Cassidy speaking to the budding footballers at the Padang C on Saturday as McMahon (standing right), de Krester (standing centre) and others look on.
KUCHING: The Million Dollar Feet (MDF) programme ended yesterday with Football Association of Sarawak (FAS) vice president Cassidy Morris expressing the wish to see more such grassroot football programmes in future.
“We care for the development of football, especially at grassroot level here in the state which was why we encourage more programmes as such to come here to Sarawak,” he said.
The MDF programme, sponsored by Brickfields Asia College, was held over two days from Oct 8-9 at the Padang C near the Stadium Negeri.
It seeks to uncover young talents for tryouts with European clubs with the idea of putting the first Malaysian footballer on the world map by getting the player a stint with a top European sides, according to MDF director of football Peter de Kretser.
Liverpool FC legend and former captain Steve McMahon is head coach for the nation-wide search with try outs in Penang (Sept 24-25), Kuantan (Oct 1-2), Kuching (Oct 8-9), Johor Bahru (Oct 14-15) and Kuala Lumpur (Oct 21-22).
About 10,000 budding footballers, aged 11-14 years, are expected to participate in the programme. Only the two best players will eventually be selected for an all-expenses paid trip to the United Kingdom.
The final selection will be held at Dataran Merdeka on Oct 23. The two finalists, selected for the 10-day ultimate experience in the UK, will showcase their talent for scouts from top European football clubs.
At press time, it was not revealed whether any player from Sarawak had been selected for the final tryout.