Youth Team Begin UAE Camp

TDT | Manama

Email: mail@newsofbahrain.com

Bahrain’s under-17 football team began a week-long training camp in the UAE yesterday as preparations continue for their upcoming assignments.

The kingdom’s youngsters will play two friendly matches against their Emirati counterparts, with the first taking place tomorrow and the second on Monday.

Both fixtures are intended to improve the players’ technical and physical readiness before the camp concludes on Tuesday.

Croatian coach Ugo Klingor has taken a 25-player squad to the UAE, comprising Hussain Ali, Mohammed Khalid, Abdulla Al Rowaiei, Adnan Bu Ali, Ahmed Shakeel, Hamad Adnan, Abdulaziz Buallay, Khalid Waleed, Isa Al Malki, Mohammed Attiya, Hamad Al Hajiri, Abdulrahman Majid, Mohammed Al Mulhim, Ali Al Khalaqi, Haitham Shafi, Abbas Mohammed, Hussain Al Ali, Ibrahim Talfat, Jassim Matrook, Rashid Jamal, Rayyan Al Ajmi, Zain Al Saffar, Elias Abdulla, Bader Abdulaziz and Fahad Naseer.

Attention will then turn towards the qualifiers for the 2027 AFC U17 Asian Cup, which will be held from November 8 to 20.

Bahrain will face Kuwait on November 8, Brunei Darussalam on November 11, hosts Oman on November 17 and Lebanon on November 20 in Group G, with all matches taking place in Salalah.

A total of 35 teams have been divided into seven groups of five, with each section played in a single round-robin format at a centralised venue.

Only the seven group winners will advance to the continental finals.

They will join Australia, China, defending champions Japan, South Korea, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Vietnam in the 16-team tournament.

Those nine countries qualified automatically after securing places at the 2026 FIFA U17 World Cup.

The AFC U17 Asian Cup will take place in Uzbekistan from May 12 to 29 next year and serve as Asia’s qualifying competition for the 2027 FIFA U17 World Cup, which will be staged in Qatar.