VIENTIANE (21 Aug 2015) – The AFF Under-19 Championship kicks-off here tomorrow with all ten participating teams approaching this regional meet on a very positive note.
Their outlook of the tournament was evident at the official Press Conference which was held soon after today’s team managers meeting. The various head coaches expressed rather similar sentiments on the importance of this tournament.
The coaches thanked the AFF and LFF and commented that the AFF Under-19 would give them the chance to preperly prepare for the AFC Qualifiers. They said it would woud help them finalise their teams in addition to identifying their strengths and weaknesses ahead of the Qualifiers.
Timor Leste coach, Kago Takuma, said: “This is an excelent opportunity for us. It’s usually domestic exposure for us and no international competition. So this is a vry important tournament for us. We hope to do well.”
Myanmar coach, Gerd Friedrich said: “This is the third generation of the team. We only had four weeks to build up this team which is a short amount of time. We can see improvement day by day and so we do not expect too much. This turnament is important to build the team. Although we may not get the results, we will give the spectators some goos matches.”
Malaysian coach, Hassan Sazali said: “We want to thank the AFF and LFF. This tournament is good fr the Asean teams as it helps us all prepare for the AFC event. We hope that we will learn much from this tournament, especially our strengths and weaknesses before the AFC meet.”
Singapore coach, Inoue Takuya, said: “Thank you AFF and LFF for this event. We are happy as our players have the chance to get international experience. It’s a good tournament to prepare for the AFC.”
Laos coach, Phan Ton Loi, said: “We have been together for the last two to three months. As the hosts we are in good spirits and look forward to a good tournament. We hope to do well. My thanks to all those involved in this event.”
Thai coach, Anuruck Srikerd, said: “Many of our players are involved in the TPL (Thai Premier League) and that is why we have only had one month together. This tournament is really good for the Asean teams before the Asian round.”
Brunei coach Kwon Oh Son, said: “We have many young players and this will be a good test for them. We will do our best and wish the very best to all the other teams.”
Cambodia coach, Hok Sochivorn, said: “This competition is good for us and also for the Asean teams. For the youngsters, they will be better prepared for the Asian event. I must thank the AFF and LFF for their efforts.”
Philippines coach, Dan Sionosa thanks the local organisers for the warm welcome they received. “We selected our players from the colleges and universities. We have been working together for the past three weeks and hope to do our best.”
Vietnam coach, Hoang Anh Tuan, said. “On behlaf of the VFF, I thank the AFF and VFF for organising this event. So far, from the time we arrived, everything has been good. Our players will gain good experience from competing here. We’ve had 30 days to preprare. We promise to give our best and it is our hope to qualify for the final.”
FIXTURES
TOMORROW (Aug 22, 2015)
1600hrs: Brunei DS vs Philippines
1900hrs: Cambodia vs Laos (1900hrs)
Aug 23, 2015
1600hrs: Singapore vs Myanmar
1900hrs: Malaysia vs Timor Leste
