AFC U14 Festival

Kota Kinabalu: The AFC U-14 Festival of Football for the ASEAN region officially kicked off in Kota Kinabalu in the Malaysia province of Sabah on Wednesday.

Eleven countries from Southeast Asia - Malaysia, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Australia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor Leste and Vietnam - are taking part in this year's festival.

The opening ceremony was graced by AFC Deputy General Secretary Hasan Al-Sabah and Sabah Deputy Sports and Youth Minister Datuk Jahid Jahim.

Al Sabah congratulated the Malaysia Football Association (FAM) and Sabah Football Association (SAFA) for staging the event successfully for the last four years.

He also reminded that the festival is more of an educational event and less about competition.

Jahim thanked AFC and FAM for the trust reposed in Sabah in hosting the event for the coming four years. He also urged the participants to enjoy the festival and their stay in Sabah.

The festival runs through May 24 till June 6 in Kota Kinabalu.

Matches for Format 1 and 2 are underway at the Universiti Malaysia Sabah Sport Complex.

the-afc.com