Sabah FA to take part in Indonesian pre-season tourney, along with another Malaysian club

BY        ZULHILMI ZAINAL       Follow on Twitter

In a press conference held on Wednesday, Sabah president Datuk Peter Anthony revealed that the recently-promoted Malaysia Super League outfit will take part in the East Java Governor Cup pre-season competition, along with another Malaysian side Selangor, as well as six Indonesian clubs.

“We have received an invitation to take part in the competition, whereby Sabah will be placed in Group A together with Madura United, Persebaya Surabaya and Persela Lamongan. Group B will feature Arema FC, Persik Kediri, Persija Jakarta, as well as Malaysia’s Selangor.

“Since it is quite difficult for us to invite Peninsular Malaysia-based Super League teams due to their commitments,  we decided to agree to take part in the Indonesian competition.

“But we’re not there to win the competition. I just want the team to work on their chemistry, while I’ve told the manager and head coach that it is only a warm-up competition, therefore the players must not pick up any injuries,” said Peter.

However, Peter provided no details on the tournament that was last held back in 2013, while Indonesian reports too provide little information on the dates and venues, apart from that it will be start in early February.

Ahead of their first season back in Malaysia’s top-tier since 2012, the East Malaysian outfit have appointed Indonesian legend Kurniawan Dwi Yulianto as their head coach.

Selangor meanwhile recently had to cancel their participation in the Meizhou Hakka Cup in China due to the coronavirus outbreak, while the pre-season tournament itself would end up being cancelled by the organiser one day before it was scheduled to kick off.

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