KUALA LUMPUR – Johor Crown Prince Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim praised the Youth and Sports Ministry’s efforts to ensure stadiums around the nation have good football pitches.
During a recent discussion with Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh in Johor Baru, Tunku Ismail mentioned that the cost of a good football pitch does not exceed RM1 million.
The Johor royal said he suggested that the ministry could help Malaysian football by providing good fields in all 14 states and for the teams using them to handle their maintenance.
“The pitch is among the fundamentals of the sport, I was delighted when YB Hannah agreed,” he said in a statement.
However, Tunku Ismail said certain teams were not interested and unwilling to fork out the expense needed to maintain pitches despite their importance.
“Poor football fields here is also the reason why our neighbours such as Thailand, Vietnam, and such get to host international competitions and we don’t,” said the Johor Darul Ta’zim FC owner.
He added that the maintenance cost for a football pitch is approximately RM240,000.
“Can’t you even maintain the field when you’re getting it for free on top of the millions of ringgit in budget yearly?
“This is the consequence when there are football owners or presidents who have no interest or love towards football.
“They are only in the football industry for personal gains,” he said. – The Vibes, March 9, 2023
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