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Tag: Lions XII

  • Lions XII Not Woried About Poor Head-to-Head Record With Kelantan

    Lions XII Not Woried About Poor Head-to-Head Record With Kelantan

    The LionsXII may have won just once in seven meetings with their Malaysian FA Cup opponents Kelantan, but they are unfazed by the record going into Saturday’s final.

    Speaking at a press conference at Kuala Lumpur’s Bukit Jalil National Stadium on Friday afternoon, LionsXII coach Fandi Ahmad was all smiles and flashed the thumbs-up sign when asked about Kelantan’s dominance in their encounters.

    He said emphatically: “We will make sure our victory happens. (The head-to-head record) is not so good but we will make it happen.”

    Since the LionsXII joined Malaysian football competition in 2012, their sole victory against Kelantan came in a 1-0 home win during their triumphant 2013 Malaysian Super League (MSL) season.

    This year, Fandi’s men lost 0-2 in Kota Baru in their opening MSL match, but Fandi will be employing tighter marking to neutralise the Red Warriors.

    Said the former Singapore captain: “In these situations, we have to go man-to-man. Kelantan has good wingers and good foreigners. We will have to try to stop before the supply of balls to the forwards starts.”

    Meanwhile, Kelantan coach Azraai Khor played down suggestions that the Red Warriors are the favourites, saying: “The LionsXII are a future national team and have a few national players in their team.

    “The final is a different game (from the league match). It is a different match, different stadium and different environment. At the end of the 90 minutes, we want to be winners, that is the objective.”

     

    Source: www.straitstimes.com

  • Lions XII Captain Isa Halim Is NKF’s Live Right Ambassador

    Lions XII Captain Isa Halim Is NKF’s Live Right Ambassador

    Footballer Isa Halim, the captain of the LionsXII team, is helping the National Kidney Foundation promote healthy living and prevent kidney disease as its Live Right Ambassador.

    He took on his new role as the foundation launched a fundraising campaign at Wisma Atria on Sunday (Apr 12).

    The campaign aims to promote a healthy lifestyle especially among youths and the Malay community, which statistics show makes up a disproportionate number of kidney patients.

    Isa showed off his skills to some members of the audience at the launch and then spoke of how he intends to play his role.

    “I’ll be doing a soccer clinic with the Malay community and I’d like to educate them on the importance of exercising right, eating right,” said Isa. “For me, prevention is very important. At an early stage, for them to be educated on how to live right and eat right is a good opportunity to bring down the number of dialysis patients.”

    Also unveiled at the launch was a pair of limited edition porcelain vases, given to the foundation by former president S R Nathan. The vases were inspired by the Singapore flag and the national flower Vanda Miss Joaquim.

    Former President S R Nathan commissioned 138 pairs of porcelain vases from Franz Collection, renowned for its porcelain creations, to raise funds for charity. NKF is one of the charities to receive a pair of these limited edition porcelain vases.

     

    Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

  • FAS Inks $25 Million Sponsorship Deal With International Media Rights Company

    FAS Inks $25 Million Sponsorship Deal With International Media Rights Company

    The Football Association of Singapore (FAS) has inked a deal worth over $25 million with international media rights company MP & Silva.

    The six-year deal, announced on Monday (Feb 2), will see the international firm manage media and sponsorship rights, as well as international events for the Singapore national team and the age-group teams. The company is headquartered in London and Singapore, and has 18 offices worldwide.

    This is FAS’s biggest commercial partnership, surpassing the S$15 million deal signed with Tiger Beer in 2001. It is also the first time FAS is selling the commercial rights for its senior and age-group national teams. And while some fans may be concerned that this could drive up costs of watching the Lions in action, FAS says it is focused on delivering more value.

    Said FAS President Zainudin Nordin: “When you look at the way we’ve partnered MP & Silva, we want to ensure there are more things that we could do and offer to the fans. So let us see how we’re able to do this in a much more engaging way.”

    MP & Silva will also look to maximise the commercial value of the Singapore national team and generate more interest among football fans. One way they aim to do this is by organising four to six matches a year in Singapore, pitting the national side against high-profile international teams.

    The partnership will also pave the way for Singaporean players, including those in the National Football Academy (NFA) to have more opportunities for stints overseas, via MP & Silva’s network.

    The company’s portfolio includes working with the likes of FIFA, UEFA, the Olympic Council of Asia and a host of European leagues including the Barclays Premier League, Italian Serie A and La Liga. MP & Silva was also recently appointed global advisor for media and commercial rights for the Football Association of Malaysia.

    “They are the company behind the Belgian League, so you can see the immediate connectivity, because they’re talking about tje opportunity to expose our S.League players and our young players in the NFA to the opportunity for stints in Europe,” said Mr Zainudin. “You will see this happening more and more.”

     

    Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

  • Ex-Malaysian Footballer Pleads Guilty On Charges Of Conspiracy To Fix An MSL Match Involving Lions XII

    Ex-Malaysian Footballer Pleads Guilty On Charges Of Conspiracy To Fix An MSL Match Involving Lions XII

    A former Malaysian national footballer who absconded about three years ago after being charged with conspiracy to fix a Malaysia Super League (MSL) soccer game pleaded guilty on Monday.

    Thanasegar S. Sinnaiah, 40, was nabbed again last August. The businessman, who faced eight charges, admitted to four in a district court.

    He schemed with Singaporean Selvarajan Letchuman to give a bribe of not more than RM15,000 (S$5,590) to Football Association of Malaysia part-time referee Shokri Nor, 50, to ensure that the Lions XII beat Sarawak FA in a match to be played in Singapore on May 22, 2012.

    That day, Selvarajan, 52, placed six bets with Singapore Pools with part of the earnings to be used as a bribe to be paid to Shokri, but the offence was not committed.

    Thanasegar also conspired with Selvarajan and Shokri to conceal that arrangements had been made to “fix” the outcome of the match, in a bid to induce Singapore Pools to hand over payouts of $10,500 and $5,000 to Selvarajan. These were for bets he placed with an outlet near Rangoon Road and at Rowell Road respectively.

    A district court heard that Thanasegar received a phone call in Kedah from Selvarajan on May 18 in 2012.

    Selvarajan asked if he had any tips for the football match between Lions XII and Sarawak FA in the MSL to be played in Singapore on May 22. Thanasegar informed Selvarajan that Shokri, then a policeman, was the referee for the match.

    Selvarajan travelled to Penang and met the pair in a hotel where the alleged conspiracy to fix the match was hatched.

    But all three were arrested before the football match kicked off.

    While Thanasegar was out on $50,000 bail, he left Singapore illegally by hiding in the boot of a car. He thus committed an offence of failing to present his passport to an immigration officer for examination sometime in July that year.

    Thanasegar’s case has been adjourned to Feb 17.

    Selvarajan’s case is pending while police are still looking for Shokri, who had also absconded.

     

    Source: www.straitstimes.com