KUALA LUMPUR – Kuala Lumpur City FC has confirmed that its stalwart player, Haqimi Azim, will not take part in the Federal Territories football team for this year’s Malaysian Games (Sukma).
The club’s response comes after rumours spread within the football fraternity that the Federal Territories Sukma team head coach, Nidzam Adzha, is interested in bringing the 21-year-old forward on board to strengthen his side ahead of the national multisport event.
For the record, Nidzam is also the head coach for KL City’s under-23 side, a role he assumed in April this year.
Haqimi, who has made a total of 27 appearances for the City Boys since his debut in 2022, has recently become a regular starter for Harimau Malaya under national football head coach Kim Pan-gon.
The Gombak-born player was recently part of Pan-gon’s side in the 2026 World Cup/2027 Asian Cup qualifiers against Kyrgyzstan and Chinese Taipei, alongside compatriots Declan Lambert, Zhafri Yahya, and Azri Ghani.
Speaking to Scoop, KL City chief executive Stanley Bernard said there is no need for Haqimi to be in the Sukma team when he’s already a national team player.
Stanley also said his club requires Haqimi’s services for their domestic campaigns this season.
“The rumour is not true. If you ask my opinion, it’s very simple: Haqimi is already a national team player, and there is no discussion about him playing in an underage group tournament at the state level. There is no need for that.
“The whole point of having an underage group (under-23) is to unearth more talents and give more opportunities for younger boys to play. Coach Nidzam loves to develop youngsters, and the opinions on him probably selecting Haqimi are inaccurate.
“Coach Nidzam has a good track record in developing many players at Kedah FC back in the day, such as Khyril Muhymeen and Baddrol Bakhtiar. Now at KL City, he is developing many really good youngsters.
“Most of our under-23 boys are actually the Sukma boys, and they tend to rub shoulders with the under-21 players in our club, so Nidzam has been preparing his best side for Sukma since last year.
“We have constant communication with coach Nidzam and are aware of his plans. We are focused on consistently promoting younger players through the ranks. Sukma is for younger talents, and there’s no way coach Nidzam is depending on Haqimi.
“We need Haqimi for the club in the Super League and other domestic competitions,” added Stanley when contacted.
KL City currently ranks fifth in the Super League with four points from three games.
For the record, the Federal Territories football team finished as semifinalists in the previous edition of Sukma organised by the National Sports Council in Kuala Lumpur.
Terengganu won the gold medal by defeating Penang 2-0 in the final.
The 21st edition of Sukma is scheduled to take place from August 17 to 24, with Sarawak hosting the prestigious event for the third time, the last two times being in 1990 and 2016. – July 1, 2024