KUALA LUMPUR: The national under-17 football team are quite pleased; they are going to play at the neigbour's place, not in some country an ocean away.
That's the case for Malaysia after the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) picked Thailand to host the under-17 Asian Cup in May next year.
The national youth team, coached by Osmera Omaro, have qualified for the competition proper after winning Group B ahead of Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates, Palestine and Guam in October.
And going to Thailand was already part of the team's planning even before the AFC announcement. Thailand came in after Bahrain withdrew as hosts of the under-17 Asian Cup.
"It helps to play in Southeast Asia for us. We will train first in Qatar (Jan 21-Feb 17) before heading to Thailand in March," said national U-17 team manager Christopher Raj.
He said the team will arrange for friendly matches against their counterparts from Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait in Doha.
He said the national under-17 team also plan to play the Thai national youth team and two other clubs when in Thailand.
"We will also have the boys go for a playing tour in Japan under the National Sports Council's National Football Development Programme in April for two week."
The other countries that have qualified for the under-17 Asian Cup are defending champions Japan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Vietnam, Australia, Tajikistan, Iran, Uzbekistan, South Korea, China, Afghanistan, India, Thailand and Laos.
Malaysia's best result in the under-17 Asian Cup was reaching the quarter-finals in 2014 before losing 2-1 to Australia.
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
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