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AsiaOne
a day ago
- Sport
- AsiaOne
Singapore women's football team withdraw from Asean Women's Championship, Singapore News
Six months after securing their first appearance at the Asean Women's Championship, the national women's football team will not feature in it after the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) announced on June 9 that they have withdrawn from the Aug 6-19 tournament. Fans and some players, however, were kept in the dark, and those who tuned in to watch the live broadcast of the tournament draw ceremony in Hanoi, Vietnam, on June 9 were left wondering why Singapore were omitted from the draw — Timor-Leste were included instead. The FAS' statement on the withdrawal was issued only seven hours after the ceremony. In its statement, the national sports association said that the "decision-making process involved careful consideration of overlapping fixtures, team readiness and our broader commitment to key Asian Football Confederation (AFC) competitions". The decision to pull out of the tournament was influenced by the need to manage player welfare, maintain performance standards and prepare the teams for the challenges ahead, added the FAS. Aside from the Asean Women's Championship, the Lionesses' schedule includes the AFC Women's Asian Cup qualifers from June 23 to July 5, the AFC Under-20 Women's Asian Cup qualifiers (Aug 2-10) — which overlaps with the Asean tournament — and the SEA Games from Dec 9 to 20. The development comes after the team's gruelling qualifying campaign for the Asean Women's Championship in December 2024, when they had to endure fatigue, a packed playing schedule and injuries to the squad. After playing four games in nine days, a 1-0 victory over Timor-Leste in the third-place play-off saw them clinching the final qualifying berth for Singapore's first-ever appearance in the tournament. Captain Siti Rosnani Azman told The Straits Times: "Of course we're disappointed and we were looking forward to playing against strong regional teams, but we understand where they're coming from. "Our focus is being fully prepared for the Women's Asian Cup qualifiers and SEA Games." Many of the players are also "juggling school, work, club and national team duties" and taking time off from these commitments is challenging, added the skipper in a statement. Lionesses coach Karim Bencherifa said in a statement: "With important tournaments coming in quick succession — and some even overlapping — our priority must be to protect the health and well-being of our players." Noting that the FAS' technical department has decided to prioritise tournament participation, he added: "This is to ensure that our women's team has the best chance of staying fit and fresh, and able to perform at their best. "Our immediate focus is the Asian Cup qualifiers, then the U-20 qualifiers, followed by the SEA Games. These are major milestones for the team and we are committed to ensuring our players are in the best condition to perform at their highest level." The Asean Women's Championship in Vietnam will feature eight teams, with hosts Vietnam, four-time champions Thailand, Indonesia and Cambodia to compete in Group A, while Group B comprises defending champions the Philippines, Myanmar, Australia and Timor-Leste. The matches will be played at Hai Phong's Lach Tray Stadium and Viet Tri Stadium in Viet Tri. The top two teams in each group will progress to the semi-finals on Aug 16, and the final will be held on Aug 19. [embed] [[nid:716956]] This article was first published in The Straits Times . Permission required for reproduction.
