Newly-appointed Brunei Darussalam head coach K. Rajagobal said that everyone in the country must play their role to help develop football.

Speaking at his first national team training this week, the 64-year-old tactician said that other than the strategic plan under the National FA of Brunei Darussalam (NFABD), the general populace must also play a very strong supporting role.

“I know that the NFABD President (Pengiran Matusin Pengiran Matasan) has plans for the future. They (NFABD) have a long-term strategic plan to develop and improve, and help restore the trust and confidence to the football fans,” said Rajagobal to Borneo Bulletin.

“It is going to be a challenge and I have come here to take the challenge. It’s an honour to come and take this job. But I think everyone plays an important role to develop Brunei football. We know where the country lies in the ranking. We are trying to improve in all aspects to be more responsible and professional in the respective fields to see if we can improve the ranking.

“It is time to make the players and clubs believe and collectively put all the effort and realise the (NFABD) president’s vision. The whole nation should be there to support and see that at least Brunei improve in their ranking, improve competitively and that we get recognition from the Southeast Asian countries.”

With football having taken a backseat due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the national team started training this week as they gear up for the remaining matches of the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches and also the qualifying round of the AFF Suzuki Cup at the end of the year.

And once the condition permits, Rajagobal intends to play friendly matches so as to further assess the condition of the team.

 “There haven’t been many games for us to evaluate the team’s performance. This is what we’re trying to do now and if all goes well we are trying to arrange some matches during the FIFA window or international break.

“We’re trying to gradually improve but I believe that if we are doing things in the right decision we will see an improvement.”

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