ARSENAL FC TO VISIT MALAYSIA

Arsenal FC, one of the youngest and most attractive football club teams in the world, confirmed that Malaysia will kick-start their first pre-season tour in Asia since 1999 – giving their huge fan base in Malaysia and in this region first hand opportunity to see Arsène Wenger’s First Team squad for the 2011-12 season live in action.

Arsenal’s confirmation was announced today by FA of Malaysia (FAM) deputy president Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, who is also the Tengku Mahkota (Crown Prince) of Pahang, Tom Fox, Chief Commercial Officer of Arsenal FC and Julian Kam, CEO of ProEvents Group, the sole and exclusive tour organiser of the Arsenal Asia Tour 2011.

Organised by the FAM, the match between Malaysian XI vs Arsenal will be held at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium on July 13 and the kick-off is at 20.45 (8.45pm).

“It is great to have the Gunners back in Malaysia after 12 year. Special thanks to ProEvents for making this happen. ProEvents has established itself as the leading football marketing and management consultancy in Asia and we look forward to more such tours from the company.

“Arsenal needs no introduction here. The last time Arsenal played Malaysia in 1999, the stadium was packed with 80,000 fans. I am sure Arsenal will draw another bumper crowd this time around.

“More importantly, it will give the Malaysian players the opportunity to pit their skills against the world class professionals, many of whom are household names worldwide,” said Tengku Abdullah.

“Arsenal’s tour of Malaysia is great news for Arsenal fans here and neighbouring countries. We expect more fans from countries such as Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam coming for this match.

“The fact is that with the increased coverage of BPL in Asia, Arsenal’s fan base has increased substantially around the region. Everyone is excited and eagerly waiting for the team to arrive in KL in July,” said Julian Kam.

Arsenal Chief Executive Ivan Gazidis said: “Everyone at Arsenal Football Club is excited to be visiting Malaysia. We enjoy huge support in Asia and this will help bring the Club closer to our fans in South East Asia.

“Arsenal Football Club has a tradition of playing in Malaysia going back to the 1960s. This is our fourth visit to Malaysia. We last played in Kuala Lumpur in 1999. It will be a wonderful experience for the Club and our players, many of whom will be visiting Malaysia for the first time.”

Prices for tickets for the match range from RM58, RM68, RM108 and limited VIP tickets at RM388 and are available for purchase at selected Nike stores at KLCC, The Pavilion Mid Valley, One Utama and Sunway and Ticketpro outlets nationwide or call up Ticketpro’s hotline at 013-78807999 or book online through their website www.ticketpro.com.my.

There is a bonus for those who purchase their match ticket from May 27-June 5 as each ticket will come with a complimentary training pass.

Summary of Ticketing Details

Prices for tickets range from RM58, RM68, RM108 and limited VIP tickets at RM388. From May 27, match tickets are exclusively available at selective Nike stores nationwide and each purchase comes with a complimentary commemorative training pass. From May 30 onwards, fans can purchase tickets at selected Nike and Ticketpro outlets nationwide or call up Ticketpro’s hotline at 03-78807999 or book online through their website www.ticketpro.com.my.

BLUES COMING TO TOWN

Exciting news for all football fans as they will have an opportunity to get a free commemorative Chelsea Football Club training pass when they purchase tickets for the Malaysia XI vs Chelsea match at selected adidas outlets nationwide from May 20-29 while stocks last.

Prices for the tickets range from RM58, RM68, RM108 and limited VIP tickets at RM388.

Organised by the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM), the Malaysia XI vs Chelsea FC match, will be held at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil at 8.45pm on Thursday, July 21 2011. The official match sponsors include adidas, Astro, One World and Naza World.

“In 2008, we had 55,000 football fans come and watched an excellent and exciting game of football. We expect more fans to come for this year’s match, especially from neighbouring countries such as Brunei, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand and Singapore,” said Julian Kam, CEO of ProEvents Group, who is the sole and exclusive promoter for the Chelsea Asia Tour 2011.

