KUCHING, April 4: The Allianz Junior Football Camp (AJFC) Malaysia League 2018 will make its debut in Sarawak.
This will provide young Sarawakian footballers aged between 14 and 16-years-old with the opportunity to be part of AJFC Munich and the chance to train with reigning and record 27-time German champions FC Bayern Munich’s youth coaches in Munich, Germany in August.
In cooperation with Sarawak Football Association, the 16 team, 11-a-side competition will be played using a carnival format on April 28 and 29 at Kompleks Sukan Petra Jaya, Kuching.
The participating teams will be divided into groups of four teams each with the respective group winners advancing to the semi-finals. All matches will be played over a duration of 60 minutes.
“Bringing AJFC to Sarawak was a long-held dream and we are happy to finally turn that dream into reality. AJFC has turned out as a calling card for young footballers. To date, six winners of AJFC Munich have gone on to play in the President’s Cup (U-21), five have played in the Youth Cup (U-19), and two have earned a National U-19 call up with one other having played for the National U-22,” said Allianz Malaysia Berhad chief executive officer Zakri Khir.
Zakri said this is an opportunity too big to miss out on and they hope to see a good turnout in Kuching.
The league kicked-off at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi on March 24 for the Central region, and will be held at Kompleks Sukan Hang Jebat, Melaka (Southern region) and Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang (Northern region) on April 7.
It will then move to Padang Majlis Perbandaran Kuantan and Kolej Universiti Islam Pahang Sultan Ahmad Shah in Kuantan, Pahang (East Cost region) and Padang Sukma Kota Kinabalu (Sabah) on 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 winner 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 two best Malaysian players will be selected to attend AJFC in Munich, Germany,” Zakri said.
Those interested to register for AJFC Malaysia League 2018 may send an email to football@allianz.com.my.
They can also keep updated on AJFC via Allianz Malaysia’s Facebook page at facebook.com/AllianzMalaysia and Instagram at instagram.com/allianzmalaysia. — DayakDaily
