CM: More money for Sabah football
Published on: Wednesday, November 25, 2015
Kota Kinabalu: The State Government is expected to provide a bigger allocation to the Sabah football team in efforts to promote and develop football in the state.Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman, who is also the Sabah Football Association (SAFA) President, said though a bigger allocation was provided the performance of the Sabah team has not been satisfactory.To strengthen the team is not an easy task because every year it is becoming more and more challenging, especially so when first choice players suffer injuries that can prevent them from playing throughout the season.ADVERTISEMENT "SAFA's expenses is in the region of RM7 to RM8 million a year. We spend a lot of money but many people do not know the initiative taken by the state government to help improve the performance of the team," he said during a question and answer session in the State Assembly, here, Tuesday.Musa, who is also the Sungai Sibuga assemblyman, was answering a question from Limus Jury (BN-Kuala Penyu) who wanted to know if SAFA plans to follow in the footsteps of Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT).The Chief Minister said everyone, including members of the opposition, can contribute ideas to beef up the state football team."We do not have any problem in accepting feedback, views or recommendations from anyone, including the opposition because our goal is the same, that of to see Sabah's football standards improve," he said when answering a question from Datuk Seri Lajim Ukin (PKR-Klias).ADVERTISEMENT Meanwhile, Musa pitched football as a career, saying it pays even better than what a minister earns.Replying to an additional question from Limus and Lajim, he encouraged parents to thus allow their children to pursue a career in football due to the lucrative income it offers.
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"Football can be turned into a professional career… a footballer is capable of earning between RM10,000 and RM15,000 per month exceeding the monthly income of a minister," he said, adding that football is a lucrative profession not only in the country but in the international arena as well. "As Sabah Football Association President, we have worked very hard to improve the quality of our local football players (Sabah Rhinos) … I have to admit that they have not been doing that well lately and it is quite disappointing," he said.