Proposal fails to get thumbs-up
FOOTBALL Malaysia Limited Liability Partnership (FMLLP) have stated that the proposal to offer an automatic berth in the Super League for the winner of next season’s Challenge Cup as difficult to implement.
FMLLP chief executive officer, Kevin Ramalingam said this will not be line with the goal of the Challenge Cup.
He said among the reasons for organising the Cup tournament is to increase the number of competitive matches to ensure teams that do not qualify for the Malaysia Cup can remain active throughout the season.
“The said proposal is not easy to implement, what more if it involves qualification to feature in the Super League. There are many things that need to be given much thought to.
“For the time being, the new cup competition will still be promoted and we hope to garner support for it. Whether it is prestigious or not, it depends on support, coverage and the actual organisation of the competition.
“We should focus on the competition objective behind the creation of it in the first place which is to add to the number of competitive games for teams that do not qualify for the Malaysia Cup.
“The cup tournament should be seen as a support competition for teams that do not make it to the Malaysia Cup and not to compete with it,” he said yesterday.
On Friday, UiTM Shah Alam’s Sports and Recreational Faculty senior lecturer Mohd Sadek Mustaffa suggested that the Challenge Cup offers qualification for Premier League teams to earn a spot in the Super League, or for the Super League’s bottom team to be able to remain in the league for the following season. Syafiq Aznan