SINGAPORE — The 2017 SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur may still be about a year away, but national football youth teams head coach Richard Tardy has already begun his assessment of the potential players to be selected for the tournament.

While it is expected that the squad will be largely made up of players from S.League outfit Garena Young Lions, an age-group club side run by the Football Association of Singapore, Tardy has challenged other local players, especially those in the Prime League, to stake their claim for a spot in his team.

And they will have a golden opportunity to impress the Frenchman this week, when Singapore’s Under-19 and U-21 sides take on their Bahrain counterparts in a series of friendly matches.

Revealing that about two-thirds of the players he has called up for the friendlies are from the Prime League and NFA setup, Tardy said: “We will give the players a chance to show me what they can do against such a high level opposition.

“We are in the midst of identifying players who I think can add and contribute to the team, because we will lose some players due to their national service commitments during the SEA Games period.

“Unfortunately, the level of football in the Prime League is not very high, so we can’t properly judge a player by observing him in that competition, and very few S.League clubs use players who are under 21 years old. That is why it will be beneficial for these players to test themselves against a side like Bahrain.”

The next SEA Games football competition will be an U-22 event instead of the previous U-23 format.

And because Singapore performed poorly at last year’s Games on home soil, crashing out at the group stage, Tardy emphasised that while player development was important to him, his main focus will be to get the right results.

“For sure, we will emphasise a lot on the results of the team at the tournament,” said Tardy.

“So we want the players to be focused on winning. Yes, you can play good football, but if there’s no result at the end of the competition, it’s hard to prove your quality.

“We also want them to show that they are proud to don the Singapore jersey, what they can do technically and tactically, and also display a fighting spirit that will help them cope with the high level of competition at the SEA Games.”

MATCHES

Wednesday (Aug 31): Singapore U19 v Bahrain U19 (8pm, Choa Chu Kang Stadium)

Saturday (Sep 3): Singapore U19 v Bahrain U19 (8pm, CCK Stadium)

Sunday (Sep 4): Singapore U21 v Bahrain U21 (8pm, CCK Stadium)

Tickets: Free entry for Wednesday's and Saturday’s matches. Tickets for Sunday’s match at S$7 (grandstand) and S$3 (students below 16 and senior citizens above 60), from the Global Tickets website or AXS machines, and at CCK Stadium from 5.30pm on match day.