FFBD-organised competitions to be discontinued

Jason Thomas
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

Friday, June 10, 2011

THE National Football Association of Brunei Darussalam (NFABD) wants a stop to all football competitions organised by the Football Federation of Brunei Darussalam (FFBD).

The country's only football association recognised by Fifa, NFABD yesterday warned that the Sultanate could be in trouble if it doesn't follow Fifa's rules.

It issued a statement pointing out that "violating 'Members' Obligatons' as per Article 13 of Fifa Statute (August 2010 edition), may lead to sanctions by Fifa".

The good news, though, is that the leagues can continue until the end of next month.

" ... the National Football Association of Brunei Darussalam (NFABD) is a full member of Fifa and strictly governed by the NFABD Statute, which is fully in compliance with Fifa Statutes," said the statement sent by NFABD president Dato Paduka Hj Abdul Rahman Hj Mohiddin.

"Therefore, all football competitions endorsed and organised by the Football Federation of Brunei Darussalam (FFBD) must be stopped and discontinued immediately, as per initial directive from Fifa and AFC representatives who were here in Brunei Darussalam recently.

"Failure to adhere to this directives, NFABD may face severe consequences for violating its obligations.

"However, in the interest of the players and of football in general, His Royal Highness Prince Hj Sufri Bolkiah, the honorary president of NFABD, has appealed to Fifa and AFC representatives to allow the DST Group Brunei Premier League 2011 to continue until the current season end, of which they agreed.

"To avoid any undesirable consequences, NFABD, guided by its Statute, respectfully requests the organiser of DST Group Brunei Premier League 2011 to end its current season not later than Wednesday, 27 July 2011.

"Under the current NFABD Statute, Article 75, NFABD, as the football national body, would organise and coordinate the following official football competitions in the country; National League, League Cup, Futsal League, Hassanal Bolkiah Trophy (lead agency is the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports) and other tournament(s) as decided by the NFABD Executive Committee," added the statement.

The Press release made no specific mention of age-group competitions.

FFBD's emphasis on grassroots football is evident in the fact that after already organising Under-14 and Under-16 leagues, it started the Under-10 and Under-12 competitions this year.

The Under-12 league kicked off last Sunday while the Under-10 competition is set to start this Sunday.

The question of what will happen to the money that DST Group has invested in this season, $145,000, is also up in the air.

The telecommunications giant took on the role of title sponsor during the 2005/06 season and has been committed to the sport's development ever since.

It has been active contributor to the sport since the 2003/04 season, when the country's biggest football tournament was still known as the Brunei League (B-League).

Calls to FFBD president Dato Paduka Hj Mohd Hamid Hj Mohd Jaafar and its secretary-general Sheikh Nordin Sheikh Mohamad were not entertained as of Press time.The Brunei Times