Football: Lionesses to play Seychelles, Papua New Guinea in Tri-Nations Series

National women's football team, Lionesses, will play an unranked Seychelles on April 4 at the Jalan Besar Stadium. PHOTO: BERITA HARIAN

SINGAPORE - The Lionesses will get their chance to play in front of a home crowd for the first time in four years when they take on Seychelles and Papua New Guinea in the FAS Tri-Nations Series 2022 (Women's) over the next two weeks.

The two international 'A' friendlies are part of their preparations for the May 12-23 SEA Games, which they will compete in for the first time since 2003.

Ranked 135th in the world, the national women's football team will play an unranked Seychelles next Monday (April 4) at the Jalan Besar Stadium, while Seychelles and Papua New Guinea will face off on April 8. The triangular tournament will conclude with the match between the hosts and world No. 49 Papua New Guinea on April 11.

A familiar face will be on the sidelines in their opening game against Seychelles, as their opponents are coached by former Singapore international Angeline Chua, who is the Seychelles Football Federation's director of women's football and head coach.

Captain Ernie Sulastri said the Lionesses are looking forward to playing at home for the first time since the FAS International Women's Quadrangular in 2018.

Their last international outing was in September last year at the qualifiers for the Asian Football Confederation Women's Asian Cup in Tajikistan, where they suffered two 1-0 defeats by Indonesia.

She said: "These matches are important for us as we are reaching the final phase of our preparations for the SEA Games. We are looking to build on our team cohesion, test our match fitness and practise our set pieces.

"We are also looking forward to showing a good fight and we are thrilled to have the precious opportunity to play in front of our family, friends and fellow Singaporeans after a long time."

Up to 4,000 spectators are allowed per match at the 6,000-capacity Jalan Besar Stadium.

In line with the latest safe management measures by Sport Singapore, the consumption of food and drinks is permitted, but only at designated areas and is subject to prevailing dining-in activity requirements, which include eating and drinking at a fixed position, safe distancing and the prevailing group size limits of 10 persons.

Fans will be able to sit without social distancing but are encouraged to keep their masks on once they are inside the stadium. Re-entry into the stadiums is now permitted.

The Football Association of Singapore (FAS) said that musical instruments, banners, and flags are subjected to approval at the point of entry and must not contravene security and/or regulatory measures.

Tickets are priced at $10.00 for adults and $5.00 for concession, but fans can also purchase the Singapore bundle for both matches at $18.00 for adults and $9.00 for concession, excluding booking fees.

Fans can buy their tickets at this website. 

Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.