Students selected to premier football school in T’gganu
KUCHING: Three Sarawak teenagers have been selected to join SMK Ibrahim Fikri in Terengganu.
The school, a premier football school in the country has a stringent selection process which encompasses both football skills as well as educational excellence.
The three young men, Muhammad Ariq Aiman bin Yusri, Wan Daniel Afizie bin Wan Nazarudin and Muhammad Asyraf Ezany Bin Sabu were feted to a feast in a thanksgiving ceremony held at the home of Wan Nazarudin bin Wan Majian in Kampung Kudei yesterday.
The trio, all aged 13, have been active in football and have had numerous exposure trips overseas and to Peninsular Malaysia to sharpen their skills and knowledge.
The boys will leave for Terengganu on Jan 18 and will be accompanied by their fathers Yusri bin Fauzi,Wan Nazarudin bin Wan Majian and Sabu bin Choeheng.
In an exclusive interview with the boys it was also revealed that Wan Daniel has been chosen along with 11 other Malaysians to undergo a training stint with FC Barcelona in Catalonia Spain, recently.
Young Wan Daniel and his compatriots said they worked hard to gain their entrance to SMK Ibrahim Fikri and were confirmed entries in November 2018 after final trials held at the Bukit Jalil Sports Centre in Kuala Lumpur.
They were also offered entrance to the Tabuan Jaya Sports School here but decided to take up the offer in Terengganu to challenge themselves at the highest level.
All three were excited to go to Terengganu and further spurred on by their desire to one day play for Malaysia and make football their professional career.
Beaming with pride, Wan Nazarudin said the boys have been reminded to keep their grades up while chasing their dream and warned them that the school might drop them should their grades drop.
“Part of the reason we parents agreed to allow the boys to go so far was the track record of the school which emphasises on the need for excellence both in academics as well as football,” he said
Meanwhile, the gathering at Wan Nazarudin’s house was attended by friends and family of the three boys.
Their parents were delighted with the huge turnout at the gathering and were thankful for all the prayers and encouragement given to the boys.
They hoped the trio will achieve their dreams of representing Malaysia one day.
Sabu and Yusri also thanked Wan Nazarudin for sponsoring the gathering and said they came from humble backgrounds and wished that their sons will be better off than them, have meaningful careers in future, be it in football or others. – S. Sivanesan
