Khairy calls for efforts to popularise league

DATELINE: SPORTS Minister Khairy Jamaluddin hopes the Sepak Takraw League (STL) will emulate what the English Premier League (EPL) has done in football

Khairy said sepak takraw, often seen as a kampung sport in the past, needs to move with the times and take on a modern approach such as what STL, a joint initiative by the Sepak Takraw Association of Malaysia, Astro and Asia Sports Ventures, has done.

He praised STL as an example of what can be achieved when the sport is presented in a more exciting manner with the use of features such as high definition cameras and super slow motion replays, among others.

“I consider STL to be a model for others to follow,” said Khairy, at the STL new season launch in Putrajaya yesterday.

“In the four years since it started (from 2014), STL has managed to professionalise the sport, raise the quality of the game, attract more fans and is now looking to take the competition to the international level.

“I want to see STL continue to improve in terms of viewership and spectator turnout at the stadium. Hopefully STL can become a product we can export in terms of content and also attract foreign participation and interest.

“We want STL to become the EPL of sepak takraw one day.”

Television viewership of STL increased from 4.8 million in 2015 to 5.6 million in 2016 with the series now followed by 105,000 fans on Facebook and 18,000 on Instagram.

STL has introduced a Champions Cup for this year which will see the top four teams from the Premier Division, the champion of First Division and three foreign teams battling it out for the title.

The Thai and Indonesian national teams are among those expected to compete in the Champions Cup. STL will be held at the MPSJ Stadium and kick off on Sept 29 with the final of the Champions Cup scheduled for Dec 23. Fadhli Ishak