PETALING JAYA, April 16 — Having taken the bold step of fielding an all-local line-up in this season’s Super League, Petaling Jaya (PJ) City FC is embarking on another initiative – to groom more local footballers through their Jaguh RF programme.
PJ City FC president Datuk Seri Subahan Kamal said that through collaborations with Rythm Foundation (RF), MySkills Foundation and MyPJ (a Petaling Jaya-based community group), the club would scout for talented teenage players, aged 13-14, from low-income families to excel in the sport.
“Football is not only about skills, but encompasses coaching and grooming the child to be a better person,” he told reporters after signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with RF, MySkills Foundation and MyPJ here, yesterday.
Meanwhile, national football legend Datuk Santokh Singh, who was also present at the signing ceremony, told Bernama that the initiative would help the boys to gradually progress in life and become successful because “football requires discipline”.
The former national defender also offered his services to coach the teenagers.
Rythm Foundation chairperson Datin Sri Umayal Eswaran said the three-year Jaguh RF programme would kick off this month through the scouting of 40 boys from B40 families in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur.
She added that changes and modifications would be made along the way since this was their first such initiative.
— Bernama
