Football: Brunei DPMM recovering from effects of the Covid-19 pandemic

SINGAPORE – A year of limbo during the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, followed by a disrupted season in the Bruneian league – which saw them win by lopsided scorelines of 15-0, 16-1 and 13-0.

Then another year of inactivity.

In a nutshell, that was what Brunei DPMM went through during their three-year hiatus from the Singapore Premier League (SPL).

Footballing normalcy finally returned for the two-time SPL winners this season, and they could not be happier.

The 2019 SPL champions had begun their title defence in March 2020 with a 2-0 home win over Tampines Rovers, which turned out to be their last SPL game for three years.

The SPL was suspended later that month as the pandemic hit.

When the SPL resumed that October, DPMM had to withdraw from it due to Brunei’s travelling restrictions. It was not until December 2020 that they were finally allowed to resume training, although it started only in groups of five, then 10.

DPMM coach Adrian Pennock, who led them to their 2019 SPL title, recalled: “Everything was locked down. There was no gym, no swimming, nothing was open. We went to Jerudong which is our mini-stadium and did some fitness work.

“I would rotate the players every couple of days and they were really understanding. At that time, it was more about getting them to come out from their homes.”

Veteran midfielder Hendra Azam praised Pennock’s humane approach when spirits were low.

The 34-year-old said: “I would say coach Pennock is the best coach I could have. He is a family man. For example, when our father is sick, he will give us time off training.

“During lockdown, he would regularly WhatsApp the team words of encouragement to keep us united.”

Hendra, like most other local DPMM players, are part-time footballers. Till today, they do shift work about three days a week in the government sector.

With no football in 2020, they took a 30 per cent wage cut as training was cancelled.

In June 2021, the Brunei Super League resumed and DPMM fielded their first team. They picked up maximum points from six games, with 56 goals scored and only one conceded.

Their double-digit wins included a 16-1 whitewash of Bahtera Kemudi Sekawan and a 15-0 drubbing of Rimba Star. Pennock likened it to “Liverpool playing a lower-league side in England every week”.

But even that lasted only two months, as the league was suspended due to another wave of Covid-19 infections.

Pennock and Belarusian forward Andrey Varankow, who scored 23 of DPMM’s 56 goals in 2021, returned to their home countries.

Pennock, a British citizen and former assistant manager of Stoke City, did scouting work for several English Premier League clubs. Varankow, 34, trained with Belarusian Premier League side FC Vitebsk and played competitive futsal.

In August 2022, the Brunei FA Cup was reinstated instead of the league. DPMM won the competition comfortably without Pennock and Varankow, both of whom returned in early 2023.

Varankow, who was the 2019 SPL top goalscorer, said: “I returned to Brunei (DPMM) because I like this league. I’ve played in the Ukrainian leagues for eight years and in Belarus for three years.

“The Bruneian and Singaporean leagues are a new journey for me and I am very happy to play here.”

DPMM have lost both their opening games – 3-1 to Lion City Sailors and 4-3 to Balestier Khalsa – on their return to the SPL.

With their home stadium in Bandar Seri Begawan under renovation till May, they will play their first eight games in Singapore. They include Tuesday’s match against Tanjong Pagar United at the Jalan Besar Stadium, their temporary “home” venue.

Pennock, who had downplayed his side’s title hopes, is eyeing something else. He hopes to develop younger Bruneian players such as centre-back Wafi Aminuddin, 22, and forward Hakeme Yazid, 20.

“Brunei only has a population of 500,000 people,” he said. “If I can find one golden nugget in 500,000 young boys then great.

“That’s what we’re trying to find in the next few years.”