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| CIMB Foundation chief executive Datuk Shukri Hussin (centre) with KLFA president Datuk Astaman Abdul Aziz (left) and CIMB-YFA head coach N. Rada Krishnan at the launch of CIMB-YFA’s Under-13 project team yesterday. |
CIMB-Youth Football Academy (YFA) Bintang Muda have set themselves apart from the numerous football academies in the country by targeting qualification for the Manchester United Premier Cup (MUPC) regional finals in 2013.
The launch of CIMB-YFA's Under-13 project team yesterday in Cheras is the first step in a plan that envisages the club playing in the third-tier FAM League by 2016.
Supported by CIMB Foundation and with the backing of Kuala Lumpur FA, CIMB-YFA head coach N. Rada Krishnan said the boys in the team will mature and develop together under the academy's guidance.
"They have been together since they were 10-years-old and played in the Under-12 Sultan Ahmad Shah Cup and are currently in action in the Under-14 One Malaysia-Cardiff City Cup where they have won seven of their eight matches so far.
"We want to groom them towards excellence and our main targets are to win the Under-15 MUPC national title and to qualify for the FAM League in 2016 when the boys would all be 18-years-old," said Rada Krishnan after the launch yesterday.
CIMB Foundation chief executive Datuk Shukri Hussin believes the academy's ambitions can be achieved through hard work and dedication.
"You've got to start somewhere even if it's a small step. It's an achievable target and it's good what they are trying to do," said Shukri.
KLFA president Datuk Astaman Abdul Aziz concurred with Shukri and hoped other academies in the city would emulate CIMB-YFA's move.
"There has to be a symbiotic relationship between KLFA and the football academies. Rather than have them compete against each other, we hope to get them together and help us develop football in the city," said Astaman.
CIMB-YFA presently has 650 trainees of various age-groups centred at seven training locations in Pandah Indah, Sentul (two), Cheras, Sungai Buloh, Bukit Sentosa and Rawang.
