Roslan (standing, extreme right) during a team talk after the state under-19 squad’s light training recently.
KOTA KINABALU: Sabah’s President Cup and Youth Cup squads will have to wait a little bit longer to see action in the country’s junior football leagues.
The junior leagues were supposed to kick off in early June but have since been postponed following the implementation of the Movement Control Order (MCO) nationwide until June 7.
Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) secretary general Stuart Ramalingam confirmed the postponement in a statement on Wednesday.
He said the decision was reached after FAM’s recent meeting held virtually with the Ministry of Health and the National Sports Council.
“The new kick off dates for the President Cup and Youth Cup will be discussed at our next meeting on June 7,” he was quoted as saying.
Meanwhile, Sabah under-19 squad have pledged their readiness to compete in the new Youth Cup campaign, even before the postponement was announced.
Head coach Roslan Wasli said the squad have started training on Monday after taking a break in conjunction with the Hari Raya Celebration.
He said the team management staff attended a meeting chaired by team manager Mohd Khairul Nizaem on Wednesday, where among other things discussed was the squad preparation for the new season.
“We will give extra attention to the players mental strength while at the same time organising one or two friendly matches to make sure the team will be fully ready to face challenges in the new campaign,” said Roslan.
Assistant team manager Lokman Sunggim, on the other hand, said the team preparation has been smooth where all the players were free from injuries.
Lokman said it has made the coaching staff task much easier in planning for the season opener, which he said very important to instil confidence and create a positive momentum for future fixtures.