Selangor FC focuses on local talent and heritage players for growth
State Youth, Sports, and Entrepreneurship Committee chairman Mohd Najwan Halimi stated that this hybrid approach aligns with modern football trends and enhances the club's competitiveness.
Mohd Najwan explained that Selangor FC aims to balance the recruitment of heritage players with grassroots development to ensure long-term success.
'Selangor FC believes this hybrid approach can elevate the team's performance while maintaining the club's identity among Selangor's fans,' he said during the Selangor State Assembly.
The discussion followed a question from Noor Najhan Mohamad Salleh (PN-Sementa) regarding whether the Selangor Football Association (FAS) would follow the Football Association of Malaysia's (FAM) strategy in recruiting heritage players.
Mohd Najwan acknowledged that heritage players from Europe could improve the squad but stressed that local talent development remains a priority.
He highlighted ongoing initiatives, including coach and referee training, amateur team development, and structured state-level leagues, to bridge the gap between local and foreign players.
Selangor FC, FAS, and the state government have collaborated on programmes to strengthen football development.
'These efforts ensure that the best local players receive high-quality training and exposure,' he added.
The club has also formed partnerships with European and Asian clubs to provide international training opportunities for local players. – Bernama
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
2 hours ago
- The Star
Determined Whitney aims to break bronze barrier in Asian junior
Big dream: Whitney Isabelle Wilson is eager to reach her first final in the Asian junior meet. PETALING JAYA: National squash player Whitney Isabelle Wilson is eyeing a long-awaited breakthrough at the Asian Junior Championships in South Korea after storming into the semi-finals. The 17-year-old third seed defeated compatriot Najwa Zara Mohd Fakhrur Razi 11-4, 11-7, 7-11, 11-6 in the girls' Under-19 quarter-finals at the Gimcheon Squash Centre yesterday and she is motivated to reach her first-ever final. Cancel anytime. Ad-free. Full access to Web and App. RM 13.90/month RM 9.73 /month Billed as RM 9.73 for the 1st month, RM 13.90 thereafter. RM 12.39/month RM 8.63 /month Billed as RM 103.60 for the 1st year, RM 148 thereafter. Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel for breaking news alerts and key updates!
New Straits Times
5 hours ago
- New Straits Times
Crystal Palace dropped to UEFA's Conference League in multi-club ownership case
LONDON: Premier League side Crystal Palace have been dropped in European competition to the third-tier Conference League in a multi-club ownership case, while Olympique Lyonnais will be allowed to play in the Europa League, UEFA said on Friday. Palace had qualified for the Europa League by winning the FA Cup last season, while Lyon reached the competition by finishing sixth in Ligue 1. A move to relegate them to France's domestic second-tier Ligue 2 over their poor finances was overturned on Wednesday, a decision UEFA's Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) had been waiting for before ruling on the multi-club ownership case. "Consequently, the CFCB First Chamber pursued the assessment of the documentation submitted by Olympique Lyonnais and Crystal Palace and concluded that the clubs breached, as at 1 March 2025, the multi-club ownership criteria," UEFA said in a statement. As both Lyon and Palace had qualified for the Europa League, the French club were allowed to keep their place as they finished higher in their respective league, with Palace finishing 12th in the Premier League. The Eagle Football Group are majority owners of Lyon while its chairman John Textor also owns a controlling stake in Palace. Textor later resigned from Lyon's board of directors with Michele Kang appointed chairwoman and president. Palace said last month that New York Jets co-owner Robert Wood "Woody" Johnson had signed a legally binding agreement to buy Eagle Football Holding's stake in the Premier League club, subject to approval from the Premier League. However, Palace had missed the March deadline to comply with the multi-club ownership rules. TEXTOR 'STUNNED' "Honestly, I am stunned. We did everything possible to separate from the club, as UEFA would ask, with a sale process that began before the deadline, and a sale that will occur well before the draw," Textor told Reuters. "Now we have sold out of a club that I love, to help Palace fans continue this dream year, only to have another off-the-pitch decision lay waste to an historic sporting victory." Lyon had been demoted by the DNCG, French football's financial watchdog, in November due to the poor state of their finances but their relegation to Ligue 2 was overturned by its appeals committee. Palace can still appeal against the decision at the Court of Arbitration for Sport but if UEFA's decision stands, the rules could allow Nottingham Forest to play in the Europa League if they fulfil the admission criteria. Forest had finished seventh last season and originally qualified for the Conference League while fifth-placed