Former national futsal player and executive dies the day before Christmas

Former Australian national futsal player and prominent executive, Ben Singleton tragically died just a day before Christmas.

Former national representative for Australian futsal and successful executive, Ben Singleton is currently being mourned by friends and family after he tragically passed away on Christmas Eve last week.

Singleton, who was just 45, died suddenly leaving behind his wife Aki and their young daughters Evie and Joni. As a young man Singleton represented his country in futsal, a variation of soccer played on an indoor hardcourt.

Alongside his career as an international futsal player he was also a successful foreign exchange trader, holding positions at Commonwealth Bank and Bank of America, before moving to Hong Kong becoming an executive director at French investment bank Crédit Agricole CIB.

Singleton’s former coach from his time with the Futsalroos, Scott Gilligan shared the news over Facebook on Wednesday.

“It is with deep, deep sadness that I write this post on my profile page today. On Christmas Eve, one of my closer friends, Ben Singleton, aka Door in the Futsal world, passed away,” it read.

The former futsal star was remembered by friends and family as an “incredible human being” over social media. Picture: Facebook

He also reflected on some of Singleton’s contributions to Australian futsal over the years.

“Door was an integral member of the Mad Alison’s, which contested 3 National Men’s Club Futsal Championship Finals in a row from 2000-2002,” he wrote.

“In the 2001 Final, Door scored the most spectacular Futsal goal I have ever seen when he backheel volleyed the ball into the opponent’s far top corner.”

Singleton was also a successful forex trader and executive holding positions in major banks across the world.

Gilligan recounted Singleton’s performances as part of the Australian national futsal team.

“Door was also a key component of the Futsalroos squad I was lucky enough to coach, culminating in a 2004 FIFA Futsal World Cup, scoring a goal against Thailand at that event,” he wrote.

“Over the last 15 years we had crossed paths on a number of occasions whenever we could, always catching up on old times.”

“However, all good things come to an end, sometimes sooner than you anticipate, but the memories will last forever.”

Former Australian national futsal player, Ben Singleton 45, tragically died just one day before Christmas. Picture: Facebook

Friends and family paid tribute to Singleton in the comments section of the post.

“Was a great bloke, always happy to share knowledge of the game and was very humble,” one read.

Another said “Incredibly sad news, he was an incredible human being. May he rest well.”

A memorial service for those wishing to say goodbye and celebrate his life is being held next week in Sydney.