Bahrain Olympic team will start its campaign in the U-23 Asian Football Championship by taking on hosts Thailand in Bangkok today.
The Group ‘A’ match, which kicks off at 4.15pm Bahrain time, will be played at the Rajamangala Stadium.
In another Group A match, Iraq will play Australia at 1.15pm.
This is the first time that Bahrain have qualified for the championship.
The top three teams in the championship will qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
Meanwhile, a co-ordination meeting focusing on the Group ‘A’ fixtures was held yesterday. It was attended by team director Shaikh Ahmed bin Isa Al Khalifa, administrator Abdulla Al Mutawa, media co-ordinator Ahmed Mahdi as well as physiotherapists Sayyed Moayyed Ni’ma and Abdulla Arafa.
Opportunity
Bahrain will be wearing the red jersey during the group phase matches.
Ni’ma and Arafa also attended the medical meeting which was held after the co-ordination session.
The championship is an opportunity for Bahrain to make history and book a berth in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, said national team coach Sameer Chammam.
Addressing a press conference ahead of the opening match, he said that Bahrain had started preparations for the championship in 2017, expressing delight at being among 15 sides which represent the cream of Asian teams.
He said that Bahrain is eyeing a berth in the Olympics, expressing confidence in the players’ capability to perform well in the championship.
Bahrain will take on Iraq on Saturday and Australia on Tuesday.