KUALA LUMPUR: The recent floodlight cable theft at the Perak Stadium in Ipoh is not likely to affect the Super League match between Perak FC and Kedah Darul Aman (KDA FC) on Saturday (Feb 25).
Malaysian Football League (MFL) chief executive officer Stuart Ramalingam (pix) said he had been informed that work to replace the stolen cables was being currently underway.
He said MFL would be in touch with Perak to ensure all issues could be resolved before match day.
“We (MFL) have several proposals (contingency plans) but I don’t want to raise any speculation, the priority is to ensure that the match is carried out according to the existing schedule,“ he said when met at the signing ceremony of the sponsorship agreement between MFL and Al Rajhi Banking & Investment Corporation here, today.
Last week, several pictures of the affected floodlight cable boxes following the alleged theft went viral on social media, causing anxiety among The Bos Gaurus supporters that they might have to attend the match earlier in the afternoon. The scheduled kick-off time is 9 pm.
Meanwhile, Stuart said the MFL was also waiting for the remaining necessary documents related to Terengganu FC’s (TFC) application to use the Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium in Kuala Nerus as their home ground this season.
“The required third-party documents from the state government will be sent in two or three days. I think there is no problem for TFC, because they will be playing the first two matches away from home, so there is still time,“ he said.
When asked what the real issue was concerning the Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium, Stuart declined to answer, saying it was for the TFC management to comment on the matter.
The 2023 Super League kicks off this Friday with the Charity Shield match between Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) and TFC at the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium in Iskandar Puteri.
Meanwhile, today’s ceremony saw Al Rajhi’s digital bank – Rize – unveiled as the Official Digital Bank of the 2023 Malaysia League (M-League) with new and existing users eligible for a 10 per cent discount on ticket prices for three months when paying using a Rize debit card. – Bernama