battling against relegation this term.

In September last year, he was invited by FAS to take part in a "familiarisation stint" with the Lions.

Mr Chew talked up Ng's links to Singapore in February, adding he was "quite well-connected” to the country, and that he expected him to be back in Singapore in March to train with the national team.

The Lions will take on Nepal in a friendly on Friday evening at the National Stadium, before playing Hong Kong four days later in their first Asian Cup 2027 qualifier.