Courtesy: Daily Express


UMS set to join FAM Cup Football League

Friday, April 09, 2010

Kota Kinabalu: It's serious involvement in sports has paved way for an opportunity for Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) to set foot on the big stage as the varsity's Football Club gets set to join the FAM Cup Football League next year.

UMS Vice Chancellor Professor Datuk Kamaruzaman Hj Ampon said that the varsity was offered a spot in the league and that ambitions were high for it to win the championship in the debut season.

He also announced that UMS would also be joining the National Woman Futsal League in the same year.

But UMS would have to go through the qualifying round before officially making it into the tournament.

"We have been offered, and we will not only be there just to participate, but will try to win the championship," said Kamaruzaman.

He said this at the UMS Sports Appreciation Night held here on Tuesday.

Kamaruzaman said that the aim of UMS is to see its students do well not only in academics but also in sports.

Meanwhile, UMS Head of Sports Unit, Mohd Asyraaf Fong Abdullah said they are now in the process of registering the club with the Sports Commissioners to enable them to compete in the FAM Cup League, which is scheduled to begin in March.

"There is still plenty of time for us to do all our preparations and register the club. We already have our squad.

"What we need to do now is find a sponsor and just train to prepare for the challenges that we will face later on," said Asyraaf adding that the women's futsal team is ready for the qualifying round in Selangor, next month.

Both teams (football and women's futsal) would comprise of UMS staff and students, but Asyraaf said there is a possibility that outsiders would be employed to strengthen the squads.

For the record, the FAM Cup is considered Malaysia's third division league after the Super League and Premier League.

The last team to represent the State in this league was Beverly FC, where they earned promotion into the Premier League two seasons ago before eventually pulling out at the last minute after failing to secure a sponsor.


Posted by Luca Ranocchiari --> luca.ranocchiari@futsalplanet.com