By UMESH RAJAN
KOTA KINABALU: The first KDM Malaysia Football League champions, Keningau will face Papar, the inaugural KDM Malaysia FA Cup winners in the curtain raiser Charity Shield match, in December.
Both trophy winners of the campaign’s first installment last held in 2014-2015 will play in the league’s second edition opening match on December 8 at Keningau Stadium.
The date was confirmed on Wednesday by the championship organising committee after a meeting chaired by joint organising chairman, Henry Saimpon held at Penampang.
“We have confirmed the Charity Shield match between Keningau and Papar will be played on December 8 at Keningau before the championship resumes with league matches in the middle of January, next year.
“The preparations for the championship’s second edition are progressing well and I was told that all the teams competing are preparing diligently for it,” he said.
As for the inaugural Charity Shield clash, the winners between both teams will take home the main prize of RM10,000 cash while the losing team will receive RM2,000 cash.
The championship next year will feature a total of 32 teams comprising district teams around Sabah where it is organised by the Kadazan Dusun Murut Malaysia (KDMM) organisation with the support of Sabah Youth and Sports Ministry.
The championship offers a total cash prize of almost RM300,000 including RM100,000 for the champions, RM50,000 for second, RM30,000 for third and RM15,000 for fourth.
Also contested during the same period is the FA Cup which offers a healthy cash prize of RM50,000 for the champions and RM10,000 for the runners-up.
Towards this end, championship secretary Jellysius Saimpon reminded all the teams to make sure they complete every detail on the registration forms and return them to the organisers by November 15.
For more information regarding the registration procedure, do contact Jellysius at 011-19056284.
