| Fadhil Yunus |
TABUAN Under-17 have been identified as a long-term youth development project to prepare the men’s football team for the 2021 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games.
The junior players have made huge strides after reaching the semi-finals of the Brunei DST FA Cup 2016 where they knocked out top-tier side Royal Brunei Police Force Sports Council (MS PDB) in the quarter-finals and earn a clash against Najip I Team.
The Tabuan team are the only team who have not competed in the country’s top flight in the last four of the premier cup competition.
The team was first set up in 2013 which progressed from the under-14 team coached by Stephen Ng as head coach.
In 2014, they participated in the JIS Football Tournament and emerged champions of the under-15 category.
In 2014, Ali Mustafa took over the reins, prepared and oversaw the side’s involvement in the 2015 Asean Football Federation (AFF) Under-16 Youth Championship.
Ali, serving his third year in charge of the national juniors as head coach, is supported with a dedicated backroom team which include Mohamad Darus bin Tanjung as assistant coach, goalkeeping coach Pengiran Omar Nur Aqammaddin bin Pengiran Haji Sallehuddin and Awangku Kamaluddin bin Pengiran Haji Mohd Noor.
The selection of players began at the end of 2013 and early 2014 and now the players are mostly 16 year olds with a number of them who just turned 17.
The Tabuan Under-17 team as well as head coach and coaching staff in a group photo. – NFABD
The majority of the players have remained in the squad while additions are from schools.
The squad is not the final 25 and still have room for reinforcements as they are looking to fill more capable players.
The coaches and officials also thrive to ensure that these young players achieve the right balance between training and studies.
The team’s coaching staff also formed a good relationship with the parents of the players and in turn they provided cooperation to aid in the progress of the player by allowing them to train on a regular basis.
With this understanding, players also played their part by demonstrating a high level of commitment, teamwork and willingness to improve further.
In addition to their development as a football player, the young players are also being taught good values off the field and being groomed to be a gentleman.
There is no star player in the squad as all players give their maximum effort and commitment collectively.
The team is concerned with the level of performance with results coming later on where a good level of performance will subsequently correlates to positive results.
The coaching team believes time is of the essence for the young juniors.
The Tabuan side is competing in the national league, currently playing in the second division of the Brunei DST Premier League. They finished third last season.
The team’s progress in the national cup competition has been well received and their hopes of making history are very much alive.
The availability of these players proves that the future of Brunei’s football is looking bright.
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