100 buses ferrying 4,000 JDT fans head to KL for FA Cup final

JOHOR BAHRU: One hundred buses carrying some 4,000 Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT) supporters from all over Johor left for the Bukit Jalil National Stadium in Kuala Lumpur for the FA Cup final tonight.

JDT Supporters Club deputy president Mohd Fadzli Sapie said the effort was to give moral support to the Southern Tigers who will be facing Terengganu FC (TFC.

He said that from the club alone, 12 buses were hired to bring supporters from the Tan Sri Dato Haji Hassan Yunos Stadium in Larkin, here which departed at 8 am.

"From Larkin Stadium, we readied 12 buses to bring 455 fans, at Sultan Ibrahim Stadium there were also some buses to bring Boys of Straits supporters.

"Likewise for supporters from Muar, Segamat, Tangkak and I estimate about 100 buses from Johor left for the Bukit Jalil National Stadium this morning," he told Bernama when met at the Tan Sri Dato Haji Hassan Yunos Stadium.

He said the safety aspect was a priority and his club had met with the Malaysian Football League (MFL) to ensure that safety measures for supporters were taken.

"All the supporters have been briefed after getting the standard operating procedures (SOP) from MFL.

"We want to avoid provocations and things that cause anger, we even emphasised the SOP for entering the stadium. For me, JDT supporters are very disciplined about SOP and safety," he said.

Meanwhile, die-hard JDT supporters are confident that the FA Cup trophy will belong to the team.

One of them, Mohamad Amirul Akmal Shahrudin, 29, expected the Southern Tigers coached by Hector Bidoglio to bury TFC at least 3-0 tonight.

"We expect JDT to win tonight, actually how many goals is not the main thing because the goals that are successfully put into the opponents' net is more important," he said.

Similarly, Nur Ain Halim, 39, who is bringing her two children to watch the match, said that whatever the outcome tonight, JDT supporters remain steadfast with the team and will continue to provide moral support.

"My children and I are big fans of football and are willing to go to the stadium to watch the match, if possible we really hope that JDT win," she said.

-- BERNAMA