Bung aspires for Safa to have own stadium

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Bung Moktar Radin officiating the opening ceremony of the Bung Moktar Radin (BMR) Cup under-18 football tournament in Likas on Saturday.

KOTA KINABALU (Nov 28): If everything goes to plan, Sabah FA (Safa) will have its own football stadium in the future.

Datuk Seri Panglima Bung Moktar Radin said it was one of his aspirations for Sabah football when he was elected as president of Safa.

“I’ve hope for Sabah football team or Safa to have its own football stadium.

“This is very important as it (stadium) will become our trademark and it is certainly in our planning,” Bung told reporters at the opening ceremony of the Bung Moktar Radin (BMR) Cup under-18 football tournament in Likas on Saturday.

Bung, who is also the deputy chief minister, went on to say that the State FA would hope to discuss the matter with the state government.

He said they would try to get suitable land and to develop it in order to build a permanent building for Safa.

Bung also revealed the plan to upgrade football field and facilities not only here but around the state.

“We will make sure every district will have the best football facilities and not rely solely on those available at sports complexes.

“With that I hope we can develop potential footballers from Sandakan, Tawau, Lahad Datu and other districts at a suitable training field,” he added.

Meanwhile, the last day of competition of the BMR Cup Grand Final was held on Sunday where South West Coast and Central Zone as well as Upper Interior and North East Coast were eyeing for a place in the title match.

According to Bung, one of the objectives of the tournament which kicked off in April before faced with several delays due to the Covid-19 pandemic was to unearth talents for the President Cup (U-21) and Youth Cup (U-19) squad next year.

He hoped that the tournament would also become a platform to strengthen ties and unite the multi-racial society here.

For the record, 31 district teams started the BMR Cup in April where the teams were divided into eight zones to select the best teams or players playing in the eight-team Grand Final.