PETALING JAYA, 4 Sept – In one sweep Kelantan football has seen a new lease of life – especially on the financial front – thanks to Johor entrepreneur Norizam Tukiman.
Tukiman is a breath of fresh air for the Red Warriors when he bought RM3 million shares of Team The Red Warriors Sdn Bhd shares – a subsidiary of the Kelantan FA (KAFA) effective Thursday.
Apart from that Norizam has thrown in another RM3.8 million to settle KAFA’s existing debts – and this has lifted a huge financial burden that has engulfed the association.
Norizam has come with big plans for the fallen Red Warriors who now ply their football trade in the lower-tier Premier League. For the record, Kelantan was once a much-feared East Coast team that achieved a high in 2012 when the Red Warriors won a treble in 2012.
Thursday’s good news by Norizam could stand in good stead for the Kelantan team when they face Selangor II at home on Saturday. The match comes in the wake of Kelantan’s surprise 3-0 defeat by Penang also at home last week.
Norizam’s next step after the privatization of KAFA is to sort out Kelantan’s licensing issue for the team to compete in the M-League next season.
The team will now be fully managed by TRW Sdn Bhd and Norizam gave broad hints that he will bring his own team to manage Kelantan.
Norizam does not look at “instant profits” but is optimistic that Kelantan FC’s value will be anything between RM5 billion to RM10 billion within a decade. He also plans to get TRW Sdn Bhd listed on the Malaysian stock exchange to take the company forward.
Those who witnessed the ‘historic’ event on Thursday were KAFA president Datuk Shaari Mat Hussin and his deputy Datuk Seri Afandi Hamzah.
About The Author
