Iconic Merdeka Stadium to host Sultan of Selangor Cup

KUALA LUMPUR: The Merdeka Stadium is set to come alive again after being chosen as the venue for the 2024 Sultan of Selangor Cup on Aug 17.

Sultan of Selangor Cup Committee chairman Tan Sri Abd Karim Munisar said they chose the iconic stadium to host the 20th edition of the competition to give football fans a nostalgic trip down memory lane at the venue where many national football legends made a name for themselves.

Among them are the late Datuk Mokhtar Dahari and Datuk R. Arumugam; Datuk Santokh Singh and the towkay himself, Datuk Soh Chin Aun.

"That's why we are maintaining the Merdeka Stadium in its original form, (for example) there is no digital scoreboard.

"Repair works are 70 per cent completed and it (the stadium) will be ready by the end of February for us to host the Sultan of Selangor Cup after a four-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic," he told reporters after visiting the stadium here today and surveying the repair works being carried out.

He said that besides the Sultan of Selangor Cup between the Selangor Selection and Singapore Selection, the match between the veterans of both teams will also be held at the same venue.

"We will also have a fireworks display, a parachute performance by the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) team carrying the Jalur Gemilang and Selangor flag... other forms of entertainment will also be included to add more excitement.

"Over 20,000 tickets will be sold for the match, with the cheapest costing just RM10," he said.

The Selangor Selection have won the Sultan of Selangor Cup nine times, in 2001, 2003, 2005, 2008, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2018 and 2019.

The Singapore Selection have won it seven times - 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2016 and 2017.

The teams were crowned joint champions in 2004. The 2015 edition was cancelled due to the extremely concerning levels of haze in the country while the 2020 edition was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Merdeka Stadium was considered an engineering marvel of the then Federation of Malaya when it was built in 1956 and completed within a year to host the historical moment when the late Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj declared the country's independence on Aug 31, 1957, followed by the formation of Malaysia on Sept 16, 1963.

For sports fans, the Merdeka Stadium is a place filled with memories and a fortress of the national football team in various tournaments, including the Merdeka Tournament.

-- BERNAMA