New Paper
a day ago
- Sport
- New Paper
Singapore women's football team withdraw from Asean Women's Championship
Six months after securing their first appearance at the Asean Women's Championship, the national women's football team will not feature in it after the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) announced on June 9 that they have withdrawn from the Aug 6-19 tournament. Fans and some players, however, were kept in the dark, and those who tuned in to watch the live broadcast of the tournament draw ceremony in Hanoi, Vietnam, on June 9 were left wondering why Singapore were omitted from the draw - Timor-Leste were included instead. The FAS' statement on the withdrawal was issued only seven hours after the ceremony. In its statement, the national sports association said that the "decision-making process involved careful consideration of overlapping fixtures, team readiness and our broader commitment to key Asian Football Confederation (AFC) competitions". The decision to pull out of the tournament was influenced by the need to manage player welfare, maintain performance standards and prepare the teams for the challenges ahead, added the FAS. Aside from the Asean Women's Championship, the Lionesses' schedule includes the AFC Women's Asian Cup qualifers from June 23 to July 5, the AFC Under-20 Women's Asian Cup qualifiers (Aug 2-10) - which overlaps with the Asean tournament - and the SEA Games from Dec 9 to 20. The development comes after the team's gruelling qualifying campaign for the Asean Women's Championship in December 2024, when they had to endure fatigue, a packed playing schedule and injuries to the squad. After playing four games in nine days, a 1-0 victory over Timor-Leste in the third-place play-off saw them clinching the final qualifying berth for Singapore's first-ever appearance in the tournament. Captain Siti Rosnani Azman told The Straits Times: "Of course we're disappointed and we were looking forward to playing against strong regional teams, but we understand where they're coming from. "Our focus is being fully prepared for the Women's Asian Cup qualifiers and SEA Games." Many of the players are also "juggling school, work, club and national team duties" and taking time off from these commitments is challenging, added the skipper in a statement. Lionesses coach Karim Bencherifa said in a statement: "With important tournaments coming in quick succession - and some even overlapping - our priority must be to protect the health and well-being of our players." Noting that the FAS' technical department has decided to prioritise tournament participation, he added: "This is to ensure that our women's team has the best chance of staying fit and fresh, and able to perform at their best. "Our immediate focus is the Asian Cup qualifiers, then the U-20 qualifiers, followed by the SEA Games. These are major milestones for the team and we are committed to ensuring our players are in the best condition to perform at their highest level." The Asean Women's Championship in Vietnam will feature eight teams, with hosts Vietnam, four-time champions Thailand, Indonesia and Cambodia to compete in Group A, while Group B comprises defending champions the Philippines, Myanmar, Australia and Timor-Leste. The matches will be played at Hai Phong's Lach Tray Stadium and Viet Tri Stadium in Viet Tri. The top two teams in each group will progress to the semi-finals on Aug 16, and the final will be held on Aug 19.
CNA
2 days ago
- Sport
- CNA
Singapore women's team pulls out of ASEAN football championship due to overlapping fixtures, player welfare
SINGAPORE: Singapore women's football team has withdrawn from the ASEAN Women's Championship in August, despite qualifying for the tournament on merit, the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) said on Monday (Jun 9). It cited overlapping fixtures and concerns about player welfare among the reasons for the withdrawal from the tournament, which runs from Aug 6 to Aug 19. "The decision-making process involved careful consideration of overlapping fixtures, team readiness, and our broader commitment to key Asian Football Confederation (AFC) competitions," said FAS in a statement. Two competitions were "major factors". The AFC Women's Asian Cup qualifiers are from Jun 23 to Jul 5, and the AFC Under-20 Women's Asian Cup qualifiers are from Aug 2 to Aug 10. The Southeast Asian Games in Thailand from Dec 9 to Dec 20 were also taken into consideration. "The withdrawal was not a decision taken lightly, but one shaped by the need to manage player welfare, maintain performance standards, and prepare teams meaningfully for the challenges ahead," said FAS. Head coach Karim Bencherifa said: "We worked hard to qualify on merit for the championships, and we are all disappointed that it has come to this. "But with important tournaments coming in quick succession – and some even overlapping – our top priority must be to protect the health and well-being of our players." The women's national team has an average age of about 21 years, with players "having to manage leave from work and school commitments in a year that sees four major women's competitions take place overseas". "We explained at a media briefing in February that we need to prioritise tournament participation this year, and the FAS technical department has decided to prioritise our participation in this manner," said Bencherifa. "This is to ensure that our women's team has the best chance of staying fit and fresh, and able to perform at their best." He added that the team's "immediate focus" is the Asian Cup qualifiers, then the Under-20 qualifiers, followed by the SEA Games. These are "major milestones" for the team, and the FAS is "committed to ensuring our players are in the best condition to perform at their highest level", the head coach said. "The FAS' ultimate responsibility is to empower our national teams - men's and women's, across all age groups - to perform to the best of their abilities and deliver results that make Singapore proud," said the association. "This means ensuring they compete in the right tournaments, at the right time, with the right resources and preparation."
