Kota Kinabalu: Kota Kinabalu District Football Association emerged champions in the Under-12 (U12) category of the inaugural Rhinos Cup 2026 after defeating Ranau District Football Association 2-0 in the final at the Fut8 Field, Sembulan, here on Sunday.
The two-day tournament, which began on Oct 31, saw the participation of 19 district FA teams from across Sabah involving 285 young players.
Organised by the Sabah Football Association (Safa) in collaboration with the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) and National Sports Council (MSN), the tournament aimed to strengthen grassroots football development while providing a platform to identify new talents in the State.
In the third-place playoff, Kota Belud defeated Keningau 5-4 on penalties.
Rhinos Cup 2026 Organising Chairman Rafie Robert said the tournament was among Safa’s important initiatives to strengthen the youth football development and talent identification system in a more systematic manner throughout Sabah.
Rafie, who is also Safa vice-president IV and chairman of its Technical and Youth Development Committee, said the tournament was not merely a platform for young players to compete, but also an avenue to identify promising talents from every district.
He said Safa wanted to ensure talented players, including those from rural areas, were given equal opportunities to showcase their abilities before being promoted to higher levels.
“Through this tournament, the coaching and scouting teams have the opportunity to assess the players’ abilities directly in a competitive match environment.
“We hope to form a truly competitive team while building a stronger foundation for the development of young players for the future of Sabah football,” he said.
Rafie said the main objective of Rhinos Cup 2026 was to identify and select the best 18 players to represent Sabah in the National Youth League, scheduled to be held from Nov 28 to Dec 6 at the Mokhtar Dahari Academy (AMD), Gambang, Pahang.
He also expressed appreciation to all district football associations, team managers, coaches, parents and the organising committee for their cooperation and commitment in ensuring the tournament ran smoothly.
He congratulated Kota Kinabalu on winning the title, as well as Ranau, Kota Belud and Keningau for finishing second to fourth respectively.
Rafie said the success of the tournament should not be measured solely by its results, but also by the opportunities provided to the 285 young players to develop their talents and gain experience in competitive matches.
“Sabah football development must begin at the grassroots level with the active involvement of all district associations as the main pillar,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Rhinos Cup 2026 will continue with the Under-15 (U15) category from Nov 7 to 8 at the Sukma Field, Likas, with 20 teams expected to take part.
Rafie hoped the tournament would continue to receive support from all parties, particularly district associations, parents, the football community and relevant agencies, to ensure the development of Sabah youth football could be carried out consistently.
He said Safa hoped the Rhinos Cup could grow into one of Sabah’s prestigious youth football development tournaments and be organised continuously in the future.
“We want to see more young Sabah talents emerge through platforms like this before they are able to compete and excel on the national stage,” he said.
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