12 Apr HQ FOR AFF

Newly elected Asean Football Federation (AFF) president Sultan Ahmad Shah is expected to propose the building of the AFF headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.

The Sultan who is also the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) president said he would put forward the proposal to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

“I will write to the Prime Minister for a land allocation to build the AFF headquarters but will seek the approval of the AFF council before writing the letter to the Prime Minister.

“To me, Najib is a leader who understands and supports the importance of sports,” he said after opening the fourth schedule of the Pahang state legislative assembly at Wisma Sri Pahang here Monday.

Sultan Ahmad Shah said when he was the president of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had approved a plot of land for the AFC headquarters while FIFA also allocated financial aid.

Sultan Ahmad Shah, who is the Sultan of Pahang, took over the AFF presidency from Tan Sri Tengku Ahmad Rithauddeen Tengku Ismail, who had helmed the AFF since 1995.

The AFF was established on Jan 31, 1984, with member countries comprising Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor Leste and Vietnam.