Thirteen young Malaysians are just one step away from making it to the Allianz Junior Football Camp (AJFC) in Munich, Germany.
Devesshraja Sathimoorty and Muhammad Hafiz Jaafar (both 15) and 16-year-olds Chia Ruo Han, Amirul Zul Aiman Asmaly, Mohamad Mirzan Norji, Salehudin Othman, Dani Adli Shaiful Azua, Ritchie Svenson Fred Donny, Mohd Azlizan Mohd Azlan, Muhammad Alif Mohd Zaidi, Muhaimi Aeizad Azhar, Muhammad Shafiq Shazwan and Ajay Jamain are in Bali, Indonesia for the AJFC Asia 2017 from 1 to 4 August 2017.
AJFC Asia serves as the final selection of 15 talents that will represent Asia at AJFC in Munich that takes place from 17 to 22 August 2017. The Malaysians will be amongst 49 teenagers aged between 14 and 16 from China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Laos, Singapore and Thailand that will undergo the selection process at the Canggu Club under the watchful eyes of FC Bayern legend and Coach of International Program, Klaus Augenthaler and AJFC Ambassador Giovane Elber.
“We have a great mix of talents this year that represent the best of Malaysia from all corners of country – Central, South, North, East Coast and East Malaysia. The camp provides great exposure to our boys as they train under a former German international and World Cup winner in Klaus Augenthaler and learn from him first-hand,” said Zakri Khir, Chief Executive Officer, Allianz Malaysia Berhad.
“It will be a life changing experience for the boys both on and off the field as they will also get to mix and mingle with their peers from all across Asia. We hope the boys will be able to embrace the whole occasion, gain valuable experiences and showcase their true talent to impress the selectors. We are confident that coach Augenthaler and Elber will do a great job identifying the best Malaysian talents for AJFC in Munich,” added Zakri.
During the camp, the young footballers will participate in daily training sessions which will culminate in a tournament on 4 August 2017 to decide the AJFC Asia winners from each country. Part of AJFC Asia includes get-together activities, My Finance Coach programme (financial literacy programme) and cultural performances by the participants.
AJFC is an annual football event held globally since 2009 with AJFC Malaysia debuting in 2012 followed by AJFC Asia in 2013. The AJFC Malaysia League officially launched in Kuala Lumpur on 8 February 2017 and was open to teams of 18 players aged between 14 to 16 years old.
This is the ninth year that the Allianz Junior Football Camp is being held globally. This year, Malaysia was part of the event for the sixth consecutive year and has thus far witnessed the talents of 5,769 young aspiring footballers.
