Chelsea Coming 2 Malaysia..

FIVE years after its last visit to Kuala Lumpur, Chelsea has picked the Malaysian capital as one of its Asian destinations for pre-season training, with a friendly against a Malaysian selection scheduled on July 29.

This was announced in a Press conference to announce the Samsung Chelsea Asia Tour 2008 in Kuala Lumpur Thursday.

FA of Malaysia deputy president Khairy Jamaluddin said the governing body was happy to welcome a star-studded outfit like Chelsea.

“We are happy to be associated with a club like Chelsea. Apart from giving the Malaysian selection a chance to benchmark their skills against one of the best teams in Europe, the tour will also appeal to keen supporters of the English Premiership in Malaysia,” said Khairy.

Khairy who was elected as the Member of Parliament of Rembau in the recent General Elections, added the tour would not solely be a 90-minute affair.

FAM, he said, has proposed for national head coach B. Sathianathan to be sent for a two-week attachment stint at Stamford Bridge ahead of the 2008/09 season kicking off in August.

“Ultimately we want to build real linkages with clubs like Chelsea. We do not want top clubs to come here to Kuala Lumpur, play one match and then disappear. For a start Chelsea has agreed to allow Sathianathan to work with Chelsea’s think tank for a period of 10 days,” said Khairy.

Chelsea CEO Peter Kenyon thanked Asian Football Confederation and FAM for agreeing to host the match.

He insisted the invitation for Sathianathan to come to Stamford Bridge is a sign of the Blues’ long-term commitment with Asian football.

“We have formally invited your national coach to come and work with us for a certain period and this marks our long term commitment to support and develop Asian football. Sathianathan will be working with the panel of coaches who form our think-tank during the pre-season preparation.”

Also present were Pro Events CEO, Julian Kam and Samsung Malaysia Electronics Sdn Bhd CEO, Min Yong Ho.

Pro Events is a leading football marketing and management consultancy in Asia and the sole and exclusive tour promoter for the Samsung Chelsea Asia Tour 2008.

“We have established an excellent relationship with Chelsea through many commercial partnerships over the years and we are excited with the latest
opportunity to work with the club again. This will mark our third tour with Chelsea and we are delighted to bring to Asia one of the top English Premiership teams,” said Pro Events CEO, Julian Kam.

“Pro Events has been advised to look into this matter and seek the necessary clearance. FAM has agreed to support and sanction this tournament. After all precedents have been set before,” said Khairy, referring to the two-week tour of the Israeli cricket team to Kuala Lumpur in 1997.. BIG MONEY 4 THE MAN KJ