Teams have to seek own sponsorship in MPFL

PETALING JAYA, 25 Mei (Bernama) -- The national professional futsal league, the Malaysia Premier Futsal League (MPFL), which kicks off at the end of next month should be the best avenue for the competing teams to seek sponsorships.

Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) president Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin stressed that participating teams should use this tournament to attract sponsors to help to fund their respective teams.

“In making futsal a professional sport, they (the competing team) should be independent in seeking their own sponsors.

“We (FAM) will provide subsidies but they should not be dependent on the subsidy and must learn how to get sponsorship,” he told a media conference after launching the MPFL trophy here tonight.

Sharing the same opinion was FAM secretary-general Stuart Ramalingam who pointed out that it was time for the teams to seek their own sponsorship, to ensure that futsal in the country could reach a professional level.

"What we want to see through the tournament is that the teams will try to get their own funds and do not have to wait for subsidies, then they will be able to move forward," he said.

At the same time, Stuart revealed that FAM’s Club Licensing Unit is identifying the criteria that futsal clubs in the country have to fulfil to enable them to play in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) futsal tournament.

Thirteen teams including four women’s sides have confirmed their participation in the inaugural MPFL tournament.

The six-month long tournament will start at the end of next month on a home-away basis, whereby the champions will receive RM100,000 while the runners-up will get RM50,000.

-- BERNAMA