Champions Kota Kinabalu out of Safa Beaufort Quadrangular Football tourney
KOTA KINABALU: Kota Kinabalu have pulled out of the Safa Beaufort Quadrangular Football Tournament which is happening at the Beaufort Sports Complex from January 19-21.
Kuala Penyu Selection will now take the place of the reigning Chief Minister Tan Sri Musa Aman Cup Inter-District tournament champions.
President of SAFA Beaufort Datuk Haji Abdul Razak Sulaiman confirmed the withdrawal of Kota Kinabalu yesterday due to unforeseen circumstances.
The four-team tournament will also feature a Beaufort Selection, the state President Cup (under21) side and the state Youth Cup squad (under-19).
The matches will be played on a round-robin format where the team that collects the most points will emerge as the champions.
Prize money of RM3,000 awaits the tournament champions while the second placing take home RM1,500 and the third and fourth placed teams get a consolation prize of RM500 each.
Friday’s (January 19) fixtures will see the Mohd Aiyyman Johnny Abdullah-coached Youth Cup squad taking on Kuala Penyu Selection at 2pm and to be followed by the State President Cup team against hosts Beaufort Selection at 4:15pm.
Beaufort Selection and the Youth Cup squad will take to the field first on Saturday at 2pm while the Kuala Penyu Selection and State Reserve League team will face off at 4:15pm.
The closing day will pit Kuala Penyu Selection against Beaufort Selection at 2pm while the Youth Cup side will take on their seniors in the President Cup under head coach Johnny Dominicus at 4:15pm.
The prize presentation will follow after the last game on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Razak also said the organisers have decided to do away the opening ceremony of the tournament.
“However, we can expect a grand closing ceremony,” he said while adding the meet-thefans session will take place at the Beaufort Tamu ground on Saturday (January 20) starting 10am.
“I hope the public will come in numbers during the tournament especially when our junior squad (President Cup and Youth Cup teams) will be in action,” he added.
The state junior teams are using the tournament as part of their preparations before they compete in their respective leagues.