Singapore to compete in 3 ASEAN Football Federation youth tournaments in July and August

Singapore’s youth national teams will compete in three competitions organised by the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) in the next two months. 

It is the first set of youth ASEAN football competitions to take place since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The group stage draws were finalised on Jun 9 by the Football Association of Indonesia, who will host all three youth tournaments.

The Singapore men’s under-19 team were drawn into Group B under the 2022 AFF U-19 Boys Championship, where they will compete against Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia and Timor Leste in their 13th appearance of the regional tournament.

The tournament will be held from Jul 2 to 5 at the Patriot Chandrabhaga Stadium in Bekasi, Indonesia, and the team will be led by Head Coach Fadzuhasny Juraimi.

The men’s under-19 team’s best showing in the competition was in the inaugural edition in 2003, where they finished in third place after beating Vietnam 5-4 on penalties following a 1-1 draw.

In the AFF under-16 Boys Championship 2022, Singapore was drawn into Group A with Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam. The Singapore U-16 team will be led by Spanish Coach Ángel Toledano for the first time.

The competition will take place from Jul 31 to Aug 13 and will be held at the GBK Madya Stadium in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Singapore last qualified for the knockout stage in 2011, where they finished in fourth place overall after grabbing three group stage wins against Vietnam, the Philippines and Cambodia. Adam Swandi, who is now part of the Singapore senior national team, was the tournament’s top scorer with five goals that year. 

In the first-ever women’s under-18 tournament organised by the AFF, Singapore have been drawn in Group A, where they will face Cambodia, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam. The team will be led by former Lioness Chris Yip-Au.

The competition, which will feature nine participating ASEAN countries, will take place from Jul 22 to Aug 4 at the Jakabaring Stadium in Palembang, Indonesia.