Likas home den

New Sabah Times

AT THE PRESS CONFERENCE … from left, Milo, Rahman, Joehari, Hasbullah and the two representatives from the SabahRhinos.com.

KOTA KINABALU: There is unlikely to be any New Year gifts for Tawau football fans, as the Sabah FA is set to stick to the Likas Stadium as their home den for the new season, and no thanks to the field at the Tawau mini stadium, which did not meet the minimum requirement set by the FA of Malaysia. It was learnt that the length of the field at the Tawau mini stadium is 102 metres, which is three metres short of the 105 requirement by the governing body.

 Yesterday, the FA Vice President Joehari Datuk Ayub said they are left with no other option, but to name Likas Stadium as their home venue for the 2014 season. Initially, the FA had proposed to use the Tawau mini stadium as their home venue until repair works on the floodlights at the Likas Stadium are completed. And unless the problem in Tawau can be rectified, it will be afternoon matches for Seslija Milomir and his boys.

 “We will have to play our home matches in the afternoon in the early part of the season, until repair works on the floodlights at the Likas Stadium are completed, which is expected to be some time in March, 2014,” Joehari, who also heads the FA’s team management committee, said at a press conference yesterday. Head coach Milomir, team manager Rahman Zakaria and executive secretary Hasbullah Yahya were also present at the function.

Representatives from the SabahRhinos.com were also there. In a related development, Joehari said that they will be playing a friendly game against Sarawak at the Likas Stadium on January 4. Kick off time is 4.15pm. “Those who wish to have a first glance of the State side before the season kicks off, are encouraged to come.

 Entry is free,” he said. “This is still part of our pre-season, and after this game (against Sarawak) we are hoping to play at least one more competitive friendly before the new season kicks off. We are currently in talks with one or two teams, but at the moment, nothing has been finalised apart from the Sarawak match, which is a return leg after our visit to Sarawak recently.

 Joehari also urged all Sabah fans to stay together and rally behind the team. “I just hope that every one of us stay together and support the team. Everything we do here is nothing personal as everything is only about football. He also said that they will continue to look for potential talents to be roped into the State team for the future. “This is a continuous thing, and it will never stop (search for talent),” he said.