Pahang players get rewards for winning Sultan Gold Cup

The  Pahang football squad that won the Sultan's Gold Cup last Sunday received a cash bonus from Tengku Mahkota of Pahang Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah here today.

Team manager Datuk Mazran Abu Bakar said Tengku Abdullah had agreed to give the team RM60,000 for successfully ending a 21-year drought in the competition by beating Melaka 3-1 at the Temerloh Municipal Mini Stadium.

"The Sultan of Pahang is also rewarding the team with a Jakarta tour from Jan 22 to 25.

"At the same time, we have also arranged for a friendly match with Pelita Jaya FC which would feature Malaysia's sensational striker Safee Sali on Jan 23," he told reporters here Saturday.

He said the win would also auger well for Pahang in their M-League outing this season.

He said 11 players from the victorious squad would be absorbed into the Pahang team for the Premier League campaign.

Mazran said the success was also a boost to the morale of supporters who have loss confidence in the state team's performance in the M-League.

Tengku Abdullah who witnessed the cup final was satisfied with the huge turnout at the stadium.

In the final, Pahang crushed Melaka 3-1 with goals from Mohd Hafiz Kamal in the 35th minute, Mohd Fauzi Rozlan (76th min) and Abd Malik Mat Ariff (78th min) while the consolation goal for Melaka came from Zailan Mohammad in the 27th minute.

Mazran said the last time Pahang won the cup was in 1980 when they beat Perak 4-2.

Singapore to cover cost of Malaysian referees for Super League matches

Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) Local Competition Committee chairman Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin said Football Association of Singapore (FAS) would foot the refereeing bills incurred when Lions XII (Singapore's under-23 squad) play host to 13 other teams in the Super League at the Stadium Jalan Besar.

"The cost include fees for Malaysian referees and assistant referees as well as their lodging, food and drink," he said.

He said the FAS, however, would be allowed to fix ticket prices for matches involving Lions XII at the Jalan Besar Stadium.

"We usually set the ticket price at RM10 besides a levy of 10 per cent for matches there (Singapore) but it is up to them (FAS) to determine ticket prices," he said, adding that the same condition applied to state football associations for the Malaysian leagues.

Kedah-Malacca and Pahang-Perlis to face in semi finals of Sultan Gold Cup

Last year's losing finalist,  Kedah, assisted by six Super League players, are confident of making up for last year's disappointment by winning the Sultan's Gold Cup this year.

Kedah who lost to Kelantan in a penalty shootout last year, moved into the semifinals of the Sultan's Gold Cup and will face Melaka at the Darul Aman Stadium on Saturday.

The six Super League players in the side are Mohd Faizal Abu Bakar, Mohd Fazliata Taib, Hattaphon Bun An, Wan Mohd Asraf Wan Ali, Mohd Sany Mat Isa and Mohd Muhaimin Mohamad.

Kedah coach Mohamad Ramlee said the presence of the six players in a team made up of mostly President's Cup players, would help strengthen the side to go all the way to the final.

"So far, the physical and mental condition of the players is at the optimum level and I have no serious injury problems," he said when met at the Kedah branch office of the Malaysian Malays Football Association here today.

In the quarterfinals last week, Kedah beat Penang 2-0 at the City Stadium in Penang while Melaka overcame Selangor 2-0 for a 5-1 aggregate win at the Hang Tuah Stadium here.

The other semifinal will be contested between Pahang and Perlis who beat Police (2-0) and Malaysian Universities Sports Council (MASUM) 3-0, respectively.