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Independent Singapore

Singapore's Under-16 Boys are geared up to compete in the Lion City Cup

Photo: Instagram/fasingapore Singapore's U-16 Boys football team is geared up and ready for the return of the Lion City Cup at Jalan Besar Stadium. The young athletes are eager to showcase their skills as the future of local football. The team's head coach, Ashraf Ariffin, together with forward Izzan Farid, shared their optimism about the competition. Coach Ashraf described how the team prepared through a productive nine-day training camp in Thailand from June 21-29. He said: 'I think our nine days in Thailand were very good, they served an important purpose for us… The team bonded very well, and we managed to work on a lot of major things that we feel will be important heading into this tournament.' He added: 'Although we had a short window to prepare, I think the outcome at the end of the training camp was very positive.' The training camp played a crucial role in finalising the team roster. To finalise the squad, a bigger group of athletes travelled to Thailand, where 34 players competed in six matches over three days. This process aimed at challenging the athletes and selecting those who were most prepared to compete internationally. The head coach recalled: 'In Thailand, everybody competed for their places. We played six games in nine days, so everyone had plenty of game time to prove themselves… We had a headache at the end of the camp to select the best 25 — but that's the kind of headache we want. It means we have talent out there.' For Izzan, representing Singapore is an opportunity that he and the rest of the team wanted to seize with all their hearts. The athlete stated: 'I want to see all my teammates fight for each other — to win every tackle, header and challenge. That mentality is important if we want to compete and get a good result.' Competition aside, Ashraf is more focused on the growth of the team. He believes that the Lion City Cup is not only a competition, but a chance for each athlete to prove themselves. 'My expectation is simple: to see the team grow and individuals develop… At the end of the day, the big picture is for them to become future national players. And for that, they need more international games like this,' Ashraf said. Want to be part of the crowd? Grab your Lion City Cup tickets on Ticketek . () => { const trigger = if ('IntersectionObserver' in window && trigger) { const observer = new IntersectionObserver((entries, observer) => { => { if ( { lazyLoader(); // You should define lazyLoader() elsewhere or inline here // Run once } }); }, { rootMargin: '800px', threshold: 0.1 }); } else { // Fallback setTimeout(lazyLoader, 3000); } });