NBT's support for soccer
By J Klinsmann

The very happy Pusus

Bandar Seri Begawan - NBT (Brunei) Sdn Bhd held a Football Club Signing Ceremony at their Jalan Tutong Showroom on Friday to present tokens of appreciation to the NBT FC team for emerging champions in the NBT Challenge Trophy 2004; to appoint Awg Moksin Mohammad as NBT FC Coach; to receive submission of NBT FC 2004 players' contracts and to sign a $10,000 sponsorship of Projek Ikan Pusu, the National Junior Football Development Programme.

Present at the ceremony was Ninan Chacko, Managing Director of NBT (Brunei) Sdn Bhd, Hj Shahrum bin Hj Kadir, NBT General Sales Manager and Chairman of NBT FC as well as Pg Khairul Pg Hj Matusin, General Manager, Tebuan.com Sports Science Consultants representing Projek Ikan Pusu.

According to Chacko, NBT (Brunei) Sdn Bhd is very pleased to support local football development such as forming NBT FC and organising the very successful NBT Challenge Trophy (now into its second year) as well as sponsoring Projek Ikan Pusu.

"We are extremely pleased at NBT FC's progress to date in the B-League. We are also very happy to note Projek Ikan Pusu's exceptional performance lately and their current domination of local junior football. I am most happy that NBT (Brunei) Sdn Bhd was able to contribute concretely to make a difference."

When asked to comment on the ceremony, Hj Shahrum said it is part of NBT's community service. "Through NBT FC, NBT Challenge Trophy Tournament and Projek Ikan Pusu, NBT (Brunei) Sdn Bhd has in fact created jobs for local coaches. This is one of our company's contribution to the local community," he added.

Haji Momin Hj Ibrahim, NBT (FC) Team Manager said the club is participating in the Second Division of the B-League and is currently second in the table. "We had five wins, one draw (against Bandaran KB-the current table leader) and one loss, which is really not bad for our first year," he explained.

"The sponsorship of NBT (Brunei) Sdn Bhd is very important to the progress of Projek Ikan Pusu as we do not have any other source of funding. With this sponsorship we are able to employ coaches.

The $10,000 will pay for the services of our four coaches (12 months) and our training and competition needs. We need more in fact to do a better job. It's not exactly rocket science," remarked Pg Khairul. "And therefore, we truly appreciate NBT (Brunei) Sdn Bhd's staunch support. We will do our best to raise the profile of junior football and to help improve the standard of Brunei football," he added.

When asked about the rise of Projek Ikan Pusu (PIP) as a major force in local junior football, Hj Omar Hj Jamil, PIP Chief Coach said: "Without giving away too many secrets, it is by design rather than accident. Our approach is based on professional management and the systematic application of Sports Science. Our tremendous progress in three years is proof of the effectiveness of this approach."

For the record, PIP has, in December 2003, even defeated Sabah's Tunas Asas Bolasepak Sabah development programme in Kota Kinabalu by a 6-2 aggregate and scoring 32 goals in the process.

Recently PIP dominated the Ministry of Education Football Festival by emerging champions in all the age categories: U-10, U-12 and U-15. PIP will also be going to Kuala Lumpur in December 2004 for more match exposure.

Nonetheless, Brunei football development has a long way to go to even catch up with our regional neighbours. Initiatives like NBT FC and the B-League as well as Projek Ikan Pusu are therefore critical. We need a more professional approach.

Volunteerism is outdated. Sports Science, knowledgeable, motivated and committed coaches are the key to success. In addition we need national unity, support, contribution, dedication and a willingness to put Brunei first, at all levels and from all sectors of the community to truly achieve a quantum leap forward.

 -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

Click Here To Have Your Say On This Story

Brudirect.com News