KUALA LUMPUR – Selangor and Singapore are ready to reignite their rivalry as they are set to lock horns in the 20th edition of the Sultan of Selangor’s Cup (TSSC) on August 17.
Inaugurated by Selangor’s Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah in 2001, TSSC has been an annual event, except for 2015 due to the haze and the past three years because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The organising committee hopes to relive the feverish atmosphere of Malaysian football from the 1970s in the match, scheduled to take place at the iconic Merdeka Stadium.
The stadium, once the venue where the national football team qualified for the 1980 Moscow Olympics, was the ground where legendary players such as the late Datuk Mokhtar Dahari, the late Datuk R. Arumugam, Datuk Santokh Singh, and Datuk Soh Chin Ann, who contributed to the national team’s qualification for the Olympic Games, played.
The tournament will see both teams competing for the prestigious trophy and RM80,000 in cash. Additionally, a veterans’ match between former Selangor and Singapore players will take place as the opening event.
In the veterans’ category, Selangor have dominated Singapore, winning eight out of 17 meetings.
TSSC committee chairman Tan Sri Abd Karim Munisar said that this year’s edition of the Sultan of Selangor Cup will see some of the finest players from Selangor FC taking part.
Karim is also confident that the Selangor fans will fill up the Merdeka Stadium to watch their players perform due to the club’s current fine form in the Super League under the guidance of Nidzam Jamil.
The Red Giants currently rank second in the Super League with nine points from four games.
“The current Selangor players will definitely be playing in our tournament, and I can guarantee that the fans will come and watch the game mainly because of Selangor FC’s current form in the domestic competitions.
“I had a meeting with the players, and we will be doing the selection very soon.
“But now we are waiting for the players to be available so that we don’t clash with their ongoing Malaysia FA Cup campaign. More or less, they will be the main players from Nidzam Jamil’s current Selangor team.
“On a positive note, we have already planned and received clearance from the Malaysian Football League and the Football Association of Malaysia.
“Hence, we will make sure that the players that we are going to select don’t clash with Selangor FC’s domestic tournaments,” said Karim when met during the TSSC Promotion Tour Series in Seri Kembangan today.
The Red Giants recently qualified for the semifinals of the FA Cup after beating Kuching City 5-3 in a penalty shootout, following a 4-4 aggregate tie on July 7.
The final of the FA Cup is set to take place on August 24, which is a week after this year’s TSSC.
Meanwhile, Karim also said that his organising committee is still waiting for the final list of players from the Singapore Football Association (SFA) for this year’s TSSC.
“We will be meeting SFA in early August, but for now both Selangor and Singapore have submitted their first draft player list.
“I really hope to see Fandi Ahmad’s sons (Irfan, Ikhsan, and Ilhan) play in this year’s edition. I would also like to see Fandi playing for the veterans’ team as it will excite the game and the fans.
“The Singaporean fans wanted 2000 tickets, but we have limited them to 1500 as we wanted to prioritise more for our local Malaysian fans.
“The tickets for the Singaporean fans are all sold, and they will be travelling by bus to watch the game at the Merdeka Stadium.
“As the organising committee, we will ensure their safety and take good care of the visiting fans when they come over to watch the game,” Karim added.
Selangor have clinched the TSSC title nine times in 2001, 2003, 2005, 2008, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2018 and 2019 while Singapore secured the title seven times in 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2016 and 2017.
Both teams shared the championship in 2015 when the match was cancelled due to haze.
The previous edition of TSSC saw Selangor defeating Singapore 1-0. – July 13, 2024