DPMM FC lose again

Yee Chun Leong

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

Sunday, February 8, 2015

DPMM FC succumbed to their second straight loss after falling 1-0 to Thai Division 1 side Bangkok FC in a pre-season friendly game last night.
Brazilian striker Franklin Vicente netted the only goal in the first half to separate the two sides at the 72nd Anniversary Stadium in Thailand.
Brunei’s only professional team had suffered 4-2 to another Thai Division 1 side Air Force Central FC on Wednesday at the Thupatamee Stadium.
On-trial Brazilian striker Rafael Ramazotti and Helmi Zambin both got on the scoresheet for DPMM FC in the defeat.
DPMM FC will complete their Thailand stint with a meeting against Thai Premier League outfits Suphanburi FC on Monday before returning to the Sultanate.
DPMM FC will kick off their Singapore League (S-League) campaign against Harimau Muda on March 1 at the Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium in Berakas.

The Brunei Times

Titleholders no problem with postponement

Ak Fauzi Pg Salleh

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

Friday, February 6, 2015

INDERA Sports Club (SC) manager Rosdin Hj Abdul Aziz agrees with the National Football Association of Brunei Darussalam’s (NFABD) decision to postpone the DST Super League.
Slated to begin this month, NFABD announced on Wednesday that the DST Super League has now been postponed to early April, the decision to do so thought to be the involvement of some of the DST Super League players in international competitions.
Defending champions Indera SC have more than half of their first team players in the national squad, and they are currently preparing for next month’s 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.
Another tournament the country’s players will be involved in the coming months is the AFC (Asian Football Confederation) Under-23 Championship 2016 Qualifiers in Indonesia.
The Sultanate has been drawn in Group H and will be up against hosts Indonesia, South Korea and Timor Leste at the March 23-31 qualifiers.
“We totally support NFABD’s decision to postpone the league to April,” said Rosdin in an interview with The Brunei Times yesterday.
“The decision is totally fair for the clubs who have a number of players representing the national team… In our case, more than half of our first team players are in the national squad and we might struggle to maintain our form against the other teams in the league without these players.
“Moreover, we need the players to fulfill their duty as national player and concentrate on it. We are on the same boat as NFABD on this.
“At the same time, we will also take this chance to improve our fitness before the league starts in April, and we are also planning to have a number of friendlies to maintain our form,” added the manager.
Meanwhile, the Royal Brunei Armed Forces Sports Council (MS ABDB) manager Major Pg Farisan Pg Metassan said that the postponement had affected the team’s spirit.
“For us (MS ABDB) we have no problem with the decision, but of course, it affects a bit of our drive as we were looking forward to play this month,” said Major Pg Farisan.
“But again, for us, it is not really a big deal and we just have to go with it… For now, we will concentrate on preparing our team,” he added.
Indera SC clinched the DST Sumbangsih Cup on Jan24 after a 2-0 victory over MS ABDB at the Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium in Berakas in the traditional curtain-raiser to the local football season.
Najip FC, Wijaya FC, Jerudong FC, the Royal Brunei Police Force Sports Council (MS PDB), Kilanas FC, Lun Bawang, IKLS and Tebuan Muda (the national Under-23 football team) are the other teams that will be competing in the national elite league.
Indera finished the nine-team Super League with 43 points ahead of MS ABDB with 37 points last season.
The former won 14 games, lost one and drew one. They scored a total of 51 goals and only conceded 14 throughout the campaign.
According to a previous report in The Brunei Times, the second-tier DST Premier League is scheduled to begin next Saturday.
The tournament will see an increase in participation with a total of 11 competing for top honours, up from eight in the previous year.
BSRC (Brunei Shell Recreation Club) FT, Perkasa FC, Setia Perdana, Kota Ranger, Rimba Star and Tunas FC are the returning teams.
Menglait FC, Kasuka FC, Pancur Murai FC, Besa FC and Tebuan Under-18 are the newcomers for the DST Premier League.