“Chelsea is here not just to play a football match. We have also lined up an up-close and personal activity for the fans to get closer with Chelsea players and officials. These include an autograph session, soccer clinics, charitable events and meeting the official Chelsea Supporters Club.

“This is a golden opportunity for all football fans to see a top flight English Premier League team in action. As this pre-season tour forms an important part of the team’s preparations for the 2011/12 season which begins in August,” Kam added

FA of Malaysia (FAM) secretary general Dato Azzuddin Ahmad in congratulating ProEvents for making this match possible and also for celebrating its 10^th anniversary in Malaysia, said: “This is a great opportunity for football fans to come and watch a top notch English Premier League team in action.

“Football fans in Malaysia and possibly in this region should not miss this golden opportunity to come and watch their idols in action. I am confident Malaysian players are also eagerly waiting to face the professionals.”

Summary of Ticketing Details

Prices for tickets range from RM58, RM68, RM108 and limited VIP tickets at RM388. From May 20-29, match tickets are exclusively available at selective adidas stores nationwide and each purchase comes with a complimentary commemorative training pass. From May 30 onwards, fans can purchase tickets at selected adidas and Ticketpro outlets nationwide or call up Ticketpro’s hotline at 03-78807999 or book online through their website www.ticketpro.com.my.

MRU PREPARES FOR 5 NATIONS

FIFTEEN players who featured in the MRU Super League final on 8 May 2011 have been drafted in a 30-man squad preparing for the HSBC Asian 5 Nations tournament in South Korea early next month.

Cobra, the newly crowned winners, contributed 10 players while five were drafted from the runners-up Keris Conlay, according to national team manager DSP Ridzuan Abdul Aziz.

The squad has assembled at UiTM in Shah Alam for a centralised camp before the team departs for Ansan, a city in South Korea and an hour’s drive away from Incheon Airport.

DSP Ridzuan said he had initially called up a squad of 46 players but by this week, the number had dropped to 30. The final choice for the 24-member side to fly the Malaysian flag at the tournament will be made prior to departure.

They will be accompanied by four officials.

DSP Ridzuan was chief scout at MRU Super League’s final and was impressed with what he saw. He did not waste time is making immediate arrangements to recruit his new charges.

“Overall, I am happy with the material I have this week,’’ he said, adding that preparations would be much easier with a crop of players who are fit and disciplined.

One disappointment he highlighted was the absence from the camp of three imported players from Sabah who have been part of his campaign for the past two years.

The three players from Fiji – Semi Seruvakula, Nacani Seniu and Viliame Tuinivanua – are a core part of the Malaysian backline. It transpires that they have not been released by their union bosses.

“I know there is an internal problem, but don’t let the players suffer. I need them in the national side,” DSP Ridzuan said.

He did not divulge the details of the “problem” but it is known to be a conflict between the MRU and the Sabah Rugby Union.

The other Fijians in the squad are ASAS captain Timoci Nacokula, and Cobra veterans Isoa Turuva and Kini Rasolosolo. Nacokula and Turuva are centres while Rasolosolo appears at No.8.

DSP Ridzuan said after Malaysia won the Division 2 championship in 2009, he said the outing to South Korea has to be better than the disappointing performance in Singapore last year.

Malaysia, with a full team, lost narrowly 20-22 to hosts Singapore in a match that see-sawed all the way. Singapore scored the narrow lead with two players in the sin bin.

However, Malaysia came back in their next game to beat Chinese Taipei 36-5 to be come third best in the four-country competition. The silverware was taken home by Sri Lanka and Singapore the runners-up.

Malaysia’s first game on Wednesday June 1 at 1pm will be against Singapore. Should they beat Singapore they will proceed to play the winner of the South Korea-Philippine match on Saturday June 4.

SHEIKHFUL BAHARI HERO FOR SMK DATO ABDULLAH

It was worth the trip down south to Pasir Gudang, Johor for Negri Sembilan outfit SMK Dato Abdullah of Seremban to compete in the south zone Manchester United Premier Cup (MUPC) qualifier over the weekend.

