Kota Kinabalu: The 2023 Safa (Sabah Football Association) Cup Grand Final team list is set with the completion of the last two zone tournaments held over the weekend.
Matches in the lower interior zone involving Beaufort, Kuala Penyu and Sipitang and the north west coast zone with Kota Marudu, Kudat, Pitas and Kota Belud were earlier forced to be postponed due to bad weather.
The tournament ended with Sipitang and Kota Marudu topping their respective groups while Kuala Penyu and Kota Belud also progressed to the grand final with their second place finish.
Kota Marudu thrashed Pitas 3-1 in their final match to secure the top spot and the title with seven points while Kota Belud drew 1-1 with Kudat to take the second place with five points.
Sipitang on the other hand, edged Beaufort 3-2 in the final group match to emerge as champions with six points followed by Kuala Penyu with three points in second spot.
The four teams will be joining Putatan, Penampang (west coast); Nabawan, Keningau (upper interior); Kinabatangan, Tongod (Sandakan) and Kunak, Tawau (Tawau) who had qualified earlier in the finals to be played on January 25-27 here in Kota Kinabalu.
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A total of 21 teams involving more than 500 players took part in the three-day zone tournament which was supposed to be held simultaneously in Kota Kinabalu, Kinabatangan, Beaufort, Kunak, Keningau and Kota Marudu on January 12.
Safa’s secretary general Shamsuddin Mohd Shah had earlier said the tournament with a total cash prize of RM40,000 is initiated by the local competition committee led by Safa vice president Datuk Seri Dr Ruddy Awah.
The goal is to unearth new talent by a panel of experienced coaches and those selected will be absorbed into the Sabah FC teams to compete in the coming MFL Cup, President’s Cup and Youth Cup this season.
