Charged in court

Two Malaysians were charged in court on Thursday with abetting in a conspiracy to fix the LionsXII and Sarawak Malaysian Super League (MSL) soccer match played on Tuesday evening.

Thana Segar S. Sinnaiah, 38, a businessman and a former football player, and referee Shokri Nor, 47, are said to have schemed with each other in a hotel room in Penang to corruptly agree to receive a bribe of RM15,000 (S$6,090) to fix the result of the match which ended in a 3-0 win for LionsXII.

During the match, held at the Jalan Besar Stadium, Shokri was replaced as referee at the last minute.

Three others have since been called up by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau for questioning.

Well done, Nicol

LONDON: World No.1 Nicol David easily defeated Nour El Sherbini of Egypt 11-6, 11-6, 11-6 to win the British Open title at the O2 Arena here on Sunday (20.5/12).

It was the Malaysian squash queen's fourth British Open crown.

“I was so fired up to play Sherbini. She’s an amazing player. The score was three-love but it wasn’t easy, she played some amazing strokes.

“She’s only 16-years-old and she’s on the way up. I have to go home and work on my game because she’s coming up,” said Nicol after her victory.

Pilihan Ong

Peringkat Akhir Negara The Chance tamat Selasa (15.5/12)  dan Jurulatih Harimau Muda Ong Kim Swee memilih sendiri 5 pemain bola sepak untuk mewakili Malaysia di Peringkat Akhir Serantau The Chance. Mereka akan bertemu 15 pemain lain dari Thailand, Indonesia dan Singapura.

Bukan mudah untuk memilih 5 pemain tersebut, memandangkan 30 pemain bermain bersungguh-sungguh untuk membuktikan kebolehan mereka di hadapan Jurulatih Ong Kim Swee. Para pemain perlu menempuh satu siri sesi latihtubi, ini termasuk Nike SPARQ – suatu sistem latihan dan penyesuaian yang membantu membina atlet yang lebih baik dan digunakan oleh beberapa kelab bola sepak terbilang di dunia.  Seterusnya para pemain itu bermain dalam suatu perlawanan persahabatan menentang skuad bola sepak Malaysia Bawah 16 Tahun.

Akhirnya, Yuhendri B. Rosli, Mohamed Rafef B. Raya, , Thanabalan A/L Nadarajah, Carlos Benjamin Goonting, and Mohd Raphi B. Azizan dipilih untuk mewakili Malaysia ke Peringkat Akhir Serantau The Chance di Jakarta, Indonesia. Kegigihan, semangat dan kemahiran mereka telah berjaya menawan hati para jurulatih dan pencungkil bakat. 

“Dengan The Chance pihak kita telah dapat mencungkil bakat sebilangan pemain bola sepak terbaik yang terpendam di Malaysia. Juga kita mendapat kesempatan yang lebih luas untuk mencari bakat-bakat yang ada di luar sana,” ujar Jurulatih Harimau Muda, Ong Kim Swee.

“Tujuan The Chance ialah memberi peluang sekali seumur hidup kepada para pemain bola sepak muda ini untuk mencapai impian mereka. Sekarang 5 orang daripada mereka akan maju selangkah lagi untuk membuktikan kemampuan mereka di peringkat serantau. Nike akan berusaha sedaya upaya untuk memastikan para pemain bola sepak diberi bimbingan dan peralatan yang sewajarnya untuk membolehkan mereka berdepan dengan bakat-bakat terbaik di Asia Tenggara,” kata Joan Yeoh, Pengurus Pemasaran Nike Malaysia.

Di peringkat akhir serantau The Chance, hanya 4 orang pemain akan dipilih untuk bertanding di peringkat akhir sedunia, yang akan berlangsung di Barcelona, Sepanyol. Sejumlah 100 pemain dari 55 negara akan bertanding merebut 16 tempat, dan 16 pemain ini akan melangkah seterusnya untuk menempuh sesi jelajah latihan yang tertinggi. Dan berdepan dengan pasukan-pasukan akademi bola sepak yang termasyhur di dunia, termasuk Manchester United, Juventus dan sebuah Pasukan Kebangsaan Remaja AS.

 Daripada kumpulan 16 pemain itu, 4 akan dipilih untuk berlatih dan bermain dengan Akademi Nike. Dari situ, hanya seorang akan dipilih untuk menyertai Akademi Nike 2012/13 sepenuh masa selama tiga bulan, bermain dengan pasukan tersebut untuk mempamerkan bakat mereka kepada pencungkil bakat dan jurulatih profesional. Sejak pelancaran The Chance pada 2010, 6 daripada 8 pemenang asal yang berlatih sepenuh masa di Akademi Nike telah berjaya mendapat kontrak bermain secara profesional.

