KUCHING: Kuching City FC plans to hold a friendly match ahead of its Oct 7 clash against Tampines Rovers to test stadium operations and a new numbered-ticketing system.
Kuching City FC chairman Datuk Fazzrudin Abdul Rahman said the club must meet several requirements to compete in the AFC Champions League Two (ACL Two) and ASEAN Club Championship Shopee Cup, including stadium standards and numbered seating.
“For Shopee and AFC, the ticket has to be numbered,” he told reporters after officiating at the opening of the Information and Explanation Programme on Current Issues: Achievements of Sarawak Government Initiatives at the Sarawak State Library Gallery here today (Sept 22).
He said spectators would therefore be required to sit according to the seat numbers stated on their tickets.
“It is going to be a new thing, but what we are planning to do is to have a friendly match before the actual match,” he said.
Fazzrudin said the friendly would simulate actual match-day operations so both spectators and stadium personnel could become familiar with the system.
“We will sell the tickets as if we are going to play in the AFC and Shopee competitions, so that the spectators and our personnel can get used to it,” he said.
He added that an announcement on the friendly match would be made soon, ahead of the Oct 7 fixture against Tampines Rovers.
Fazzrudin, who is also the Kuching City FC chairman, said the club is currently in discussions with several teams and is targeting two possible opponents during the FIFA international break.
“My target is two teams because the FIFA days are two weeks, and we need high-intensity matches,” he said.
He said discussions were ongoing with teams from Peninsular Malaysia and a neighbouring country, but no confirmation had been made.
“We are still discussing with them. I cannot confirm yet because I do not want to say something now and then it does not happen,” he said.
On stadium preparations, Fazzrudin said the state government had announced an allocation of RM7 million to upgrade the venue to meet competition requirements.
The allocation is for the upgrade of Stadium Taha Ariffin, formerly known as Sarawak Stadium, in preparation for Kuching City FC’s upcoming fixtures.
The RM7 million allocation was announced by the Sarawak Minister for Youth, Sports and Entrepreneur Development, Datuk Seri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, during the Sarawak Legislative Assembly sitting earlier this year.
However, Fazzrudin said not all of the allocation would necessarily be implemented immediately due to time constraints.
“We may implement part of the allocation first to ensure the stadium can be used in time for the matches,” he said.
A decision on ticketing arrangements is expected soon.
