KOTA KINABALU, May 30 — Kinabalu Jaguar FC (KJFC), who will be competing in the M3 League this season, are confident of being able to provide fierce competition to other teams besides aiming to play in the Premier League next season.
KJFC owner Datuk Verdon Bahanda said now the club had completed preparations to compete in the M3 League, which is scheduled to start in early June, but had to be postponed due to the COVID-19 situation in the country.
“After seeing the results of training and friendly matches that KJFC went through, I am confident that the players will be able to provide fierce competition. With hard work and high team spirit, therefore, I have set the main target to enter the Premier League next season,” he told Bernama .
Commenting on the establishment of KJFC, Verdon said the idea to set up the football club was long overdue but it was delayed because he was busy including on business matters and that the club was set up after he left Sabah Football Club Sdn Bhd (Sabah FC).
Sabah FC are the Sabah senior team who are competing in the Super League this season.
Previously, Verdon, a businessman from Kota Marudu, Sabah, was appointed as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Sabah FC before deciding to leave the club in December last year after more than a month with the team.
Verdon said KJFC was officially established on Jan 1 and a player search mission was carried out immediately after the club was set up.
“Although we did not conduct an open and comprehensive selection of players throughout Sabah, we managed to find good and experienced players.
“There are players who had played for Sabah FC and other teams in the Malaysian League. We will also feature young players and most of them are under the age of 25,” he said.
He said the KJFC team would play with their own identity and that the coaching team had been tasked with forming the desired team.
Regarding the choice of the club’s name, logo and colours, Vedron said the name Kinabalu symbolises the splendor of Mount Kinabalu in Sabah while the name jaguar was taken because it is a ferocious, agile and resilient animal.
“The colours we chose are orange and blue, which is a combination of the colours of Mount Kinabalu and jaguar ... this will be the identity of our team,” he said. — Bernama
