Development of football is often neglected in the country. But the Royal Selangor Club have shown that investing in youth does pay and having a systematic programme could contribute towards developing talented youngsters don national colours.
Just ask Nicholas Wee who is now a member of the Harimau Muda A team that participated the the Premier League.
Nicholas was a product of the RSC junior development programme where some 350 kids from the ages of 8 to 16 gather every Sunday at the RSC Sports Annexe in Bukit Kiara to undergo systematic training under the tutelage of qualified coaches.
And the 18 year old Nicholas joined the RSC programme when he was 10 years old and now is a key central defender in the national youth team.
The junior soccer development programme was launched on March 2002 and has even been acknowledged by FAM as one of the best development programmes in the country. The programme is managed by a Chief coach Radzali Embi, who was formerly the Head Coach of Melaka Telekom and KL Plus President Cup squad and is supported by twelve ADC/FAM certified coaches.
In addition to the development programme, the RSC Soccer Section also boasts of holding an international level competition.
The 10th RSC Tiger International Soccer 7’s (RSC - Tiger Cup) and the 8th RSC Under 12 International Soccer 7’s tournament will be held over this weekend.And this year’s has a special significance as it is now a decade since it was started and continues to grow and gain popularity with both the local and foreign teams.
And it will be the first official function for newly elected FAM Deputy President Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah who will officiate at the opening ceremony on Saturday morning.
The Under 12 age group has attracted a total of 24 teams, which is a blend of teams from the Klang Valley area, outside the Klang Valley area and overseas namely Korea, Japan, Australia and Singapore
There will be 16 teams in the Masters competition which caters for those above 40, while another 13 teams will be competing in the Grandmaster competition that is for those above 50 years old.
