KUALA LUMPUR − Will the island youths from Langkawi have a chance to play football in Europe? Only time will tell.
In a bid to help young footballers from the ‘Jewel of Kedah’ make headlines across Europe, M3 league club, Langkawi City FC, has signed a two-year partnership with top German club, Borussia Dortmund (BVB).
Langkawi City FC president, Rohizan Abdullah, said they aspire to give the island's young footballers − below 20 years of age − the opportunity to develop their talent in Europe as well as in other parts of the world in five years' time.
“We will try to get five players from our club to play outside Malaysia, especially in Europe, five years from now. We will work hard to ensure that our plan is realised,” he told a virtual press conference yesterday.
The partnership between Langkawi City FC and the Bundesliga club, which ‘kicked off’ on September 1 and ends on December 31, 2023, involves the development of grassroots and youth programmes in Langkawi.
Other key activities, including a regional youth tournament series alongside BVB coaches, encompasses the exchange of education and sport tourism programmes between the two organisations.
Rohaizan also described the partnership as a wonderful opportunity to showcase beautiful Langkawi and Malaysia to the fans of BVB, Germany and the rest of the world.
Meanwhile, BVB Football Academy managing director and head of international and new business, Benedikt Scholz, said ‘anything is possible’ on the prospect of having local talent showcase their skill on European soil.
Benedikt said they are ready to open the door to talents from Malaysia by helping to develop and mould them to become promising footballers in the future.
In the meantime, Borussia Dortmund Asia Pacific managing director, Dr Suresh Letchmanan, believes that their expertise will definitely help to inspire coaches and Langkawi's youth to train and work harder than ever. He also hopes that interest in BVB over the years will increase as a result of this partnership.
Apart from hoping that this cooperation will benefit the people of Langkawi, particularly the youth, former prime minister, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who is also Langkawi City FC patron, said in a special video that there were many things that the club can learn from the European football giant on and off the pitch.
Having staged youth and marketing initiatives as well as fan engagement events in Asia since 2014, BVB have strengthened their presence in the region by having had their first team train in Singapore as well as play numerous matches in China, Japan and Malaysia in 2015, 2016 and 2017. – Bernama, October 5, 2021
