 |
| ROZAIMI … might opt to stay with the national side until his contract ends before deciding on his future. |
He is expected to return to Sabah, as after all, he is still under contract with the Sabah Football Association (SFA). Unfortunately, rumours had it that, Sabah could lose their prized asset to big spender teams in the M-League. The Kota Kinabalu-born striker, who is currently on-loan to Harimau Muda A, is believed to be reluctant to don Sabah colours once his assignment with the national Under-23 side is over. Despite the fact that he is still under contract with the Sabah Football Association (SFA), it is believed that Rozaimi might opt to stay with the national side until his contract ends before deciding on his future.
SFA Secretary General Alijus Hj Sipil when contacted yesterday confirmed that Rozaimi is still pretty much their player, pointing out that his (Rozaimi) contract with the SFA runs until middle of next year. “Rozaimi is still under contract with us until the middle of 2014. “Our earlier understanding agreed between us and the FA of Malaysia through Harimau Muda A head coach Ong Kim Swee as well as team manager (Dato Afandy Hamzah), and the then FAM Secretary General (Dato Azzuddin Ahmad) was that Rozaimi was only loaned out to Harimau Muda A in a bid to retain the SEA Games gold in Myanmar this December. “After that, he (Rozaimi) will return to Sabah.
Although at the moment, we have not had any discussion with Rozaimi pertaining to his contract, but we will certainly act accordingly when the time comes,” said Alijus, who revealed that they also heard that Rozaimi has other ideas rather than returning to Sabah. “Whether he was just playing around … we don’t know, but we have heard rumours of his desire not to return and play for Sabah next season,” said Alijus.
Rozaimi was here over the weekend, and played a part in the State squad in the friendly match against the State Under-21 at the Likas Stadium on Sunday, which they won 2-0. For the record, Rozaimi is one of the two Sabahans in Ong Kim Swee’s squad. The other being Junior Eldstal, who has a Swedish father and Sabahan mother. They scored a goal each in the national side’s 2-0 win over Myanmar in the final of the Merdeka Cup tournament held in Pahang recently.
Sabah is currently under the watchful eyes of its former midfield maestro – Seslija Milomir. And Sabah is set to parade yet another new-look side next season after the SFA decided to do away with half of its 2013 squad. Among those that are set to be retained for the new season are Irwan Jamil, Zainizam Marjan, Rosdin Wasli, Julamri Muhammad, Alto Linus, Shahrul Azhar Ture, Hardy Charles Parsi, Sabri Sahar and the two local imports, Sharil Sa’ari and Shahril Faisal.