Lebih 6,000 anak muda berumur antara 16 dan 24 tahun telah mengambil bahagian dalam projek pencarian bakat seluruh negara untuk The Chance. Bakat mereka dicungkil sama ada menerusi sesi uji bakat The Chance yang berlangsung di Sungai Petani, Kedah, Pasir Gudang, Johor, dan Petaling Jaya, Selangor atau menerusi Pencungkil Bakat Bergerak The Chance. Seterusnya para pemain dinilai oleh panel jurulatih dan pencungkil bakat yang diiktiraf oleh Persatuan Bola Sepak Malaysia.

VI Premier 10 Rugby

Dear Media friends

Victoria Institution and its sponsors hereby invite representatives of the media to attend and give coverage to the Press Conference announcing the 

 VI Premier 10 rugby tournament 2012. 

The press conference will be held at 

                VIOBA CLUBHOUSE (Victoria Institution Old Boys Association Clubhouse)                       

                             Date:  17th May 2012         Time :  4.00 PM - 5.30 pm                                                                        

 Each year, V.I will host the most prestigious  rugby tournament which involve participation from 24 schools all over Malaysia with 48 teams in a 2 days event. 

                                                                                                                                                          

This year , we also includes team from Thailand and Singapore.                                                                   RSVP TO:    virc1982@gmail.com ,eynull@yahoo.com

                             

Zainal 012-2109289                                                                                                           Yusmanwadi 012-3816362                                                                                                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                                                                   

Nazmi set join Beira-Mar

Harimau Muda star Nazmi Faiz is close to joining Portuguese top-flight side Beira-Mar, ESPNSTAR.com has been told.

Earlier this year, Nazmi had been linked with a move to Malaysian owned Cardiff City, however, Harimua Muda coach Ong Kim Swee has revealed that the talented 17-year-old now looks set to land a contract with Beira-Mar who are currently 12^th in Portugal's Primeira Liga.

Nazmi, who is scheduled to fly to Portugal with his father on Sunday, will attend a trial with the Aveiro-based side, before signing a pre-contract deal.

"After a couple of days of speculation in regards to Nazmi heading to Europe, we have now got an agreement between Nazmi and the Portuguese club Beira Mar. He will go for a trial with them from May 14 until May 21," Ong explained.

"This is an excellent development. Nazmi was approached by a scout who officially invited him down for the selection process.  All this has come about because of Nazmi's own efforts, and Beira-Mar have every confidence in his ability."

Despite facing the prospect of losing one of one of his key players in the middle of an S.League season, Ong is adamant that the bigger picture is far more crucial.

"We have to make the sacrifice," he said.

"The S.League is important, but I will never hesitate if any of my players get a chance to play overseas, especially in Europe. It is, after all, Harimau Muda's intent to develop Malaysia's future footballers."

"This is great news in terms of the development of Malaysian football. We hope that Nazmi will cherish the opportunity to play in Portugal's top-flight next season," Ong concluded.

According to strictly enforced FIFA regulations, Nazmi will only be able to sign a professional contract with his new club after turning 18 on August 16.

Wan Zack Haikal and Wan Zaharulnizam, who are both 21, are also expected to move oversees in the very near future, with the pair edging closer to deals with Japanese third division side FC Ryukyu.

Another chance

Nike Malaysia will be giving an opportunity of a lifetime to one aspiring footballer as it launches its elite scouting programme, ‘The Chance’ in Malaysia.

‘The Chance’ is a unique global football talent search that gives young amateur footballers from around the world the chance to prove themselves on an elite stage and to provide them with a platform to take their game onto the highest level.

Players in Malaysia will be given a chance to earn a spot to represent Malaysia at the global finals in Barcelona where they will then be scouted none other by Pep Guardiola, one of the best coaches in the world through a series of training drills which includes Nike’s trademarked Elite 2.0 programme - a training and conditioning system that helps build better athletes.

‘The Chance’ Malaysia is authenticated and sanctioned by the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) and utilizes licensed coaches, scouts and referees to verify the results.

Harimau Muda Coach, Ong Kim Swee will be making an appearance at The Chance trials in Padang Astaka as he lends his expertise in scouting for players.

Details of The Chance Trials are as below:

Date: 5th May, 2012 (SATURDAY)

Time: 10:00 am

Venue: Padang Astaka, Petaling Jaya, Selangor

Philippines planning well

The Philippines national team will take on Indonesia on 5 June 2012 in Manila – four days after playing against ASEAN champions Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur. They have also lined up another match against three-times ASEAN champions Thailand a week later although it is still not confirmed.

“I expect some fantastic games, but these are build-up matches for the AFF Suzuki Cup later in the year. This is to study our opponents, we need to make a test here and there to try to do something and also to win because we will be with the strongest team,” said Michael Weiss, the chief coach of the Philippines.

The team will start training for this series of friendlies from 21 May onwards in Bacolod City.