Singapore to return to Malaysia Cup from 2012

Football: Singapore to return to Malaysia Cup from 2012

Singapore and Malaysia marked another historical milestone in relations on Tuesday.

After nearly two decades, a Singapore football team will make its return in the Malaysia Cup from next year.

This came after the football associations of the two countries inked a four-year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to develop the sport and forge closer ties.

Under the MOU, a Singapore Lions under-23 team will play in the Malaysian Super League, FA Cup and Malaysia Cup from 2012 to 2015.

And for the first time, a Malaysian Tigers under-23 team will also play in the S-League, League Cup and Singapore Cup.

Both teams will be made up of Under-23 players, five senior players, and the option of utilising foreign players, based on the rules of the respective leagues.

A new competition - the annual FAS-FAM series - will also take place.

It will see the S-League champions face Malaysian Super League champions, while the Singapore Cup winners will face the Malaysia Cup winners. Both games will be played on a home-and-away basis.

The collaboration will also see an increase in the number of international friendlies between the two countries from the youth levels, through to the senior national teams.

The move is expected to raise the quality of the game in both countries.

"Football is a wonderful platform to bring people together and I think it has always been a tradition for Singapore and Malaysia, for some friendly rivalry and at the same time, the fervour of supporters from Singapore and Malaysia now can be translated into real competition that both associations and countries can be proud of," said Zainudin Nordin, President of the Football Association of Singapore (FAS).

Both associations also hope the agreement will open up more collaboration in future.

Welcoming the partnership, Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) Deputy President Tengku Abdullah said: "We welcome this move. It certainly gives a positive impact to Malaysia, especially amongst our youth players. It is a big opportunity for our players to gain exposure in the S-League and at the same time, the Singapore Lions will have the same opportunities in our Malaysian Super League. With this agreement, we hope that this will open the door for many more collaborations in future."

~News courtesy of Channel Newsasia~