KUCHING: Eighte en young Sarawakian footballers are one step closer to earning a golden ticket to be part of the Allianz Junior Football Camp (AJFC) in Munich and the chance to train with FC Bayern Munich’s youth coaches this August.
The players throughly impressed selectors at the Regional Final on Saturday and will now represent Sarawak in the Grand Finals of the AJFC Malaysia 2018 from July 5 to 7. In the final, Petra Giant FC were crowned AJFC Malaysia 2018 Sarawak champions after beating SMK Tarat 2-1 at the State Stadium, Petra Jaya, here Saturday.
Meanwhile, following a goalless draw, SMK Bandar Samariang edged out SMK Santubong 4-1 on penalties to finish third and fourth respectively. “AJFC in Sarawak was a great success and we really could not have asked for more. The competition is being held here for the first time and the boys brought along a lot of enthusiasm and determination.
“And it showed on the pitch. Our goal was to make this competition accessible to young footballers nationwide and we congratulate all 18 players for making the team and we wish them the very best in the finals,” said Amy Loke, chief market management officer of Allianz Malaysia Berhad. In collaboration with Sarawak Football Association, the 16-team, 11-a-side competition was held on April 28 and 29. The participating teams, made up of footballers aged between 14 and 16 years old were divided into groups of four teams each with the respective group winners advancing to the semi-finals.
All matches were played over 60 minutes. AJFC Malaysia League kickedoff in Central region at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi on 24 March 2018, followed by Southern region at Kompleks Sukan Hang Jebat, Malacca and Northern region at Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang (7 April) and East Coast region at Padang Majlis Perbandaran Kuantan 1and Kolej Universiti Islam Pahang Sultan Ahmad Shah in Kuantan, Pahang and Sabah at Padang Sukma Kota Kinabalu (April 14). Upon the culmination of the Malaysia League, the regional selection panel will then select the top 18 players from each region to form six regional teams that will compete in the Finals.
Following three days of centralised training, the six teams will go head-to-head to determine the winners at the Grand Final on July 7. At the end of the Grand Finals, 10 players will be selected to attend the AJFC Asia in Bangkok, Thailand, where the best two Malaysian players will be selected to attend AJFC in Munich, Germany.
