PUTRAJAYA, June 26 — The new national football landmark, the National Training Centre (NTC) of the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) in Precinct 5, here, with an overall cost of RM69 million, is scheduled to begin operations by 2026.

FAM president Datuk Hamidin Mohd Amin said the construction of the FAM NTC, which will be built on a 5.2-hectare site near the Putrajaya Equestrian Park, involves two phases with Phase 1 set to be completed by December 2026, and Phase 2 by December 2027.

He said that the construction of Phase 1 of the centre funded by Fifa with an amount of US$ 5.2 million (approximately RM24 million), will be done by local company RS Green Master (M) Sdn Bhd.

This phase includes facilities such as three football fields with different types of grass, namely Bermuda, hybrid and synthetic. Phase 2 will be funded with RM45 million from the government through the Ministry of Youth and Sports (KBS).

“Phase 2 is funded by KBS and will be executed by the Public Works Department with the tender expected to open in September 2024. It involves the construction of a 1,682.8-square-metre building comprising a gymnasium, multipurpose hall, players’ changing rooms, rehabilitation space and surau, in addition to constructing a roof for the synthetic turf field built in Phase 1,” he said.

Hamidin said this at the FAM NTC groundbreaking ceremony attended by Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh, Asian Football Confederation secretary-general Datuk Seri Windsor John, and Fifa Regional Director for Member Associations (Asia & Oceania) Sanjeevan C. Balasingam.

He also expressed hope that the establishment of the NTC, which was initiated by the late former FAM president from 1984-2014, Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah of Pahang, would symbolise the infrastructure development of FAM planned for several years, including the project of constructing a new FAM headquarters, also located in Precinct 5.

“In addition to the late Sultan, another key figure in realising this NTC project is Tan Sri Aseh Che Mat, the longest-serving individual in FAM, who is currently FAM Integrity Committee chairman.

Hamidin also thanked Fifa, especially its president Gianni Infantino, for the full support and funds provided, and the government for all assistance and allocations to FAM for building the NTC, thus meeting the demands and evolution of modern football.

He also hopes that the construction of FAM NTC will add value to all members of the national team, especially for the senior Harimau Malaya squad and the national Under-23 squad.

Previously, the FAM NTC project announced in 2019 was initially scheduled to begin construction in late 2021.

Meanwhile, Hamidin did not rule out the possibility of expanding the construction of FAM NTC to other states after the training centre here is completed.

In a related development, Hamidin expects FAM to move to the new FAM headquarters (HQ) starting mid-2027, while the original HQ in Kelana Jaya will be used for training other squads, including the national futsal team. — Bernama