Sheang Tsung to train with Championship club Cardiff for three months

PETALING JAYA: Malaysian youngster Tam Sheang Tsung is in for a rare treat – he will train with an English Championship club when he joins Cardiff City FC in March.

The 15-year-old Sheang Tsung will join the team currently in second position in the Championship, which is the second tier of league clubs behind the Barclays Premier League.

Welsh club Cardiff City was bought over by Malaysian business tycoon Tan Sri Vincent Tan last year.

Sheang Tsung also created history when he became the first Malaysian to be recruited into Japan’s J-League when he joined Division 2 side Yokohama FC in 2009.

In 2010, he signed with another Division 2 club, Sagan Tosu, and has made a name for himself as the youngest footballer in Japanese professional league history.

Tan said he would sponsor Sheang Tsung’s three-month stint in Cardiff.

“This will boost his football career and enable him to be exposed to professional football.

“The boy has great potential and we are happy to support his ambition. The club believes in giving opportunities to young people, what more a Malaysian,” Tan said.

Sheang Tsung grew up in Tokyo, where his parents Tam Yun Tong and Ang Hui Chin have been running the Rasa Malaysian Cuisine Restaurant for the past 16 years.

He impressed talent scouts when he captained the Narima­sugaoka Primary School team to a silver medal in the West Tokyo Tournament and was then picked to play for Yokohama FC’s Under-15 team in March 2009.

In August 2009, he attended an intensive course with the Sao Bernado FC Under-20 team in Brazil.