Shafie right man to lead Safa
Published on: Wednesday, July 18, 2018
Kota Kinabalu: Rhinos team manager Datuk Juil Nuatim said Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Mohd Shafie Apdal is the right man to lead Sabah Football Association (Safa).Juil who is also Safa Supreme Council member made the call on Tuesday as the association is still without a President following the resignation of Tan Sri Musa Aman in May.Vice President Datuk Yusof Kassim is currently acting president and the congress scheduled for August 11 is to fill the four vacated posts president, deputy president (two) and vice president.
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"I strongly believe Chief Minister Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal is the right man to lead the association, as we all know running an association such as Safa is not an easy task."It involves many responsibilities and one of the most important aspects is to source for funds, and I have to admit that the association is currently in the red financially."It is rather sad because the senior squad have been doing quite well this season, and the same applied to the under-21 (President Cup) and under-19 (Youth Cup) teams," he said.He urged Shafie to seriously considered taking up the post for the sake of Sabahans as a whole.
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"We are pleading for the Chief Minister to be president not for the sake of only Safa but the people of Sabah as well. "Football is the number one sport in the country and obviously in Sabah too, and we need to have a capable leader like the Chief Minister to lead Safa," he added.
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He also disclosed that Safa officials are trying their very best to look for financial assistance to ensure smooth operation of managing the teams."We are all volunteers in Safa and I welcome anyone out there who wants to offer their help. I am also willing to step down provided they are fully committed and will take good care of the players' welfare."Meanwhile, head coach Jelius Ating is hoping that the team will maintain their winning streak when they take on Penang at Likas Stadium tonight at 8.15pm."We still have three games left to play and although we are well positioned to qualify for the Malaysian Cup, but for me, we should also look to finish the season on a high. Therefore I hope we can continue our winning streak to try to win a better position, and I hope the players will take advantage of the home supporters support tomorrow night," he said Tuesday.According to him, there will not be much changes in the team starting 11 as Keisuke Ogawa and Jenius Karib are still not fully fit even though they have started training with the team while Mafry Balang is still sidelined by injury."We will have more or less the same line-up against Terengganu in our last match. Apart from Sabri (Sahar) who is in doubt, we also see the return of Randy Baruh from suspension, " he said.He is likely to start Rozaimie Rohim in goal with Rawilson Batuil, Francis Kasonde, Dendy Lowa and Randy Baruh in defence.President Cupper Hamran Peter who had a good outing in Terengganu is likely to be retained alongside Mohd Azzizan Nordin and Maxsius Musa with Ricco Nigel Milus on standby if Sabri is unfit to start in midfield while Hector Omar Ramos and Rodoljub Paunovic will lead the attacks.Meanwhile, the state under-19 squad will take on Penang in the youth Cup competition at the Penang State Stadium this afternoon at 4.45pm.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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