Eight DPMM FC players in Brunei's FIFA ASEAN Cup squad

One of the twelve clubs in the Malaysia Super League is carrying another country’s FIFA ASEAN Cup campaign. AFF, writing from Bandar Seri Begawan on 23 September, said DPMM FC had “contributed eight players” to the Brunei squad.

Who AFF named

The federation named captain Azwan Ali Rahman, defender Nurikhwan Othman and striker Hakeme Yazid Said among the eight, and gave the head coach as Ali Mustafa, appointed in June this year. It placed Brunei in Group A of Division 2, alongside the hosts and Laos.

That group has already begun, and it began badly for them: Laos won the opening match of the whole tournament 3-1 on 24 September. Brunei close the group against the hosts on 30 September, kicking off at 20:00 Malaysian time.

What the Malaysia Super League club looks like at home

DPMM FC sit 5th of the 12 clubs on 6 points from 4 matches, with 3 goals scored and 5 conceded, 9 points behind the leaders. Two wins and two defeats is a thin sample, and the league has barely started.

The cup has gone better. They drew 3-3 at home with Kuala Lumpur City in the first leg of their Malaysia FA Cup quarter-final on 20 September, an evening of six goals that settled nothing. The return is on 11 October.

Why it matters here

A Malaysian league club losing eight players to an international window is a squad problem for a domestic season, not a footnote about somebody else’s tournament. DPMM FC have a quarter-final to finish and a league position to defend, and eight of the players who would do both are away with Brunei until Group A closes on 30 September.

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