Juniors to battle it out in Asia Under-16 Champions

 

 

 

Juniors to battle it out in Asia Under-16 Champions\

The inaugural Asia Under-16 Champions Trophy 2014 will bring the best out of 12 teams from the region as they challenge for the coveted trophy and the US$100,000 (RM330,000) winner’s purse.
Organised by Frenz United Football Club (FUFC) in collaboration with the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) and Asian Football Confederation (AFC), the Asia Under-16 Champions Trophy is simply an “upgraded” version of the 2013 Asean Under-15 Champions Trophy spread over a wider platform in the region.
The tournament, which is being held for the second consecutive year, spans over a four-month period — from May 17 until Aug 30 — and will be played in 11 stadiums across Asia in a home and away format.
Home United FC from Singapore, PFV Vietnam, debutants AIFF India U-16 National Team, Frenz United Indonesia, Frenz United Malaysia ‘A’ and Timor Leste U-16 National Team are drawn in Group A.
Defending champions Chonburi FC from Thailand, who defeated Frenz United ‘A’ in the 2013 final, have Frenz United Malaysia ‘B’, Lao Toyota (Laos), Mandalay United FC (Myanmar) and debutants Phnom Penh Crown FC (Cambodia) and PFA Guangdong (China) in Group B for company.
“We are excited over the overwhelming response for the Asia Under-16 Champions Trophy with participation of teams from 11 nations,” said Frenz United Football Club president Datuk Noor Ihsan Hamid.
“Frenz United FC has a vision and that is to develop our players at the junior level. The Asia Under-16 Champions Trophy 2014 will act as a platform with a right exposure playing against good teams. We hope with this effort they will go on to represent their respective countries in future,” he added.
He stressed that all home matches involving Malaysian teams would be played at Stadium Frenz in Janda Baik, Pahang.
With a total of 68 matches to be played throughout the tournament, the Asia Under-16 Champions Trophy is considered vital for the development of youth soccer in Asia. The 2013 Asean Under-15 Champions Trophy recorded a total of two million viewers from Malaysia and Indonesia.
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