KFA wants to celebrate Faiz Subri's success

The Kedah Football Association plans to celebrate Mohd Faiz Subri's success after the Kedah-born player grabbed the 2016 Puskas Award of the international football federation, FIFA, in Zurich, Switzerland early this morning.

Its honorary secretary, Datuk Aminuddin Omar said, however, the celebration would depend on the player's schedule and release by his employer, the Penang Football Association.

"This is a most meaningful victory for this state (Kedah) and what Mohd Faiz has achieved proved the capability of our player to carve a name at the international level.

"This is another achievement that Kedah would be proud of and all the people in the state, including myself, are very proud of his success," he told Bernama.

This morning, the 30-year-old Penang striker created history in the national and Asian football arena when he became the first player from this region to win the award.

Since it was introduced in 2009, the award, aimed at recognising the most beautiful goal in the world for a particular year, had been won by famous world football stars including Cristiano Ronaldo, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Neymar and James Rodriguez.

"We plan to organise an event to fete Mohd Faiz on Thursday, but this would depend on the situation and the schedule of the player.

"As had been announced earlier, KFA president, Datuk Seri Ahmad Bashah Md Hanipah intended to give a contribution to Faiz even before he left for Zurich," he said.

However, he said, due to the time constraint and the schedule, the player could not attend the programme organised by KFA and Ahmad Bashah decided to hold the event on Jan 12.

"This is an indication of the moral support given to Mohd Faiz. Although he plays for Penang, he still originates from Kedah and what we are doing is for Malaysia," he said.

Meanwhile, a local football fan, Razak Kamal, 29, said he had expected victory would belong to Mohd Faiz since FIFA announced three finalists who would be in the tussle for the award earlier.

"The goal scored is illogical. Some people say it defies the law of physics. But to me, it was a very beautiful goal and certainly deserved to win," he said.

Entrepreneur Sarida Arshad, 33, was very proud of Mohd Faiz's victory and was thankful that he had carved a name for Malaysia at the international level and wanted such a success to continue.

Another fan, Azhar Mat, 45, was excited and wished to welcome the player if he returned to his village and congratulate him.

"He has made Kedah and the country proud. I want to say thank you to him," he added. -- Bernama