| James Kon |
THE Brunei U21 football squad will face Timor-Leste in the opening ceremony of the Hassanal Bolkiah Trophy (HBT) for the Asean Youth Football Tournament 2018 at Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium on April 23.
Major General (Rtd) Dato Paduka Seri Awang Haji Aminuddin Ihsan bin Pehin Orang Kaya Saiful Mulok Dato Seri Paduka Haji Abidin, Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports made the announcement at the 2nd executive committee meeting for the HBT for Asean Youth Football Tournament 2018 at the Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium yesterday.
Present at the meeting was His Royal Highness Prince Haji Sufri Bolkiah, the President of the National Football Association of Brunei Darussalam (NFABD), who is also the advisor for the executive committee HBT 2018 and the executive committee of the tournament.
The minister said preparations for the tournament are on track.
The minister highlighted that seven teams – Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Brunei Darussalam – will participate in the tournament. The minister added that Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Vietnam will not participate in this year’s tournament due to commitments in their national leagues.
Speaking on the preparation of the Brunei U21 squad, the minister said, “The national squad returned to Brunei following warm-up games with the Sabah team and team President Cup Sabah Under-21 in Kota Kinabalu from March 22 to 27. Despite some challenges, I believe the exposure prepared the national squad for the tournament.”
The minister said, “Preparations for the tournament include the upgrading of scoreboard and floodlight.”
The HBT for Asean Youth Football Tournament 2018 organised by the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports in cooperation with the NFABD will be held from April 23 to May 5.
Brunei U21 is placed in Group A with the defending champion Myanmar and Thailand as well as Timor Leste. Group B comprise Lao PDR, Singapore and Cambodia.
The public is urged to support the teams especially the Brunei Darussalam football squad in the tournament.
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