Singaporean athletes who win multiple gold medals at major Games will receive higher payouts under revisions to the Major Games Award Programme (MAP), the Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) annouced on 21 Jan.
Under the revised MAP, athletes who win a second or third individual gold medal at the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games will each receive S$10,000, doubling the previous S$5,000 payout.
Similar increases apply to other major competitions, with second gold medals at the Commonwealth Games rising from S$20,000 to S$40,000, and at the Asian Games from S$100,000 to S$200,000.
Source: SNOC
Team events and team sports have also seen higher payouts.
While individual Olympic gold medallists continue to receive S$1 million, team sport gold medallists at the Olympic Games will now earn S$3 million, up from S$2 million previously.
For the Asian Games, team sport gold payouts have been standardised at S$600,000, while team event gold medals are now worth S$300,000.
MAP payouts are awarded directly to athletes, are taxable, and require recipients to contribute 20% of the award amount, as stipulated under programme guidelines.
However, the revisions retain a key point of contention: silver and bronze medallists at the SEA Games continue to receive no cash incentives regardless of event type, a decision that has drawn criticism online and within the sporting community.
Two-time SEA Games gold medallist Soh Rui Yong told MS News that “online reception has been pretty clear” on the issue.
“It seems to be a case of continuing to reward those who are already there and made it as a winner rather than investing in developing athletes with the potential to win gold,” he said. “I invite them to correct me if this is inaccurate.”
In a Facebook post in December 2025, Soh also highlighted disparities in SEA Games incentives across the region after adjusting for cost of living (COL).
“Singapore is by far the most expensive city and country to live in in Southeast Asia. Despite that, we are far off the top when it comes to incentives for winning gold,” he wrote.
By comparison, Soh said a gold medal payout in Indonesia could sustain an athlete for up to three years based on local living costs, while a Singaporean gold medallist’s incentive might last only three months if they’re frugal.
“By the time you adjust for COL, I’m pretty sure Singapore is near bottom of the pack if not dead last,” he told MS News.
“And let’s not forget that while a country like Vietnam might not provide a very high face value for medal incentives, the state funds their national teams. For example, the entire Vietnam track and field team are full-time athletes.”
He compared this with Singapore’s team, which consists of “full-time students or workers apart from Shanti [Pereira]”.
Source: @vshantipereira on Instagram
“If you are lucky, you can be like Calvin [Quek] who has a very flexible job that allows him to train full time pretty much, but this is extremely rare and an exception rather than the rule,” Soh added.
Addressing the view that athletes should compete purely for national pride, Soh was critical.
“Some people have this entitled view that just because an athlete has discovered his talent and worked hard to improve to the point of being good enough to represent the country, he is then obligated to fight and bring pride to the country expecting nothing in return, and that he should front the cost of his training, accommodation, food, coaching, raising his family etc. all by himself while fighting for his country.”
Source: @runsohfast on Instagram
“Anyone who argues this point should immediately work for free starting from now. Take pride in your work. Incentives should be a bonus. Right?” he added.
Soh concluded: “Ultimately we cannot expect everyone playing sports to be fully funded, but right now, I think it’s safe to say that as the country with the highest GDP per capita in SEA, our support system for our athletes representing the country is disproportionately low compared to our ‘poorer’ neighbours.”
Netizens also weighed in on the revised MAP, with many expressing dissatisfaction over the continued lack of payouts for SEA Games silver and bronze medallists.
Some felt the changes failed to address public concerns, arguing that athletes who podium, even without gold, deserve greater recognition and respect.
Source: Facebook
Source: Facebook
Others suggested introducing modest incentives for non-gold medallists as a form of encouragement, while a few questioned why cash rewards are capped by the number of gold medals an athlete can win.
Source: Facebook
Source: Facebook
For context, MAP payouts are capped at the third gold medal for the SEA Games, the second gold medal for the Commonwealth and Asian Games, and the first gold medal at the Olympic Games.
However, another SEA Games medallist, who spoke to MS News on condition of anonymity, offered a contrasting view.
The athlete described the SEA Games as a “low-level competition which focuses on building bonds and ties with neighbouring nations”, adding that “athletes are supposed to win medals”.
Source: SEA GAMES Thailand 2025 on Facebook, for illustration purposes only
“As the competition pool is not big, it will seem senseless to reward athletes based on every medal they bring back,” the athlete said, citing scenarios where small fields guarantee medals for all participants.
If you expect to be rewarded with cash just because you win a medal at the Games, you better win the gold medal. If not, this path is not for you.
They added: “Success is never guaranteed in sport, and if an individual is unable to accept this fact, they should not pursue this path. We should stop being entitled and expect to be rewarded, when we were the ones who clearly chose this path with no guarantees.”
The athlete added that one possible alternative could be rewarding those who achieve national records or historical wins, though they noted this would be “a grey area” with no clear policy framework to determine how such achievements should be measured.
Sengkang Member of Parliament (MP) Louis Chua had previously raised questions in Parliament about the MAP and the lack of incentives for SEA Games silver and bronze medallists.
In a written reply on 12 Jan, Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth David Neo said the Government “directly invests in the development of our athletes” through multiple forms of support that are not conditional on winning medals.
Source: David Neo on Facebook
Mr Neo said the Government supports athletes through SportSG’s Sport Excellence (SPEX) initiatives, which provide funding, support services, and monthly stipends to help offset training costs and loss of income.
On the MAP, he clarified that it is a private scheme managed by SNOC and funded by sponsors, with payouts structured according to the level of competition and frequency of the Games.
He also encouraged more corporates to support athletes through the MAP and other recognition platforms.
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Featured image adapted from Active SG.