National players call for introduction of women's football league

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 23 -- Several national women footballers are hoping that a women’s league could be introduced to further boost the development of the sport among them.

National skipper Steffi Sarge Kaur Sergeant Singh believes that such a league could be a platform to recruit more players so as to strengthen the national squad in the future.

“We (the team) have the potential, just need a higher level of discipline and commitment and everything will be okay. I also want the current players not to stop training and hope they will continue to stay fit, both mentally and physically,” she said in an audio clip shared with the media today.

Steffi said this after helping the national team end their Group H fixture in the 2022 Women’s Asian Cup Qualifiers with a 2-0 win over Palestine yesterday.

Meanwhile, national goalkeeper Nurul Azurin Maslan is confident that the league, should it be established, can attract the attention of younger players to take up the country’s number one-ranked sport.

Apart from the women’s league, 20-year-old national midfielder Andrea Lee also wants to see more domestic competitions held so as to give the players more exposure and experience. 

The Tun Sharifah Rodziah Cup is Malaysia’s only women’s football competition since it was introduced in 1976 under a group format. 

Meanwhile, national women’s team head coach Jacob Joseph praised his players for putting up a better display in the 2-0 win over Palestine compared to the 4-0 hammering by Thailand in their opening group match on Sunday (Sept 19). 

“I told them not to panic like what happened against Thailand, where the players seemed unsure what to do. I told the players to enjoy the game and I’m glad they played a very good game,” he said.

Steffi, meanwhile, was excited to have kept her promise by scoring the second goal through a freekick in the 81st minute following Andrea’s opener in the 57th minute. 

World number 92 Malaysia are second in the group with three points, the same as Thailand (world number 39), who will face Palestine (world number 120) on Saturday (Sept 25).

Only the winners of each group will qualify for the 2022 Women’s Asian Cup Finals to be held in India in January.

-- BERNAMA