AS FELDA United FC chase honours on the field in a bid to capture the 2018 Malaysia Premier League title, “The Fighters” will also be sporting a fresh new look, owing to a bolder design on their kits this year.
The new kits, sponsored by Universal Fitness & Leisure (UFL), were unveiled during a launch event at Menara Felda, and feature four variants which Felda United will use throughout the season.
They are manufactured by the same company –Football Thai (FBT)– that produced the highly popular 2017 SEA Games collection.
The sponsorship will see Felda United – from the main team down to its football academy – benefit from RM400,000 in apparel and accessories.
“When we started our discussion (of the sponsorship), Felda was supposed to play in the Super League but they were demoted for reasons unknown to many of us then.
“But we decided to go ahead anyway because we feel that Felda United have potential and they are a good team to promote as they have many grassroots programmes involving schools and the community,” UFL managing director Datuk Radha Krishnan said.
“Through that, they have identified many talents and these are the kind of teams we want to support,” he said, adding that UFL would also look at ways to work with Felda on their grassroots programmes.
“We are certainly looking forward to Felda doing well in this year’s Malaysia and FA Cup.”
Felda United’s 2018 kits will first be available first at Felda’s homeground (Stadium Tun Abdul Razak in Pahang) and will be available in the general market and through gooutdoor.com.my later on with prices starting from RM49.
The jerseys will also employ the same wicking and sweat absorption technologies as seen in the SEA Games collection with improved stitching.
According to Radha, FBT’s reputation has grown thanks to contemporary designs, competitive pricing and the exposure from the SEA Games where it was a platinum sponsor and the official merchandise and apparel brand.
But UFL does not want to stop at the success of the SEA Games.
“We had to move on. After the SEA Games, we decided to go one level higher and move into individual sports. We began by sponsoring the sepak takraw league for RM150,000,” Radha said.
He added that the brand would also see its first boutique store open sometime in the second quarter at the KL Sports City in Bukit Jalil and launch its Marvel collection in February.
Felda general manager and FUFC president Datuk Ab Ghani Mohd Ali said with the new jerseys, there would be renewed spirit and the more rugged design of the apparel reflected the team’s fighting spirit.
Last year, Felda United finished third in the Super League, played in the AFC Cup and also reached the semi-final of the Malaysia Cup but were dropped from the Super League last year after they were unable to obtain their club licence due to incomplete documentation.
Ab Ghani added that it was time to set aside their past woes and fight their way back into the Super League for the next season.
And despite its budget shrinking from RM25mil in 2017 to RM15mil this year, Felda has maintained all its teams – main team, futsal teams and football academy.
“Even though we were demoted, we are still committed to take Felda United to greater heights, and our ultimate goal for 2018 is to be the champions of the Premier League
“We have accepted the reality of the demotion but we have put that behind us and are looking forward to how we can achieve the title in the Premier League and hopefully the FA and Malaysia Cup,” ,” said Ab Ghani.
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