KUALA LUMPUR – Sabah FC’s head coach Datuk Ong Kim Swee is among three individuals nominated for the National Football Awards 2022 (ABK22) Coach of the Year title this season.
The Malaysian Football League in a statement today said the former national head coach was nominated along with two other candidates namely Kuala Lumpur (KL) City FC coach Bojan Hodak and Nafuzi Zain as Terengganu FC (TFC) coach.
Nafuzi has left TFC following the conclusion of this season and has since been appointed as Kedah Darul Aman FC head coach.
Kim Swee described the nomination as an honour and furthermore, it was the first year he was entrusted to guide a club in the Malaysian League.
“It’s great to be recognised like this and it’s definitely very important for me as a coach to do what the team needs to do this season.
“This is my first year as Sabah’s coach and I believe there is much more we can improve,” he was quoted as saying in the statement.
He acknowledged the fierce competition for the title and that he respects the other two candidates based on their impressive achievements in managing KL City and TFC in the 2022 season.
Meanwhile, Nafuzi attributed the nomination to his team’s hard work for him to win the best coach award.
To him, Hodak who won the award last season has the opportunity to defend his title this time around in addition to Kim Swee who has also done a good job guiding Sabah to reach the top three in the Super League.
Last season, Hodak, who was up against Nafuzi and former Johor Darul Ta’zim head coach Benjamin Mora, won the Coach of the Year Award after he successfully led KL City to win the 2021 Malaysia Cup.
ABK22 will take place virtually this Thursday, at 9pm where a total of 16 categories are contested.
The awards up for grabs are Best Goalkeeper, Best Defender, Best Midfielder, Best Striker, Best Coach, Best Young Player, Best Import Player and Most Valuable Player.
The others are Super League Top Scorer, Super League Local Top Scorer, Premier League Top Scorer, Premier League Top Local Scorer, Fair Play Award, Fan XI, Malaysia League 2022 Best Goal and Team of the Year. – Bernama, December 11, 2022