Aston Villa and Palace had qualified for the Europa League. Palace chairman Steve Parish was also shocked by the decision. "We're devastated. It's a bad day for football. It's a terrible injustice," Parish told Sky Sports. "I do believe nobody wants to see this. I don't think UEFA wants to see this. We've been locked out of a European competition on the most ridiculous technicality. Supporters of all clubs should be devastated for us. "Everyone knows we're not part of a multi-club set-up. We're caught up in a rule that wasn't put there for us. This is a ludicrous decision. We will ask the appeal court to listen to our argument." The rules say no club may hold or deal in securities or shares of any other club participating in UEFA's competitions and that no club can be a member of any other club participating in UEFA competitions. Furthermore, no one person has the power to be simultaneously involved in management, administration and/or sporting performance of any club and they must not have any control or decisive influence over more than one club. - AFP
New Straits Times
6 hours ago
- New Straits Times
Chelsea out to stop PSG completing clean sweep in Club World Cup final
EAST RUTHERFORD: Chelsea must somehow try to stop an irresistible Paris Saint-Germain side from adding the Club World Cup trophy to their UEFA Champions League title as the final of the first edition of Fifa's expanded competition takes place tomorrow. PSG travelled to the United States fresh from becoming European champions with a stunning 5-0 demolition of Inter Milan in Munich in late May, and they have lived up to their favourites tag at the Club World Cup. Luis Enrique's side put four goals past Atletico Madrid in the group stage, four more past Lionel Messi's Inter Miami in the last 16, and then proved too strong for Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals. They appeared to hit new heights as they tore apart Kylian Mbappe's Real Madrid in the last four, when their 4-0 winning margin could have been far greater. The Parisians now stand on the verge of an extraordinary achievement, as they look to complete a clean sweep of trophies in this marathon 2024/25 season and add the world title to their French and European crowns. "That is the objective we have had since the beginning but it is always very difficult to achieve these things – very few teams can do what we are trying to do," said Luis Enrique after the semi-final. PSG are therefore overwhelming favourites for the game which will be played at the 82,500-capacity MetLife Stadium in New Jersey – with the Manhattan skyline as a backdrop – and which is set to be attended by Donald Trump. However Desire Doue, one of their standout performers during a remarkable campaign, insisted there were no concerns about complacency. "We are not over-confident, not at all," France international Doue told reporters before PSG trained at Rutgers University, south of New York City, on Friday. "We have been favourites for most matches in this competition and throughout this season, but what matters is what we do on the pitch." Chelsea have plenty of reason to believe too, with tomorrow's game finally wrapping up a campaign in which they won the UEFA Conference League and also finished fourth in the Premier League to qualify for the Champions League. While PSG lost to Botafogo during the group stage, Chelsea were also beaten by Brazilian opposition in Flamengo. However, they have gone on to defeat Benfica as well as two other Brazilian teams, Palmeiras and Fluminense, to reach the final. "If everyone thinks we are going to lose, then we have nothing to lose. We have to go out there and play our football, be confident and hopefully try to surprise everyone," defender Levi Colwill said on Friday. PSG's record against English opposition in 2025 shows the size of task facing Chelsea – the French club faced four Premier League teams in the Champions League and beat them all, from Manchester City and Liverpool, to Aston Villa and then Arsenal. "It is a super high-level game. They are one of the hottest teams in the world at the moment but this is the final, a one-off game," said Reece James. "Everyone has them down as strong favourites but I have been in many finals before where we have been favourites and we have not come out on top. "I don't really care that everyone is bigging up the opposition. We are just preparing in the right way and we are going out to win." The match brings down the curtain on a month-long competition that FIFA is already hailing as a huge success. But concerns over the heat of an American summer have plagued the tournament, with Chelsea's Enzo Fernandez saying Friday that playing in the middle of the afternoon was "very dangerous" – Tomorrow's game will kick off at 3:00 pm local time (1900 GMT). Whatever happens in the final, the tournament has already been a huge success for the participants from a financial viewpoint. Chelsea and PSG are assured to go home with over US$100 million (RM425 million) in prize money, with the definitive amount to become clear after the final – that money will be particularly welcome for Chelsea after they were recently fined by UEFA for breaching financial rules. - AFP
