Singapore: Football Association of Singapore's (FAs) chiefs have pulled out of next year's Asian Champions League (ACL) rather than be forced to boot foreign teams out of their S.League.

The city-state's soccer governing body withdrew its application for direct participation and FAS chief Zainudin Nordin explained in a letter to Asian Football Confederation (AFC) President Mohammad Bin Hammam that Singapore would next compete at an "opportune time under the right circumstances in the near future".

Nordin said it would be difficult for FAS to meet one of the revamped ACL's criteria that the top league of any national association shouldn't have foreign teams.

"We concluded that due to our current lack of critical mass in key areas such as talent pool and resources, there is still a pressing need for us to continue having foreign teams participating in our league, to help address these gaps in our game…," the FAS President wrote.