Youth Development ● Nov 25, 2017
FAS Under-15 International Challenge Cup 2017 Participating Teams
The Football Association of Singapore (FAS) Under-15 International Challenge Cup is returning for the second edition this week! Kicking off on 25 November 2017, the tournament will see three local sides – Singapore National U15, Singapore Sports School U15 and a Centre of Excellence (COE) Combined Team – take on five foreign teams hailing from Australia, Japan, Malaysia, Mauritius and Vietnam.
The preliminary round matches will be played at the Singapore Sports School, with the semi-finals and final of the Cup to be held at Jalan Besar Stadium. All matches are open to the public, and admission is free. The fixtures of the tournament can be found here.
Read on for more information on the eight teams!
COE Combined Team (Singapore)
The Centre of Excellence (COE) Combined Team comprises selected boys from the six Centres of Excellence across Singapore. Run by the S.League clubs, the Under-15 COE participate in a developmental league – the FAS Centre of Excellence Under-15 league. This year, the team is headed by Geylang International FC COE Under-15 coach Dalis Supait and he is assisted by Home United FC COE Under-15 coach Syed Karim. Having had to undergo a selection trial to be part of the team, the boys have been training together since the conclusion of the League to prepare for the tournament.
Singapore Sports School Under-15 (Singapore)
The Singapore Sports School was established in 2004 to offer Singaporean youths an integrated academic and sports programme. The team competes in school tournaments and boasts illustrious alumni including Singapore National Team players Madhu Mohana and Safuwan Baharudin. The Singapore Sports School Under-15 team includes several players who are from their Under-14 team to provide the boys with exposure to international matches. The team is coached by Ryo Shigaki who hails from Japan.
Singapore National Under-15 (Singapore)
The Singapore National Under-15 is headed by Head Coach Sofiyan Hamid. The team includes selected players from clubs as well as the National Football Academy, an FAS-run developmental academy for elite youth players. The team participated in the ASEAN Football Federation Under-15 Championship and the Asian Football Confederation Championship 2018 Qualifications this year.
Johor Darul Ta’zim Under-15 team (Malaysia)
Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT), a professional football club competing in the Malaysia Super League, is based in Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia. The JDT Under-15s is part of the JDT youth football academy which was established in 2015. The team currently trains under a group of Valencia CF coaches, with Jose Vicente leading the team as Head Coach. In the 2016 FAS U15 ICC tournament, JDT U15 finished in second place.
Matsumoto Yamaga FC Under-14 (Japan)
Established in May 2003, Matsumoto Yamaga FC Youth Academy aims to train and develop youths into professional soccer players who will continue to play the sport in future. Matsumoto Yamaga FC currently plays in the second division of the Japanese professional football league, J2 League.
Mauritius Under-15 National Team (Mauritius)
The Mauritius Under-15 team was established in March 2017, and have been training together since July. Headed by coach Kersley Clark, the team most recently took part in the 2017 Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (COSAFA) Under-17 Championship where they finished as first runners-up. This is their first time participating in the FAS Under-15 International Challenge Cup.
PVF Under-15 team (Vietnam)
Champions of the inaugural FAS Under-15 International Challenge Cup (ICC) 2016, the U15 PVF team is made up of players chosen from across Vietnam. The team has been training together for at least three years and represented Vietnam at two international competitions in 2015 – AFC U14 Regional Festival of Football and Asian Dream Football Tournament. The team finished in second runners-up in the latter tournament, triumphing over strong youth club teams from Japan and Thailand.
St Monica’s College (Australia)
The team from St Monica’s College consists of players from Australian League academy programmes as well as state development programmes. Part of a full-time football programme, the team is built around the best local talent from the northern suburbs of Melbourne who attend the College. The College’s football programmes are led by Director of Football Mark Torcaso and Luca Finanzio Director of NFA, and are strongly supported by experienced coach Ian Williamson and former Socceroo and A league star Simon Colosimo.
