Feisal Eusoff

In this Malay name, there is no surname or family name. The name Eusoff is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by their given name, Feisal.

Feisal Eusoff

Personal information
Full name	Haji Feisal bin Haji Mohammad Eusoff Patail
Date of birth	1967 (age 57–58)
Place of birth	Brunei
Position(s)	Midfielder
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1985–1993	Brunei
	Armed Forces
International career^‡
1985–1993	Brunei	1+	(0+)
Managerial career
2012–2014	Brunei U21 (team manager)
2012	Brunei (team manager)
2013	Brunei U23 (team manager)
President of the Football Association of Brunei Darussalam In office 17 December 2023 – 23 November 2024 Preceded by Pengiran Matusin Succeeded by Vacant
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18 December 2023 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 18 December 2023

Haji Feisal bin Haji Mohammad Eusoff Patail (born 1967) is a Bruneian former footballer who played as a midfielder.^[1] After playing for several years in the Malaysian M-League for the Brunei representative team, he was appointed team manager for the Brunei national under-21 football team that won the 2012 Hassanal Bolkiah Trophy at home soil.^[2] He was serving as the president of the Football Association of Brunei Darussalam from 2024 until his dismissal on 23 November 2024 by order of His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah.^[3]

Due to the uncommon spelling of his name, it was often miswritten as Faisal Yusof in various publications in the past.^[4]

Career

Playing career

Feisal began representing Brunei in the Malaysian leagues in 1985, after BAFA instigated an overhaul of the aging players that came in second to last place and mustered only one victory out of 15 matches in the 1984 season.^[5] Players like Feisal, Yunos Yusof, Rosanan Samak, Majidi Ghani and Zainuddin Kassim were drafted into the team with Brazilian coach Oscar Amaro tasked to make the players gel.^[6]

Fresh after an impressive showing at the 1985 Brunei Merdeka Games a month prior,^[7] Feisal made his international debut on 6 April 1985 in a 1–5 defeat against Hong Kong at Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium for qualification to the 1986 World Cup.^[8]

Feisal played for Brunei until 1993, the latter years playing in the Liga Semi-Pro Divisyen 2 where the Wasps had played since the league's formation in 1989.

Managerial career

In early 2012, Feisal was appointed the team manager of the Brunei U21 squad competing at the upcoming 2012 Hassanal Bolkiah Trophy.^[9] Coached by South Korean national Kwon Oh-son, the team clinched the trophy in the final against Indonesia on 9 March, bringing the nation its first footballing trophy since the 1999 Malaysia Cup and a year after a lengthy FIFA ban had decimated Brunei's footballing scene.^[10] The same backroom staff were handed the national team job for the 2012 AFF Suzuki Cup qualification matches held in Myanmar the following October, where they narrowly missed out on the tournament proper.^[11]

A year later, Feisal was assigned in a similar capacity to the Brunei under-23s competing at the 27th SEA Games in Thailand in December 2013.^[12] Underpreparedness and injuries to key players meant the Young Wasps lost all of their matches in the tournament,^[13][14] bringing ire to Prince Sufri Bolkiah, the president of NFABD at the time.^[15]

Feisal then managed the Under-21s for the defense of the Hassanal Bolkiah Trophy held in August 2014.^[16] Despite bringing the spine of the 2012 winning team in Najib Tarif, Hendra Azam and Adi Said,^[17] the team were knocked out in the group stages on goal difference despite a 2–1 victory over Malaysia in the last group game.^[18] Feisal tended his resignation immediately after the match.^[19]

Presidency

On 1 December 2023, Feisal was nominated as one of four candidates for the Football Association of Brunei Darussalam presidency for the 2024–27 term, to be decided at the FABD Congress on 16 December.^[20] He was subsequently elected as president in a majority vote on that date.^[21]

On 23 November 2024, he was immediately dismissed as President of the Football Association of Brunei Darussalam. Following this, legal action was taken against him for challenging the authority of His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam. ^[22]

Honours

Team

Brunei

• Borneo Cup : 1987

Manager

Brunei U21

• Hassanal Bolkiah Trophy: 2012

Individual

See also: Orders, decorations, and medals of Brunei

• Meritorius Service Medal (PJK) (2012)^[23]

References

1. "Four-goal slumber". The New Paper. 10 September 1988. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
2. "BRUNEI JUBILATE WITH WIN IN HBT 2012". ASEAN Football Federation. 10 March 2012. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
3. "Brunei Darussalam to maintain forward momentum under new President". FIFA.com. 27 December 2023. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
4. Manaf, Rahman (13 February 1985). "Faisal pemain harapan" [Faisal, player of expectation]. Pelita Brunei (in Malay).
5. "BRUNEI TURUNKAN SKUAD MUDA TAHUN DEPAN". Berita Harian. 21 December 1984. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
6. "Little Sabah can do to dent Brunei's record". Singapore Monitor. 13 January 1985. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
7. "Faisal and Syed prove promising". The Straits Times. 27 March 1985. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
8. "Brunei 1-5 Hong Kong :: World Cup Qualifiers (AFC) 1986 :: Match Events :: playmakerstats.com". playmakerstats.com. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
9. "Brunei shortlists 22-man HBT squad". The Brunei Times. 2 February 2012. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
10. "Brunei are HBT champs!". The Brunei Times. 10 March 2012. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
11. "So close, yet so far for Brunei". Borneo Bulletin. 15 October 2012. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
12. "HBT heroes to man SEA Games team". The Brunei Times. 27 January 2013. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
13. "SEA GAMES 2013: Thai Lessons for Brunei". The Brunei Times. 29 November 2013. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
14. "Fail to prepare, then prepare to fail". The Brunei Times. 22 December 2013. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
15. "HRH: I expected Laos win". The Brunei Times. 22 December 2013. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
16. "Brunei strike late for draw". The Brunei Times. 3 August 2014. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
17. "Brunei manager hails 'magical' Adi". The Brunei Times. 12 August 2014. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
18. "Battling Brunei crash out". The Brunei Times. 19 August 2014. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
19. "Brunei HBT team manager quits". The Brunei Times. 19 August 2014. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
20. "Nomination for the FABD Election Congress". Football Association of Brunei Darussalam. 1 December 2023. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
21. "Football association elects new president". Borneo Bulletin. 17 December 2023. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
22. "President of the Football Association of Brunei Darussalam was dismissed". Ministry of Youth, Culture and Sports. 23 November 2024. Retrieved 23 November 2024.
23. "Sultan sees HBT stars as nucleus of national team". Borneo Bulletin. 6 April 2012. Retrieved 11 January 2024.

Sporting positions
Preceded by Pengiran Matusin	President of the Football Association of Brunei Darussalam 2023–2024	Vacant