Myanmar striker Zin Mar One practises a free kick at Salinn Stadium in Yangon, August 28. Pic: Aye Zaw Myo

THE Myanmar women’s football team are expecting their toughest challenges to come from Vietnam and Thailand at the ASEAN Football Federation Women’s Championship, which gets underway in Yangon this week, a Myanmar Football Federation official said.

“Vietnam is at the top at the moment while Thailand has also improved a lot,” MFF technical director U Soe Myint Lwin said ahead of the September 6-15 event.

The squad of 25 is coached by U Aye Kyu Gyi and captained by San San Maw.
The Southeast Asian championship has drawn teams from eight countries who will compete in two groups until the semifinals on September 13, when Myanmar could have its first shot at titleholders Vietnam.

Myanmar’s Group B competitors are Thailand, Singapore and Laos, while Group A comprises Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines and Vietnam.

“This is the first time Myanmar has hosted this kind of event,” said U Yei Htut Tin, MFF executive secretary.

He said MFF officials were negotiating to have matches broadcast live on MRTV.

To prepare for the competition being held at Thuwunna Youth Training Centre in Thingangyun township, the Myanmar players have been training twice daily from 7-9am and again from 3:30-5pm.

“We’ve mainly been training the players to improve their speed, strength and skill, but as the matches draw nearer we’re introducing more tactics and technique training,” U Soe Myint Lwin said.

Included in the squad are several under-19 players, two of whom are likely to start for Myanmar, he added.

U Yei Htut Tin said a preparatory course for referees would be held at the Parkroyal Hotel in Dagon township on September 4 and 5.

“Referee trainers from the Asian Football Confed-eration (AFC) will teach the 14 referees from Myanmar, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, India, Uzbekistan and Nepal before the competition,” he said.

Myanmar won the ASEAN women’s championship in Vietnam in 2005 by defeating the hosts on penalties but lost to Vietnam in the final of the SEA Games the same year in Manila.

Vietnam hosted and won the ASEAN tournament in 2006 when Myanmar lost to Thailand 2-3, Chinese Taipei 0-3 and Vietnam 0-1 respectively.

Separately, the MFF announced on August 28 the women’s under-19 team would take part in qualifier matches in Thailand later this year for the 2008 Asian U-19 women’s football tournament. They have been drawn alongside Chinese Taipei, Japan, Laos, Maldives and host Thailand in Group E of the first round qualifier matches scheduled for October 31 to November 12.

Myanmar has already qualified for the 2007 Asian U-19 tournament, which kicks off in China on October 5. The team is included in Group A of the 2007 competition together with Australia, Japan and the North Korea. Group B comprises China, South Korea, Thailand and Chinese Taipei.