Azman (second right) with Omar (from left), Asneh and David during the meeting between Safa and SSC.
KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah Football Association (Safa) will work closely with the Sabah Sports Council (SSC) to enhance football development in the state.
Both side held a face-to-face meeting here on Tuesday to discuss the direction of Safa’s immediate development programme.
Assistant secretary general of Safa, Azman Mastar, said the approach taken was for the benefit of all in all aspects of football in the state.
“The programme will focus entirely on providing early football development to those between 10 to 18 years old.
“Apart from the continuous development of players, other aspects that will be looked into seriously are coaching, refereeing and sports management.
“Hopefully the collaboration (with SSC) will produce the desired outcome thus contribute to the development of the sport both in the state and country,” said Azman in a statement on Tuesday.
Safa executive secretary David Wisom, Safa technical director Omar Maya and SSC director Asneh Mohd Noor were present in the meeting.
Azman added that since Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin took over as acting president of Safa, many efforts have been taken to improve Sabah football.
“The collaboration (of Safa) is not only with SSC but also the state Education Department, especially in the implementation of grassroot football development.
“Many suitable football development plans for aspiring footballers starting from as young as 10 years old have been planned to achieve the desired target of improving Sabah football,” he added.