Change in venue for DPMM FC’s three S-League matches

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

Saturday, February 28, 2015

DPMM FC’s first three matches of the Singapore League (S-League) will be played at the Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium in Berakas due to clashes with the national team’s 2018 World Cup qualifiers against Chinese Taipei.
The season opener against Harimau Muda (Malaysian national Under-22 team) remains unchanged and is set for 8.15pm tomorrow.
However, DPMM FC’s March 7 game against Albirex Niigata FC (S) at the Jurong East Stadium in Singapore will now be played at the Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium.
And instead of playing Young Lions (Singaporean national Under-23 team) at the Jalan Besar Stadium in Singapore on March 11, DPMM FC’s third game will see them take on Home United FC at the Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium on March 21.
DPMM FC – who finished as runners-up to Warriors FC last season – were originally slated to host Home on March 18.
However, with the national team – the majority of whom play for DPMM FC – to play Chinese Taipei in the return leg of their 2018 World Cup first round qualifiers on March 17, the match has since been pushed forward. The first leg in Chinese Taipei is set for March 12, just one day after DPMM FC were originally set to play Young Lions.
It is understood DPMM FC asked the Football Association of Singapore to shift the dates. The S-League fixture list was finalised late last month but the draw for the World Cup qualifiers was only carried out on Feb 10.
“It’s good that they managed to change the dates as we’ll need a good start as possible to the season,” DPMM FC captain Rosmin Hj Mohd Kamis told The Brunei Times yesterday.
DPMM FC’s next three games will be all played in Singapore before they return to the Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium in May.
DPMM FC face Balestier Khalsa FC on May 1 and Tampines Rovers FC on May 10. The Singapore League Cup will run from June 19-July 10 and the Singapore Cup from May 20 to Nov 27.
Brunei, who will be led by Mike Wong Mun Heng for the World Cup qualifiers, last attempted to qualify for the 2002 edition in South Korea and Japan - losing all six of their games against Yemen, the United Arab Emirates and India.

The Brunei Times

2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers : Brunei vs Chinese Taipei !

Kuala Lumpur: Twelve Asian nations discovered their opponents for the 2018 FIFA World Cup and 2019 AFC Asian Cup Preliminary Joint Qualification Round 1 on Tuesday.

Asia’s 12 lowest ranked sides – India, Sri Lanka, Yemen, Cambodia, Chinese Taipei, Timor Leste (ranked 35th to 40th by FIFA), Nepal, Macau, Pakistan, Mongolia, Brunei and Bhutan (ranked 41st to 46th by FIFA) – were involved in the draw at AFC House, with the India versus Nepal encounter arguably the pick of the six ties decided.

Always a keenly contested affair, the meeting of the two South Asian nations will have an added dimension in the form of returning India head coach Stephen Constantine who was in charge of Nepal from 1999 until 2001.

Preliminary Joint Qualification Round 1 Draw

India v Nepal
Yemen v Pakistan
Timor-Leste v Mongolia
Cambodia v Macau
Chinese Taipei v Brunei DS
Sri Lanka v Bhutan

The dozen hopefuls will now meet on March 12 and 17 as they attempt to progress to the next stage of qualifying, while the games will also see the Asian Football Confederation become the first governing body to begin qualifying for FIFA's global extravaganza in Russia.

The six winners will advance to Round 2 where the 34 highest ranked teams await. The 40 nations will be drawn into eight groups of five teams and compete according to a double round robin format.

The Round 2 qualification matches will be held from June 11, 2015 to March 29, 2016.

The group winners and four best runners-up (total 12 teams) will advance to the 2019 Asian Cup finals and the final round of qualifying for the 2018 World Cup.

The next best 24 teams from the preliminary stage of the joint qualifiers will compete in a separate competition for the remaining slots (12 slots or 11 slots + 1 slot for the host) in the 24-team 2019 Asian Cup finals.

afc.com

Brunei to compete in World Cup qualifiers

Yee Chun Leong

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

Tuesday, February 3, 2015

BRUNEI are on the road to the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

FIFA recently confirmed that for the first time in the history of the World Cup, all 209 member associations have registered for its preliminary competition – which in Asia, also serves as the qualifiers for the 2019 Asian Cup.

National Football Association of Brunei Darussalam (NFABD) general secretary Hj Muhd Zamri Dato Paduka Hj Hamdani yesterday told The Brunei Times that the national football team will be competing in the first round of the Preliminary Joint Qualification for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia Preliminary Competition and Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup 2019 Qualifiers next month.

Stand-in national coach Mike Wong Mun Heng, who is also NFABD’s Technical Director, knows that time is limited - but he is hoping to get the best from his players.

“We only started training just over a week ago without the professional players (DPMM FC players),” said Wong (pic) in an interview with The Brunei Times last night.

“We are looking at the best players, not only in terms of skill but attitude and commitment as well.

“The main thing we need to work on is the fitness so that they can stay sharp as most players were on a break during the offseason,” he concluded.

The first round will consist of 12 teams (ranked 35-46 as per latest FIFA ranking on January 8, 2015) and Brunei are currently ranked 45th – second lowest – in the AFC.

They are placed in Pot 2 together with Nepal, Macau, Pakistan, Mongolia and Bhutan.

The draw will be conducted in Kuala Lumpur next Tuesday, and they will face a team from Pot 1 - India, Sri Lanka, Yemen, Cambodia, Chinese Taipei or Timor Leste.

Brunei will play the away fixture on March 12 and the home match will be contested five days later.

The winners of the six pairings will advance to the second round to join the 34 highest ranked teams.

The teams will then be drawn into eight groups of five. The group winner and four runner-up teams – 12 teams in total – will advance to the Asian Cup 2019 Finals and World Cup Qualifiers Final Round.

The remaining 24 teams will continue with qualification into Asian Cup 2019 Finals.

There are currently over 30 players shortlisted for the national squad, with 13 of them plying their trade with DPMM FC.

A total of 20 players – selected from their performance in the DST Super League – were spotted at training last night at the Balapan Track and Field of the Hassanal Bolkiah National Sports Complex in Berakas.

Wong will select 23 players for the squad.
Brunei’s last attempt to qualify for the World Cup was for the 2002 edition in South Korea and Japan, where they lost all six of their games against Yemen, the United Arab Emirates and India in 2001.
Brunei went down 5-0 and 1-0 to Yemen, 12-0 and 4-0 to the United Arab Emirates and 1-0 and 5-0 to India in the two-legged home and away qualifiers.

The Brunei Times