August 2, 2004

An opportunity for the Young Lions to test themselves against a regional opponent has been dashed by their S-League commitments.

Last month, the Football Association of Myanmar extended a rare invitation for the Young Lions to visit Yangon for 2 games against the Myanmar national team on Aug 9 and 11. But making the trip would have meant postponing their Aug 13 S-League game against Tanjong Pagar United — a move that was turned down by the League's management.

S-League CEO Chan King Fook felt they had to decline the Young Lions' request was because it would had to postpone not only the Young Lions game, but another fixture as well & with the season reaching it climax it would be difficult to do that.

National coach Radojko Avramovic was disappointed as he believed a trip to Myanmar would have provided invaluable exposure for the Young Lions

The Serbo-Montenegrin said it was a pity because these 2 games would have been very good in terms of international experience but he understand the constraints the League has though

Still he felt at this stage, the Young Lions need to be playing as many international opponents as possible & while the benefits may not be apparent immediately, in the long term, international exposure is invaluable.

Nevertheless Singapore will play Gulf side Kuwait in a friendly on Sept 4. The match, likely to be played at the Jalan Besar Stadium, is part of the national team's preparations ahead of the World Cup qualifying home tie against Oman on Sept 8