ISKANDAR PUTERI: Johor is considering offering venues for football matches during the 2027 South-East Asian (SEA) Games, says state executive councillor Mohd Hairi Mad Shah.
The Johor youth, sports, entrepreneur development, and cooperatives committee chairman said that venues in Johor that were being considered for the proposal include the Sultan Ismail Stadium (SSI).
“There may be more than three venues we can offer. Other than SSI, we also have a stadium in Mount Austin, which was previously built for the Malaysian Games (Sukma) as well as the Pasir Gudang Stadium.
“The matter is still being discussed. We will try to offer venues for football matches during the SEA games in 2027.
“However, I will seek consent from the Regent of Johor Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim first and get his advice on the matter as he is also the patron of the Johor Football Association,” he said.
He added that there are also stadiums in other districts in Johor that could also be considered for the proposal.
Hairi said this in a press conference on the sidelines of the Johor Assembly Sitting at Kota Iskandar here on Wednesday (Nov 27).
He added that Johor’s accessibility and good sports facilities are among the advantages that make the state a good fit for the venues.
“One of the factors is that we have excellent sports facilities, especially for football.
“It is also convenient to get into the state as it could also be accessed through flights in Singapore, which makes it more appealing to tourists and football teams,” he said.
In August, the government accepted the SEA Games Federation’s offer for Malaysia to host the 2027 SEA Games.
The Youth and Sports Ministry said the Cabinet approved the decision after taking into account Sarawak, Sabah and Penang’s willingness to use their respective budgets to the SEA games.
