Neo Gen Football Academy U-10 will represent the city of Bandung and West Java at the Singa Cup 2026 tournament in Singapore from 31 October to 7 November 2026.

Pikiran-Rakyat.com – Neo Gen Football Academy U-10 will represent the city of Bandung and West Java at the Singa Cup 2026 tournament in Singapore on 31 October-7 November 2026. This is the first time the team has played in an international tournament between age groups.

Although the team is relatively new, it hopes that taking part in Singa Cup will add experience and match time for its players. Neo Gen Football Academy was formed by three former Persib players: Sergio van Dijk, Raphael Maitimo and Rizky Bagja.

Sergio said that, besides playing in Singa Cup, Neo Gen Football Academy also plans to send a U-14 team to play at the ASEAN Youth Cup in November.

The former Indonesia national team player added that the academy was set up to help children in West Java get a structured pathway towards professional football.

We want to help the children of West Java and Bandung build a pathway to professional football.

Sergio van Dijk, in Bandung on Sunday, 11 October 2026

According to him, match experience at the international level is important for broadening the horizons and improving the abilities of young Indonesian players from an early age.

We have many connections outside Indonesia and want the children who are the future generation of Indonesian football to get the experience of playing in international competitions.

Sergio van Dijk

Sergio said the opportunity to compete abroad is part of efforts to prepare a generation of Indonesian players for the long term. He hopes the experience will be a foundation for the players to develop and get to know international football from a young age.

Sergio said that player development must start at the grassroots level so that progress can be sustained over the long term.

In my opinion, development must also start from the grassroots. What is happening now may be a short-term success, but we want to see development over the long term.

Sergio van Dijk

He believes the development programme run by Neo Gen Academy should be used as well as possible by young players as part of the process towards the professional level. According to him, early-age football development should not be oriented towards winning titles, but towards improving players’ abilities.

Source: Pikiran Rakyat

Article Link: https://www.pikiran-rakyat.com/bola/pr-0110497785/dibesut-eks-persib-neo-gen-academy-u-10-wakili-bandung-di-singa-cup-2026