PETALING JAYA (9 July 2012) – Six teams from five nations will compete in the fourth edition of the Yamaha Asean Cup Under-13 football tournament which will be held at the Petaling Jaya Stadium, Kelana Jaya from July 13-15.
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Hosts Malaysia will field two teams – Malaysia Yellow and Malaysia Blue – in the tournament which was inaugurated in 2008. The other teams competing are defending champions Indonesia, former champions Thailand and Vietnam and India, who made their debut last year.
The Yamaha Asean Cup Under-13 tournament is the brainchild of Yamaha Motor Co., Limited, Japan. The Japanese industrial giant mooted the idea of this tournament to bring together players and teams from each country and provide them an opportunity to compete in a healthy atmosphere.
At the same time the tournament will provide the budding young football talent to take the first step towards becoming a professional footballer as a career. Yamaha believes the tournament will also give the players the exposure and competitiveness at international level.
“Our aim is to make the Yamaha Asean Cup Under-13 football tournament a symbol of the Yamaha Motor Company Limited. It is also our aim to promote the sport in the Asean region through the football-playing youth,” said Mr Leong King Choon General Manager, Sales & Marketing of Hong Leong Yamaha Motor Sdn Bhd, the official franchise holder of Yamaha brand in Malaysia and co-organisers of the Yamaha Cup.
The first Yamaha Asean Cup was held in Da Nang, Vietnam in 2008. Indonesia hosted the second edition in Jakarta in 2010 before it moved to Muang Thong Thani in Thailand last year.
Incidentally, the host country walked away with the title on each occasion. It is left to be seen if Malaysia can do the same as the previous three hosts. Malaysia’s best so far was finishing runners-up to Vietnam in 2008.
However, hopes are high that either of the two Malaysian teams – Malaysia Yellow and Malaysia Blue – will be able to emulate what the previous hosts achieved.
The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) Assistant General Secretary, Kelly Sathiraj said:
“The Yamaha Cup is the perfect platform for the young children to perform and show their football skills and take their game to a higher level in pursuit of a professional career in the sport.
“It is also a perfect platform for the young talent to launch their football career at international level.
“The FAM takes this opportunity to thank Yamaha Motor Company Limited of Japan for taking the initiative in the development of the game in this region.
“Yamaha is certainly playing a big role in the development of football in this region and this Under-13 tournament is testimony for their commitment.”
It is hoped that Singapore, who took part in the inaugural tournament in 2008, but stayed away since then, will make a return next year. It is also hoped other Asean nations like Brunei, Laos, Cambodia and the Philippines will be part of the Yamaha Asean Cup family soon.
Released by Shekhinah PR on behalf of Hong Leong Yamaha Motor.
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