Sabah are AJFC Malaysia League champions
KOTA KINABALU: East Malaysia (Sabah) Zone were crowned champions of the Allianz Junior Football Camp (AJFC) Malaysia League in Selangor on Saturday.
The state representatives defeated Northern Zone 2-0 in the final of the national level under-16 tournament at the UPM Serdang Stadium.
Mirzan Norji scored in the 25th minute to give East Malaysia (Sabah) Zone a 1-0 first-half lead before Izuan Zikry Jasman added a second on 55 minutes to cement victory for the Zulpie Allycoached side.
In the group stages, East Malaysia (Sabah) Zone finished second behind Northern Zone where both clinched eight points from two wins and two draws but the latter finished top courtesy of superior goals difference.
However, finishing runnerup was enough to secure a final ticket and the Sabah juniors did not disappoint with the win.
Zulpie, the head coach, praised the state squad for their efforts that led to the win.
“Congratulations to all on the victorious outing...the sacrifices, hard work and fighting spirit all this while were well worth it. It is a victory for us all.
“I want to thank the team manager Amsir (Abdullah), assistant coach Junaideh Abd Mumin and team official Rafiz Zahari as well as the players,” he said yesterday.
The good news however did not stop there as five state juniors impressed in the AJFC Malaysia League and were selected for overseas exposure at the AJFC in Bali, Indonesia.
They are Ritchie Sevenson Fred from Kota Kinabalu, Ajay Jamain (Tenom), Mohd Azlizan Azlan (Keningau), Dani Adli Saiful (Kota Belud) and Mohd Mirzan Norji (Tenom).
Apart from that, Rafiz, a teacher and also a coach, too has been selected to attend the AJFC at Bayern Munich in Germany.
“All the best and good luck to the five who had been selected for Bali. For the rest of the players, congratulation too because you have contributed greatly to the victory.
“For Rafiz, the experience and knowledge gained at Bayern Munich would be shared with Sabahan youngsters thus helping towards developing football in the state,” Zulpie added.
Zulpie also hailed Allianz Management for their faith in him in leading the East Malaysia (Sabah) Zone squad and that such programme will only benefit football in the long term, both in the state and country.