The Singapore National Team held their training camp at J-Green Sakai in Osaka for 13 days from Sunday 21 October to Friday 2 November.

The camp was held to select the players and in preparation for the AFF SUZUKI CUP (ASEAN Football Federation Championship), which starts on Thursday 8 November. The team was seen devoting their time to strengthen the team as they conducted two training-matches during their stay.

The results of the training-matches were as follow:

During their stay, the team were seen enjoying their time off as they toured around Osaka and played bowling.

Coach and Players' Comments

Fandi Ahmed, Coach
This training camp has given us a wonderful experience. The facilities of J-Green Sakai have provided us with an excellent environment to devote ourselves to play football. As we spent our time here, the team was able to strengthen our bond and conduct a very productive preparation ahead of the tournament. We were able to hold meetings at all times, and able to condition ourselves by receiving massages and utilising the hot and cold baths. The training environment was perfect as well. J-Green has many natural grass, artificial turf, and futsal fields which made our trainings very productive. We are very thankful for all the warm hospitality provided by the staffs of the facility. They prepared us with Halal food and took great care of us, which is a delicate and important aspect for us with the team consisting many Muslim players. I would like to thank the JFA and everybody involved for arranging this camp for us. They have managed the schedule so that the team can conduct the activities smoothly and build a good relationship with us. This wonderful environment has not only provided us with the opportunity to conduct our trainings, but it made us realise why Japan is so strong. We saw many children training here at night and saw the difference from Singapore. We will share this great experience with not only our football association, but with the associations of the neighbouring countries such as Malaysia and Thailand. We will give our very best at the AFF Championship. We will be hoping for the further development and great success of Japanese football.

Harris Harun, Captain
First of all, the facilities of our accommodation and training site was wonderful and we had no problem at all. Everything necessary to conduct our training was available here. The fields and the recovery facilities has allowed us to maintain our conditions. The rooms were close together and allowed us to strengthen our bond as a team. Halal food was provided here, and all the meals were delicious, giving us players nothing to worry about. During our free time, we had two days to conduct sightseeing and we were able to walk around Osaka and indulge ourselves with delicious Japanese cuisines in Dotonbori. We had plenty of fun just walking around. Not to mention that we were fortunate that the weather complied with us. The university team consisted with great techniques and showed us how high the overall level of Japanese football is at. By playing against such team, it gave us the opportunity to test ourselves. The match against U-23 Gamba Osaka provided us with an even tougher challenge. Both of the matches served as an important match and allowed us to prepare ourselves ahead of the tournament. We will give our best to earn good results at the AFF Championship.

Hassan Sunny
I have visited Japan last year when I joined Gainare Tottori’s training session. I am honoured to be back here as a member of the Singapore National Team. The training camp was perfect, and I have nothing to complain. The environment provided by J-Green gave us an ideal setting to prepare for a tournament or a match. That could be said regarding the accommodations and the location of the training fields. The meals served here were all delicious and we were all satisfied with the service. The environment was ideal to maintain or heighten the conditions of a football player. During our stay, we played two training matches, but our opponents were very strong and provided us with a great learning experience. We felt like we knew enough about the Japanese team, but we learned through these two matches that they will give their very best under any given circumstance, either it’s an official match or a training match. Despite the camp being held for a long period of time, thanks to the staffs of JFA and J-Green, we were able to conduct the camp smoothly, so I would like to thank everyone for their support.

Accepting teams from the AFC Member Associations to hold training camps in Japan

Upon receiving requests to hold training camps in Japan, JFA will make all arrangements including training-matches in efforts to support the strengthening of the national teams of the Member Associations.
For more information