SHAH ALAM: Renovating or upgrading existing futsal court facilities is among the main initiatives to be considered by the Ministry of Youth and Sports (KBS) through allocations from the government through the Budget 2023.
Deputy Youth and Sports Minister Adam Adli Abdul Halim, however, said his office needed some time to identify the affected sports facilities to ensure they are easily accessible not only to national athletes but also to the general public.
“This futsal court is everywhere, it’s just whether it belongs to the government or private. We will try to identify government facilities this year to ensure that we can optimise the use of the courst. For me, a new facility (building a futsal court) is not a necessity now.
“The most important thing is to carry out repair works (and upgrade) existing facilities so that they can be used by all parties. For example, there are up to three, four futsal courts in a district but only one can be used, “ he said.
He said this to reporters after attending the opening ceremony of the 2023 Malaysia Premier Futsal League (MPFL) at the Shah Alam National Sports Complex, today.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim when tabling the Budget 2023 on Friday, announced that the government has provided an allocation amounting to RM324 million to improve training programmes and sports facilities for the benefit of all athletes including para-athletes.
Chairman of the Futsal and Beach Soccer Committee of the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) Datuk Seri Rosmadi Ismail is optimistic that the participation of several new teams at MPFL 2023 will boost the competition and increase the commercial value of the sports in this country.
He added that the new teams in the MPFL competition this season are Johor Darul Ta’zim, Sabah and PFA Odin Sarawak.
The tournament involves 14 teams and divided into two groups, each with seven teams in Group A and B.
The competition which kicked off from Feb 18 to Aug 5 adopts a two-round league format (home and away) at the venue of the team’s choice. – Bernama