The Brunei Times

DST Super League postponed

Yee Chun Leong

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

Thursday, February 5, 2015

DST Super League fans will just have to wait a little longer for the league to start after the National Football Association of Brunei Darussalam (NFABD) announced yesterday that the competition has been pushed back to early April.
The postponement of the Super League might be due to players from the clubs getting call ups for the national squad as the Wasps prepare for 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.
The DST Super League was initially slated to begin this month after the national football season started on Jan 24 with the 2015 DST Sumbangsih Cup, which Indera SC clinched after a 2-0 victory over the Royal Brunei Armed Forces Sports Council (MS ABDB) at the Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium in Berakas.
Apart from the two-time defending champions Indera and two-time DST FA Cup defending champions MS ABDB, Najip FC, Wijaya FC, Jerudong FC, the Royal Brunei Police Force Sports Council (MS PDB) and Kilanas FC are the returning teams from last season.
Lun Bawang and IKLS are the two teams that were promoted from the DST Premier League while Tebuan Muda (the national Under-23 football team) are set to make their debut in the Super League.
The Tebuan Muda squad is headed by NFABD coach Stephen Ng Heng Seng as they are currently gearing up for the AFC (Asian Football Confederation) Under-23 Championship 2016 Qualifiers in Indonesia from March 23-31.
Indera finished the nine-team Super League with 43 points ahead of MS ABDB with 37 points last season.
The former won 14 games, lost one and drew one. They scored a total of 51 goals and only conceded 14 throughout the campaign.
Meanwhile, the second-tier DST Premier League is scheduled to begin next Saturday.
The tournament will see an increase in participation with a total of 11 competing for top honours, up from eight in the previous year.
BSRC (Brunei Shell Recreation Club) FT, Perkasa FC, Setia Perdana, Kota Ranger, Rimba Star and Tunas FC are the returning teams.
Menglait FC, Kasuka FC, Pancur Murai FC, Besa FC and Tebuan Under-18 are the newcomers for the Premier League.
The fixtures will be released in the near future and can be obtained from www.nfabd.org.

The Brunei Times

DPMM FC fall to Thai side

Yee Chun Leong

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

Thursday, February 5, 2015

DPMM FC suffered a 4-2 loss at the hands of Thai Division 1 side Air Force Central FC in a pre-season friendly match yesterday.
On-trial Brazilian striker Rafael Ramazotti and Helmi Zambin (pic) both got on the scoresheet for DPMM FC at the Thupatamee Stadium in Thailand.
Brunei’s only professional team will take on another Division 1 side – Bangkok FC – in another friendly on Saturday.
Their toughest test will be against Thai Premier League outfits Suphanburi FC two days later before returning to the Sultanate.
A total of 23 players travelled to the Thai capital including new faces — Md Khairul Anwar Abd Rahim, Reduan Hj Petara, Ak Yura Indera Putera Pg Yunos and Md Aminuddin Zakwan Tahir.
DPMM FC will kick off their Singapore League (S-League) campaign against Harimau Muda on March 1 at the Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium in Berakas.

