Supreme Council for Youth and Sports deputy general secretary and Bahrain Olympic Committee (BOC) general secretary Abdulrahman Askar was all praise for Bahrain’s under-19 football team despite not making it to the under-20 World Championship finals.
The under-19 team suffered a 0-1 defeat to Vietnam in the deciding quarter-final match of the AFC U-19 Championship in Bahrain on Sunday, thus failing to be among the last four nations who booked their berth in next year’s world cup finals in South Korea.
Askar noted the positive side of Bahrain’s participation at this edition of the AFC U-19 Championship, which was held on home soil, but were unable to make history and qualify for the World Cup for the first time.
However, the BOC general secretary commended the significant efforts of the Bahrain administrative and technical teams in an attempt to prepare the team of the championship.
Askar also noted the importance of the directives of representative of His Majesty the King for Charity Works and Youth Affairs, Supreme Council for Youth and Sports Chairman, and BOC President, Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, to give all the support and attention to this promising team who will become the future of Bahrain football.
He added that the Bahrain Olympic Committee will walk hand by hand with the Bahrain Football Association to offer all means of support and backing to this young team in order to develop them through a well-planned programme.
Askar also paid tribute to the Bahraini fans who supported the team right from the first match and urged them to continue their backing of this team as well as other national teams to achieve their aspirations.