Kota Kinabalu: Four State amputee footballers have been called up to represent the country at the Amputee Football World Cup East Asia Zone qualifier to be held in Jakarta, Indonesia this November.
Sabah Amputee Football Association (Peboks) president Mohd Asyraaf Fong Abdullah said the four players who made the list are two Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) employees Louis Simun from Papar and Mohd Hasrul Yudding from Tuaran, Innoprise Yayasan Sabah’s Fatnee Sardun from Kota Kinabalu and Muhd Shahniezam Hamsa from SMK Putatan.
This will be the second national call-up for Louis and Fatnee as they had participated in the Artalive Challenge Cup four-corner tournament in 2023.
According to Asyraaf, the players will attend the first phase training camp to be held at Padang Speedy in Teluk Intan, Perak from May 24-27.
The second phase will be held at EV Arena, Shah Alam from June 14-17 and the next phase at Padang Usim, Negeri Sembilan from July 5-8 before the final phase back to EV Arena, Shah Alam in September until October.
The former Rhinos coach, who also once coached the national women football team, urged the players to maintain their overall physical fitness when reporting for the training camp in May.
“I have advised them to work hard on their fitness level because international tournaments require tough physical fitness from the players to be able to perform at their maximum.
“At the same time, I also hope all four players will grab the opportunity to gain valuable knowledge from the experience with the national squad,” he said.