It came out tops – beating Johor Bahru’s Khaizar Sports 1-0 in the zone final played at Padang Mawar in Pasir Gudang on Sunday to book its place in the National Finals which will be played in Bukit Jalil on May 28. Khaizar also made it to the national finals.

Negri had two other teams in the qualifier but SMK Zaaba of Kuala Pilah were knocked out in the second round while SMK Tunku Ampuan Duha, Seremban in the quarter-finals.

With the completion of the south zone qualifier, eight teams have qualified for the national finals. They are SMK Putera, Kota Bahru and SMK Sultan Sulaiman, Kuala Terengganu from the East Zone, SMK Pusat Bandar Puchong and SMK Meru, Klang (Central Zone). Penang Schools Sports Council and SMK Anderson, Ipoh, qualified from the North Zone.

For the first time there will be two teams from the East Malaysia and this qualifier will be held at Stadium Sarawak in Kuching on May 21-22.

The national champions will represent Malaysia at the South East Asia regional finalsto be held in Si Racha, Thailand from June 7-9. The regional champions will then compete in the World Finals in Carrington, Manchester in August. The final will be played at Old Trafford.

In the south zone final, a ninth minute goal by Sheikhful Bahari Yaacob turned out to be the winner for SMK Dato Abdullah.

“We trained hard for this year’s MUPC. A lot of efforts were put in during training. Winning the south zone is a morale booster for the team to do well in the national finals. We aim to go far this year,” said Negri Sembilan Schools Sports Council coordinator Husai Nizam.

There was some consolation for Khaizar Sports when Mohd Shambr haizam Sulaiman was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) and Mohd Ruzaini Juli won the best goalkeeper award. The top scorer was Mohamed Ashraf Roslan of SMK Dato Abdullah with three goals. The Fairplay award went to SMK Tenggaroh ‘A’.

A total of 32 teams competed in Pasir Gudang. In the semi-finals, SMK Dato Abdullah gunned down SMK Tenggaroh ‘A’ 2-0 with goals by Muhd Farid Syakir (6^thmin) and Sheikhful Bahari (8^th). In the other semi-final Khaizar edged Tunas Cemerlang Johor FC 5-4 on penalties after a scoreless draw.

WORAWI REMOVED

Fifa executive committee member Worawi Makudi, who has been implicated in a World Cup bribery scandal, is no longer head of the Football Association of Thailand (FAT) according to a government sporting body.

The Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT) said that the postponement of FAT elections last week was illegal, and as no election had been held within the required time limit after Worawi's presidency expired at the end of 2010, his position was void.

Worawi was to have been challenged for the presidency at FAT elections last Friday but the poll was postponed when the executive board said some of the clubs had more than one voting representative.

"It was clearly an illegal move," SAT deputy governor Somkid Pinthong told a Senate committee on sports, according to a report in Thursday's Bangkok Post.

"An election for FAT president must have been completed by March 31," Somkid said. "As an election was not held by that date, Worawi and his executive board have lost their positions.

"In fact, they did not even have the authority to call the May 6 election."

The FAT had planned to hold an election within two weeks, but had only until Tuesday to answer an SAT query over the initial postponement or face further action.

Worawi was outside the country attending to Fifa business but was reportedly due back tomorrow and was scheduled to hold a press conference on Monday at which he will address the threat to his tenure as FAT president and Fifa executive committee member.

He was also expected to address allegations by English Football Association chairman David Triesman that said Worawi and three other executive committee members asked for various kinds of payment in exchange for their support of England's failed bid to host the 2018 World Cup.

Worawi was accused of asking for control of the television rights to a proposed Thailand-England friendly in Bangkok this year, which did not proceed after England's World Cup bid failed. Worawi has denied the allegations.

Worawi had also publicly declared that he would support challenger Mohammed Hammam in the upcoming elections for the FIFA presidency, against incumbent Sepp Blatter. -- AP