Sarawak based Machan FC has decided to call it a day in the Liga Malaysia.
According to Harian Metro, the news was made known by the clubs president, Azizi Fauzi who claimed that that the club is unable to continue their journey in the Liga A1 Semi Pro MBSB Bank due to huge financial burdens which include away fixtures.
Azizi claimed that the club had already paid close to RM1 million for the first six months of this year, and that the club takes full responsibility over the issue.
Azizi also claimed that he had already approached the Sarawak government via the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Entrepreneur Development Sarawak and accepts the fact that the ministry doesn’t sponsor semi-professional clubs.
The article also stated that Machan FC is thankful to the Amateur Football Club (AFL), the Sarawak Football Association (FAS) dan the Sarawak Sports Council (SSC) for their help during the teams journey in the Liga Malaysia.
Prior to this Machan tried to negotiate the fixtures in the league with the AFL to reduce its operational cost. The club also decided to move away from Stadium Negeri and call Sibu their new home.
Machan is the second club in Sarawak to play in the Liga Malaysia this year with Kuching CIty FC being the other one.
Kuching City is largely seen as a club that represents the northern side of Sarawak with Machan, which is from Kanowit, representing the central side of Sarawak.
With Machan’s withdrawal from the Liga A1, Sarawak will only have one club left in the Liga Malaysia football pyramid.
