Ballarat bills itself as the place to be for team training camps outside Melbourne. A city hub – not too big, not too small – just the right size for anything a team might need but with a relaxed country vibe, away from the intense scrutiny that inevitably follows in the big smoke.

Hosting Bahrain’s national football team has taken this to a new level.

Domestic big names like basketball franchise Melbourne United, Big Bash cricket’s Melbourne Renegades and AFL club North Melbourne have each camped here in the past year for pre-season training, serving up a highly anticipated match for a finishing note.

The Australian Opals, our national women’s basketball team – including international superstar Lauren Jackson – even camped in Ballarat in 2013 to kick off a year-long lead-up to the world championships.

They all arrive with plenty of requirements – from specific meal inclusions to exact millimetre grass level of playing fields – but in turn have sparked plenty of fun with community interaction.

They were rallying community support and, while training was serious, they had plenty of time for fine-tuning when they left.

Bahrain is in a different situation.

The AFC Asian Cup is Bahrain’s football pinnacle. In the soccer scheme of things, this is second to the World Cup.

Training has been closed and under tight security at Ballarat Regional Soccer Facility.

It is important to appreciate just how important this stay is for Bahrain.

Asian Cup action starts Friday. Bahrain’s first match is Sunday.

The team is in Australia to make finals.

Bahrain has installed a new coach since a lacklustre Gulf Cup campaign in November, which in turn has lured back some star players and forced a change in tactics and on-field combinations.

A string of practice matches, against Kuwait, Uzbekistan, Iraq and Singapore before arriving in Australia, got their work started but results were nothing special. 

Camping in Ballarat has meant ensuring the Bahraini get this right in less than a fortnight.

They train twice daily, with Ballarat Regional Soccer Facility at their full disposal, and with little free time.

Ballarat sports media has been allowed behind the locked gates for a fascinating look at their final Asian Cup preparations.

The vibe is good. They joke with us about the weather – we are all sweating in the heat, they are running about in jumpers.

Players are in good humour but there is no doubt they are working furiously hard.

They travel with Sheikh Ali Bin Khalifa Al Khalifa – a member of Bahrain’s royal family and their national soccer association president – who casually watches training from the sidelines.

The Bahraini have played one friendly this week, a 4-1 win against Saudi Arabia in Geelong, but Ballarat will get its first look at international soccer and its Bahraini visitors on Sunday evening for a friendly against Jordan.

Just like their stay, the friendly is about business for the Bahraini.

This is Bahrain’s last hit-out before its Asian Cup opener against Jordan – a team that faced United Arab Emirates in a friendly earlier this week, while the UAE features in Bahrain’s Asian Cup pool.

This will be a benchmark test of sorts for the improving Bahrain team.

The Bahraini may have been largely elusive to the Ballarat public, but they say Ballarat has been a great base to polish off their preparations.

Ballarat’s reputation for hosting big league sport continues this week when the Cycling Australia Road National Championships roll into town.

Those athletes, hunting green and gold jerseys, will definitely be vying to make their presence felt.

melanie.whelan@fairfaxmedia.com.au

1 Saied Mohammed Jaffer goalkeeper

2 Mohammed Hussain (c) defender

3 Waleed Al Hayam defender

4 Saied Diyah Saied midfielder

5 Abdulla Shalal defender

6 Abdulla Abdo Omar midfielder

7 Abdulawahab Ali midfielder

8 Saied Ahmed Jaffer midfielder

9 Abdulwahab Al Malood midfielder

10 Mohammed Al Tayeb forward

11 Ismail Abdulatif Ismail forward

12 Fawzi Mubarak midfielder

13 Abdulla Hazza defender

14 Jessy Jhon forward

15 Abdulla Omar Abdulla forward

16 Abdulla Yousif forward

17 Hussain Ali Baba defender

18 Mohammed Duij defender

19 Faisal Budahoom midfielder

20 Sami Al Hussaini forward

21 Hamad Al Dooseri goalkeeper

22 Ashraf Waheed goalkeeper

23 Rashid Khalil Al Hooti defender

COACHING STAFF

Morjan Eid Morjan head coach

Isa Al Sadoon assistant coach

Abdulla Billal goalkeeping coach

Jose Carlos Ferreira fitness coach