10/02/2026

SPORTS TUESDAY | FEB 10, 2026 31 Megat aims to restore FAM PCM president throws hat into presidential race M ALAYSIAN Paralympic Council (PCM) president Datuk Seri Megat D Shahriman Zaharudin has again expressed his intention to contest the Megat, who is also a board member of the International Federation of Cerebral Palsy Football, said he would continue to prioritise the views of football fans. heartedly or selectively. “Even if someone was not directly involved, they are still part of the team. Choosing responsibility selectively shows a lack of commitment and concern for football from the start,” he said.

RESULTS & STANDINGS

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE: Brighton 0 Crystal Palace 1 (Sarr 61) , Liverpool 1 (Szoboszlai 74) Manchester City 2 (Silva 84, Haaland 90+3-pen) . P W D L F A Pts Arsenal 25 17 5 3 49 17 56 Man City 25 15 5 5 51 24 50 Aston Villa 25 14 5 6 36 27 47 Man Utd 25 12 8 5 46 36 44 Chelsea 25 12 7 6 45 28 43 Liverpool 25 11 6 8 40 35 39 Brentford 25 12 3 10 39 34 39 Everton 25 10 7 8 28 28 37 Sunderland 25 9 9 7 27 29 36 Fulham 25 10 4 11 35 37 34 Bournemouth 25 8 10 7 41 44 34 Newcastle 25 9 6 10 35 36 33 Crystal Palace 25 8 8 9 26 29 32 Brighton 25 7 10 8 34 33 31 Tottenham 25 7 8 10 35 35 29 Leeds 25 7 8 10 34 43 29 Nottm Forest 25 7 5 13 25 38 26 West Ham 25 6 5 14 31 48 23 Burnley 25 3 6 16 25 49 15 Wolves 25 1 5 19 16 48 8 LA LIGA: Alaves 0 Getafe 2 (Vazquez 53, Arambarri 71-pen) , Athletic Bilbao 4 (Guruzeta 29, 34, Serrano 86, Navarro 90+9) Levante 2 (Elgezabal 81, Olasa gasti 90+4) , Sevilla 1 (Salas 90+2) Girona 1 (Lemar 2) , Atletico Madrid 0 Real Betis 1 (Antony 28) , Valencia 0 Real Madrid 2 (Carreras 65, Mbappe 90+1) . TOP 5 P W D L F A Pts Barcelona 23 19 1 3 63 23 58 Real Madrid 23 18 3 2 49 18 57 Atleti 23 13 6 4 38 18 45 Villarreal 21 13 3 5 39 23 42 Real Betis 23 10 8 5 37 28 38 SERIE A: Bologna 0 Parma 1 (Ordonez 90+5) , Lecce 2 (Gandelman 5, Banda 90) Udinese 1 (Solet 26-pen) , Sassuolo 0 Inter Milan 5 (Bisseck 11, Thuram 28, Martinez 50, Akanji 54, Luis Henrique 89) , Juventus 2 (McKennie 59, Kalulu 90+6) Lazio 2 (Pedro 45+2, Isaksen 47) . TOP 5 P W D L F A Pts Inter Milan 24 19 1 4 57 19 58 AC Milan 23 14 8 1 38 17 50 Napoli 24 15 4 5 36 23 49 Juventus 24 13 7 4 41 20 46 Roma 23 14 1 8 27 14 43 BUNDESLIGA: Bayern Munich 5 Hoffenheim 1, Cologne 1 RB Leipzig 2. TOP 5 P W D L F A Pts B. Munich 21 17 3 1 79 19 54 Dortmund 21 14 6 1 43 20 48 Hoffenheim 21 13 3 5 44 28 42 RB Leipzig 21 12 3 6 40 28 39 Stuttgart 21 12 3 6 38 28 39 FRENCH LIGUE 1: Nice 0 Monaco 0, Le Havre 2 Strasbourg 1, Auxerre 0 Paris FC 0, Angers 1 Toulouse 0, Paris Saint Germain 5 Marseille 0. TOP 5 P W D L F A Pts Paris SG 21 16 3 2 48 16 51 Lens 21 16 1 4 37 17 49 Lyon 21 13 3 5 34 20 42 Marseille 21 12 3 6 46 27 39 Lille 21 10 3 8 34 30 33

“I am nobody’s puppet. I listen to the grassroots and the fans. I am also a football fan, even if I do not show it openly,” he said. Commenting on suggestions for Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah to be reappointed as FAM president, Megat said the Sultan of Pahang would be an excellent candidate but added that FAM’s current image made such a move inappropriate. “I agree that Tuanku is a very good candidate, but placing him in an organisation whose image has been damaged internationally would not be right. “He should be protected and not linked to the current turmoil,” he said. Al-Sultan Abdullah served as FAM president from 2014 to 2017. Meanwhile, Megat said genuine reform can only take place if led by individuals who are committed and prepared to take responsibility, adding that rebuilding FAM cannot be done half

Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) presidency following the recent collective resignation of the association’s executive committee members. Megat said his decision was not driven by any particular interest group, but by the voices of football fans and the wider public who want meaningful change in the management of FAM. He said his experience leading the PCM and the achievements recorded under his leadership showed that a team-based leadership approach can bring about reform and results. “I am offering myself because I do not belong to anyone. “Football belongs to the people, and I am part of the people. What fans want is a fresh face, someone who can carry out reforms and restructure FAM, and I am one of those people. “In Para sports, we succeeded by working as a team, and the results speak for themselves. I have proven that this formula works, and it can be applied in FAM,” he told Bernama when contacted.

