Wednesday 14 December 2011

Bigger prize money for M-League winners next season

FA of Malaysia (FAM) competition committee chairman Datuk Hamidin Amin hopes that the massive financial incentives introduced next year will spur the teams to do better in the M-League.

A windfall awaits the winners for the 2012 season which kicks off with the Charity Shield on Jan 7. The Super League champions will receive RM750,000 in prize money plus an incentive of RM325,024 while the Premier League winners will get RM300,000 plus RM160,728.

FAM received a massive shot in the arm in January when Astro signed a RM120mil four-year deal to become the Malaysian Super League’s (MSL) official broadcast partner. “FAM hope that the incentives, which are performance-based, will spur the teams to strive for success next season,” said Hamidin at the M-League and FA Cup draw yesterday.

“The cash awards will be given on top of the RM250,000 annual grant. Teams that perform well will receive more money. We hope this will help raise standards.”

Hamidin warned the state FAs to manage their finances wisely and be independent in getting more funds for their teams.

“After all this assistance, we don’t want the teams getting penalised with cuts in the grants due to poor management,” he said.

Meanwhile, Terengganu’s hopes of retaining the FA Cup suffered a setback when they were handed a tough draw in the 32-team competition yesterday.

The Turtles start their campaign on Feb 18 against Police before facing Perak or the Armed Forces in the second round. Also in their half of the draw are Singapore’s Lions XII FC who they could meet in the last eight.

Terengganu coach Mat Zan Mat Aris admitted that they faced a daunting task in defending the FA Cup.

“We got a tough draw but our target this season is the Super League and the Malaysia Cup,” said the former international. “We won the FA Cup last year so we’ll focus on the other titles.

“We have signed some good players from Harimau Muda and have also brought in quality imports to strengthen the squad. I believe we’ll be well prepared for the new season.”

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