LIKE Martin Luther King, Brunei also has a dream. Hoping to help unite the ASEAN society, particularly its youth, Brunei in 2002 introduced the Hassanal Bolkiah Trophy (HBT) a football competition for Under-21 footballers in ASEAN countries.

A biennial tournament, the HBT is the brainchild of His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, who desired that a football tournament be organised with the aim of increasing friendship and understanding among Southeast Asian youth through sports. Speaking in Kuala Lumpur in 1997, His Majesty said: "Soccer has the greatest following in Southeast Asia. Having an ASEAN or Southeast Asian soccer league will deepen the awareness of ordinary people of ASEAN countries. Let all the best teams of our region compete in the league. If Europe can have a European League, Latin America a Latin American League and Africa its African league, why is there not a Southeast Asian League?"

Having served FIFA's ban, Brunei welcomes back the tournament this year and with a bang, too. The National Football Association of Brunei Darussalam recently confirmed that all 10 ASEAN member nations, plus guest Timor Leste, will be taking to the field for next month's HBT. With 11 teams competing for top honours, the 2012 HBT is set to be the biggest edition of the tournament.

This year also marks the first time organisers are allowing teams to field overage players. Unlike previous editions in 2007, 2005 and 2002, each team may play five senior players at the Feb 25-March 5 event. And to put the icing on the cake, a proposed Southeast Asian football super league also won approval of regional Sports Ministers in December.

These developments suggest we are moving ever closer to realising His Majesty's ASEAN vision one that shows Brunei may be a small nation, but it dares to dream big!