He had previously announced his intention to contest the FAM presidency at last year’s election congress, but later withdrew due to time constraints. Under FAM statutes, presidential candidates must secure at least six nominations from affiliate members to qualify. Last month, all FAM executive committee members for the 2025–2029 term resigned collectively with immediate effect, citing the need to safeguard the association’s integrity amid an ongoing crisis. The crisis began in September last year after Fifa confirmed that FAM and seven players, namely Gabriel Felipe Arrocha, Facundo Garces, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Manchuca, Jodo Figueiredo, Jon Irazabal and Hector Hevel, had breached Article 22 of the Fifa Disciplinary Code. – Bernama NATIONAL sprinter Zaidatul Husniah Zulkifli is eyeing one last hurrah at the 2027 SEA Games before finally hanging up her spikes. But for now, the women’s 100-metre (m) national record holder is focused on recovering from the hamstring injury she sustained during last year’s Thailand SEA Games. If everything goes according to plan, the 32-year-old expects to be back in action by the middle of March. “My focus now is to recover from the hamstring injury and then regain the strength in my feet before returning to action. I am not only an athlete but also a coach at a sports school. So, whether I like it or not, I must recover completely before getting back on the track,” she said when met recently. Earlier, Zaidatul, fondly known as “Adik”, had to withdraw from the women’s 4x100m relay event at the Thailand SEA Games due to the hamstring injury, forcing the national quartet to also withdraw from competing. As for the 2027 SEA Games, which Malaysia will host, Zaidatul said: “Many are asking if I will compete in the biennial Games next year. The desire is there, but I will follow what Allah has in store for me.“Because we do not know what is going to happen since the Games are a long way off. Who knows, I might be injured again or even pregnant.” Sivasangari goes down fighting NATIONAL squash ace S. Sivasangari gave it everything she had, but it was still not enough as she suffered a narrow quarterfinal loss to world number five Nour El Sherbini of Eygpt at the Windy City Open 2026 in Chicago, the United States, yesterday. The 27-year-old Malaysian, ranked sixth in the world, went down fighting to the third-seeded Egyptian, losing 6-11, 11-6, 7-11, 11-7, 8-11 in a 51 minute titanic battle. The Kedah-born Sivasangari’s exit marks the end of Malaysia’s challenge at the Platinum-tier tournament. “I am super excited to race on the Olympic slope in Cortina, because I have never skied on it before and it is considered a historical slope,” she said. More than personal fulfilment, Aruwin also hopes her presence in Italy sends a wider mes sage about what Malaysians can achieve in unfa miliar sporting landscapes. During her Winter Olympics debut in Beijing, Aruwin finished in 38th spot in the women’s giant slalom event but did not complete the sla lom event. The Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games will end on Feb 22. – Bernama BRIEFS Zaidatul’s not done yet

‘We have a chance to turn Cup tie around’

Selangor’s Chrigor Moraes (centre) challenges for a header between NSFC players during the Malaysia Cup match at Tuanku Abdul Rahman Stadium yesterday. – BERNAMAPIC

NEGERI SEMBILAN head coach Mohd Nidzam Jamil is not ready to throw in the towel yet, as he believes his team still have a fighting chance to turn the tie around when they face Selangor FC in the return leg of the Malaysia Cup quar terfinals at the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) Stadium on Feb 14. Having seen his team lose 1-0 in the first-leg tie at home at Tuanku Abdul Rahman Stadium in Paroi – and that too to an injury-time penalty – he continues to have faith in his men, saying: “We still have another 90 minutes plus to change the outcome”. “We have let in last-minute goals three times here, we should know how to manage the game … what I can say is that we need to stay positive. We still have another 90 minutes to redeem ourselves. “For the away match, we hope to score more than four years ago. “I believe I’m approaching my second Games with better preparation,” she told Bernama . Aruwin, the first national female athlete to compete at the Winter Olympics and the only Malaysian competing in Milano Cortina, will fea ture in the giant slalom event on Feb 15 and sla lom on Feb 18. Aruwin said her first Winter Olympics experi ence has reshaped how she manages the inten sity of the Games, including a strategic move to step away from the Olympic Village after the opening ceremony in San Siro, Milan, on Friday. She said her coach has planned for her to

than two goals. I am confident we stand a good chance. If we think otherwise, then we might as well not turn up,” he told reporters last night. In last night’s match, the Red Giants nicked a goal in second half injury time when Chrigor Moraes, who was fouled by Muhammad Harith Samsuri, picked himself up to slot home from the penalty spot. Meanwhile, Selangor head coach Kim Pan Gon attributed the slim victory to the team’s resilience and strong mentality. “I’m proud of my players. Today was tough, but they performed very well. We are working on building Selangor’s characteristic style, and I felt this match was very challenging. “We need to prepare carefully for the next home game. One goal is not enough. In the first half, we had chances to score two or three goals,” he added. – Bernama

Aruwin heads to Italy with confidence, experience

MALAYSIAN alpine skier Aruwin Salehhuddin returns to the Winter Olympic Games with renewed belief, wiser and more experienced, as she gears up for her second appearance at the 2026 edition in Milano Cortina, Italy. After making her Winter Olympics debut at Beijing 2022, the 21-year-old said qualifying again carries a deeper meaning, shaped by growth, sacrifice and a clearer understanding of what lies ahead. “This one feels more realistic and anticipated than the first time. “It still retains its magical moments; however, I feel like I know a bit more of what to expect

return to Austria to step away from the over whelming atmosphere of the Olympic Village and focus on training ahead of her competition. Rather than setting podium-driven targets, Aruwin is measuring success differently this time. “Instead, I am looking to see how far I have improved over the past four years since my Winter Olympics debut – how I handle things mentally, and how well I’m able to ski,” she said. Despite previously spending several years training in Italy, Aruwin acknowledged the chal lenge of competing at the Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre.