BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN (21 Jan 2016) – THE National FA of Brunei Darussalam (NFABD) is set to host its third national grassroots football festival next Saturday at the NFABD Football Field, NFABD House in Berakas.
According to a press release from NFABD, the festival is held in conjunction with the FIFA Grassroots Course which will run from Jan 26-30.
NFABD general secretary Hj Muhd Zamri Dato Paduka Hj Hamdani highlighted that NFABD will focus on grassroots development this year – with the course and festival the start of their plans.
“The basic foundation of any sport, not just football, is to train players from the grassroots level – and that’s what we are going to concentrate on this year,” Hj Muhd Zamri said in an interview with The Brunei Times yesterday.
“The most popular sport in Brunei is football and the pressure to perform is inevitable.
“People like to play and watch the sport. They enjoy it – that is a fact and of course we want to live up to their expectations.
“Football is a game that anyone can play, whether on the field or on the streets and we will never get tired of it,” Hj Muhd Zamri added.
NFABD received the ‘Aspiring’ AFC President Recognition Award for Grassroots Football during the Asian Football Confederation’s (AFC) Annual Awards in New Delhi, India, last year – and Hj Muhd Zamri stressed the recognition is a boost for the programme this year.
“After winning the AFC grassroots award last year, the recognition for our grassroots programme has expanded. Everyone can see what we are capable of and that is why we are pushing hard – I can’t stress that enough,” Hj Muhd Zamri said.
The NFABD Elite Under-15 Youth Cup will be hosted again this, and last year’s tournament was praised as a great stage to identify and groom players for the nation’s major leagues and the national team.
There are existing under-12, under-14, under-16 and under-19 national teams, and Hj Muhd Zamri feels optimistic of their performances this year.
“These young players will learn as they play in every match. You win some and you lose some – that’s football. They need to rise above in every matches they lose, but I know they will fare well this year,” he said.
“The Football Development Department of NFABD is working tirelessly for the programme. We had setbacks last year and we know what we can do to improve this time.”
The Brunei Times