U-23s set for AFC tourney

Yee Chun Leong

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

Wednesday, February 4, 2015

THE national Under-23 football team are in the later stages of preparation for the upcoming AFC (Asian Football Confederation) Under-23 Championship 2016 Qualifiers, with the squad starting intensive training yesterday after moving to the Sungai Kebun Sports Complex.
“We hope that we can put in as much work as possible over the next three weeks, especially at the defensive end and also on our transition play,” said coach Stephen Ng Heng Seng in an interview with The Brunei Times when met on Monday.
“We are not a very strong team but I believe that we have been working harder than the rest. Neighbouring countries have their teams based overseas,” he added.
“There are some players who are playing with DPMM FC. We don’t have to worry too much about them as long as they are training,” continued Ng.
The team are also eyeing to play some friendly matches in Thailand in early March as well.
The Sultanate have been drawn in Group H and will be up against hosts Indonesia, South Korea and Timor Leste at the March 23-31 event.
Brunei did not enter a team for the previous qualifiers two years ago which was formerly known as the AFC U-22 Championship 2013.
The 10 group winners and five best second-placed teams from all groups will qualify for the tournament proper, where hosts Qatar await.
The AFC U-23 Championship 2016 will act as the Olympics qualifiers in every alternate edition.
The top three teams from the 2016 edition will represent Asia at the 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil.
Brunei set up the squad back in September when they attended a two-week training camp in Japan.
They had their first test at the 8th BIMP-EAGA (Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area) Friendship Games in Labuan back in December, where they lost out on the bronze medal after slipping to a 4-0 defeat at the hands of Sarawak in the third-place playoff.
The side will also be the kept together for the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games to be contested in Singapore in June.
The National Football Association of Brunei Darussalam (NFABD) have a packed scheduled with the confirmation that Brunei 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.
The Wasps will be under stand-in national coach Mike Wong Mun Heng, who is also the NFABD technical director.
Players have already been identified and brought together after the Sultanate registered for the qualifiers in mid December last year.
Brunei have been placed in Pot 2 together with Nepal, Macau, Pakistan, Mongolia and Bhutan.
They will only find out who their opponents from Pot 1 – India, Sri Lanka, Yemen, Cambodia, Chinese Taipei and Timor Leste – are at the draw to be conducted in Kuala Lumpur next Tuesday.
Brunei will play the away fixture on March 12 and the home match will be contested five days later.

The Brunei Times

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

DPMM FC set for Thai friendlies

Yee Chun Leong

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

Sunday, February 1, 2015

DPMM FC are set for some pre-season action next week in Thailand.
The Sultanate’s only professional team have three friendly matches lined up as part of their preparations for the upcoming Singapore League (S-League) opener against Harimau Muda on March 1 at the Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium in Berakas.
They will go up against Thai Division 1 side Air Force Central FC in the first friendly on February 4.
DPMM FC will then face off against another Division 1 side – Bangkok FC – three days later.
Their toughest test will be against Thai Premier League outfits Suphanburi FC on February 9.
A total of 23 players will travel to the Thai capital including new faces — Md Khairul Anwar Abd Rahim, Reduan Hj Petara, Ak Yura Indera Putera Pg Yunos and Md Aminuddin Zakwan Tahir.
DPMM FC coach Steve Kean believes that the matches will be a good indicator of their progress and is a good opportunity for the new inclusions.
“It is always good to have competition, but the most important is our preparation in getting us ready for the first league game at home,” said Kean in an interview with The Brunei Times after a training session at the Jerudong Mini Stadium yesterday.
“We have been training for four weeks now and it is nice to play some games at the end of the fifth week.
“So far we have only been playing against each other in training. Now we get to try different opposition and try out what we have been working on,” he added.
“The games will give us an indication on things we have to work on and what we are good at.
“It is also good for the younger players who were not involved last year to be integrated in the team. Going away will help get them to bond with the other players,” continued the Scotsman.
DPMM FC have had 13 foreign players on trial but only Brazilian striker Rafael Ramazotti remain in the Sultanate.
Irish midfielder Joe Gamble and Bosnian defender Boris Raspudic are the only two returning imports from last season.
Team manager Ali Hj Momin revealed that two more players – Lebanese international Hussain Awada and Ivory Coast striker Lasina Soro — are set to come for trial and will make the trip to Thailand
“We already have an idea on which imports we want but we are expecting two more players to come on trial and join us in Thailand,” said Ali.
“I also hope that the new (locals) players will be able to show something to the coach and try to fight their way into position in the team,” he added.
The team will depart the Sultanate on Tuesday.
DPMM FC’s first away game in the S-League will be on March 7 against Albirex Niigata FC (S) at the Jurong East Stadium in Singapore before going up against the Young Lions (Singapore national Under-23 team) four days later at the Jalan Besar Stadium.
The S-League runners-up will then host Home United FC in their last match of the month on March 18.

The Brunei Times