After coming in third in the last three editions of the SEA Games when women’s football was competed, Myanmar will be out for a gold run when the biennial meet kicks off next month in Kuala Lumpur.
Women’s football will once again be on offer at the SEA Games after being given a miss in 2015 in Singapore.
The tournament will see five teams – hosts Malaysia, defending champions Thailand, 2013 losing finalists Vietnam, the Philippines and Myanmar –taking part in a round-robin competition.
The top two teams will battle for the gold medal.
“We have to compete with very strong teams. If you look at FIFA’s world ranking, Vietnam and Thailand, for example, are ranked higher than Myanmar. There won’t be easy matches,” Roger Reijners , the head coach of Myanmar national women’s football team.
“The strongest opponents will be Thailand and Vietnam. But of course also Malaysia and the Philippines are developing. We really need to improve ourselves to compete in the Southeast Asian Games.
‘‘Sure it is going to be difficult but we – as a national team – go to matches to win them. That goes for every tournament we enter. Of course! We‘re going for gold.”
