Ex-Singapore diplomat named head of staff at English Premier League side Burnley

SINGAPORE – As a child, former Singapore diplomat Sean Bai was a die-hard Manchester United fan. One of the lowest moments he remembers in the club’s illustrious history was on April 30, 2012, when Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany headed the winning goal against their local rivals.

It proved to be a pivotal moment as City won their first English Premier League title, at United’s expense. Now, 12 years later, Bai and Kompany will work together at Premier League side Burnley, where the latter has been coach since 2022.

Bai, 39, officially started as Burnley’s chief of staff on April 24, replacing Marc Boixasa, who left the club to take up a key role at Saudi Pro League leaders Al-Hilal.

Speaking to The Straits Times, Bai, who had been general manager of Singapore Premier League club Geylang International since October 2023, called his decision “obvious”.

He said: “I said yes almost immediately when they contacted me (in February) and told me their plans and in the following weeks I had virtual meetings with the president and finally with Kompany, who I spoke to for almost two hours.”

“The club wanted someone Kompany felt comfortable with… we talked about the philosophy of football at Burnley and how he could help him in his role as a coach. “It was very positive.”

The club spokesperson said in a statement: “We are delighted that someone with Sean’s global experience is coming to help us further improve our player development model and continue to expand our reach as a club.

“Sean brings with him a wealth of experience from one of the best leagues in the world (La Liga), which will be invaluable to our continued learning and evolution.”

Bai will serve as an important bridge between the club management, the parent company and the football structure and will also examine areas such as the recruitment of players and staff and the institutionalization of the “Burnley way of doing things”, from the first team to the end. youth academy.

Bai, who has a master’s degree in public policy from Peking University and is currently completing his Master of Business Administration at UBI Business School, was obsessed with soccer from a young age, although he played the sport only recreationally. He began his career in 2011 as a diplomat at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE) and was posted in Taipei from 2015 to 2018.

Looking for a new challenge after that, he contacted his old boss at the MFA, Anil Murthy, who at the time was president of La Liga side Valencia, and joined the team as director of the president’s office.

A year later, he took over as director of the academy. In May 2022, he took over as interim general manager when Murthy parted ways with the club after leaked audio recordings emerged of him criticizing its Singaporean owner Peter Lim.

Bai steadied the ship before leaving the club in September 2022 to return to Singapore.

“I learned a lot in Valencia. From the outside, people see football clubs as a big machine, but when you’re in that setup, you have to be sensitive in how you treat your players, your staff, your fans, and that really determines how successful you will be. as an organization,” Bai said.

While there were many skeptics when he took over at Valencia’s academy, he noted that the results now speak for themselves, especially with the number of players who have progressed to the senior team from the youth ranks in recent seasons. Among them are Jesús Vázquez, Fran Pérez, Diego López, Cristhian Mosquera and Javi Guerra.

Bai said: “When I first went, I had a lot of doubts. The common line would be: you are not a football fan, you are not a former professional player or you do not come from a place where there is a strong football pedigree. What can you bring to the table?

“But I think football can really look beyond what it has and bring different strengths, different abilities. Based on my experience, I was able to bring them.”