The Brunei Darussalam national football squad left the country yesterday to play two friendly matches in the FIFA Series in Saudi Arabia.
Head coach Mario Rivera Campesino is leading the team, who will first face Bermuda from the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) on March 22 and Vanuatu from Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) on March 26. Both matches will be played at Stadium King Abdullah Sport City in Jeddah.
According to FIFA rankings, the Sultanate sits in the 194th position while Bermuda is 171st and Vanuatu 170th.
The FIFA Series are friendly matches contested by national teams from different confederations, who do not normally have the opportunity to play each other.
The FIFA Series aims to allow more international football interaction, making a concrete contribution to global football development. The pilot edition features 24 member associations playing in five locations across three continents.
Playing under the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), the national squad faces tough competition as the team lacks preparation time.
Campesino said, “The team did not have long to prepare after a long break without playing.
“Some of our players didn’t train for three months, and others even for five months. This is because the Singapore League concluded at the end of December while the Brunei Super League ended in late November and the players didn’t get enough training.
“We should have conducted 40 training sessions but we only did 25. We were training during Ramadhan last week which was not easy.”
The coach added that despite the lack of training, the players are quickly getting back on track and showing the competitive spirit to go against the teams in FIFA Series.
“We will be playing 100 per cent,” he said.
“The teams that we are playing against are not easy. They are tough and physically strong. They are from different confederation and play differently from ASEAN teams.
“Let’s see if we can compete against them. In the tactical side, we are same or even at a better level than the other teams.”
He also urged players to play with confidence “like what we have been doing in our training sessions”.
“We have an improved team with an average age of 26 compared to previously which was 29,” he said.
“We have a new generation of players passionate and takes good care of themselves. The only downside is that we don’t have enough exposure to international games.”
Also heading to Saudi Arabia is a Football Association of Brunei Darussalam (FABD) delegation led by its president Haji Feisal bin Haji Eusoff Patail.
The delegation comprises FABD executive committee members as well as football development officers, referee officials and marketing officers.
Two officers from the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports joined the delegation as an initiative to implement FABD cooperation with government agencies. The delegation will meet the president of the Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) and attend meetings as well as visit venues of SAFF football development in Jeddah and Riyadh.
FABD received an official invitation from the SAFF to forge closer ties and cooperation in the development of football.
Haji Feisal said, “This official visit covers the FIFA Series matches and we are also meeting with SAFF president Yasser Al-Misehal to look at cooperation in various aspects of football.
“We received the invitation from Yasser Al-Misehal himself with all expenses paid by SAFF. We are pleased with the offer.
“This happened during my meeting with him in Qatar where we discussed forging closer cooperation in the field of football especially in the system, technical and grassroots level as well as senior team aspects.
He also shared that, “Yasser Al-Misehal understands the current situation of Brunei’s football.”
“The Saudi Arabian football team is one of the best teams in the world and the football league has attracted star players. Therefore with their assistance and support, we can prove that we can be like Saudi Arabia in two to three years,” the FABD president said, reassuring the public that he is committed, working day and night for the betterment of Bruneian football.
He also vowed to look after the national football players’ welfare, saying, “I am here for them and working with my team and deputy as well as executive committee members. I hope that things will run positively with the support of our local football enthusiasts.”
He also hopes that national football team players’ parents will continue to support by allowing their children to play for the national squad. – James Kon
