Local grassroots football development programme Projek Ikan Pusu (PIP) has continued efforts towards developing grassroots football in the country with friendly matches in Kota Kinabalu (KK), Sabah this weekend.
The friendly matches were arranged through the Football Association of Brunei Darussalam (FABD) with the support and cooperation of Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) and the Sabah Football Association (SAFA), Tunas Asas Bola Speak (TABS), KK-PIP’s counterpart.
The friendly matches have been described as pivotal to the development of grassroots football in the Sultanate.
PIP Head of Delegation Haji Omar bin Haji Jamil said, “The primary purpose is to ensure the continued development, progress and excellence of football in both Brunei Darussalam and Sabah. Our young players need this valuable exposure, both in the country, as well as abroad.”
Meanwhile PIP Head Coach Mohammad Adi Shahirol Izzat bin Haji Omar said, “The friendly matches in KK are invaluable to give our players the experience of competing against players of the same age group in KK and to gauge the quality of our players versus their Malaysian counterparts.” He added, “TABS KK are serious Sports School athletes and should prove to be worthy opponents for PIP.”
Mohammad Adi shared the team comprised players who represented the country during the Asean Football Federation (AFF) Under-16 Championship last year and the Brunei-Muara District during last year’s FABD Under-12 ‘Build the Future’ tournament, as well as the FABD Grassroots Under-12 Inter-District tournament. The PIP team was also invited by the SAFA TABS to watch a Malaysia Super League match between Sabah FC and Negeri Sembilan last night. – Fadhil Yunus
