Heard about Nike’s “The Chance”?

In short, it’s an opportunity for regular footballers (you know, like you and me) to play with the big boys i.e go pro! More info HERE.

Footballers young and old (at least 18 years old) have entered the competition and the trick is to get noticed by Nike and their talent scouts. One way is to  do that is to rack up as many Facebook fans as you can!

And we’re trying to do our part to help get a Malaysian noticed!

We need your help, too. Please inform us if you know any of your friends or friends’ friends who’ve entered the competition and we’ll include them in our Malaysian Nike “The Chance” list here.

How to do you part. Easy. Just Paste their Facebook page link using these alternatives:

1) Paste their Facebook page link here in the comment sections.

2) Paste their Facebook page link at the FFM Facebook page.

3) Send us the link to their Facebook page at findfutsal@gmail.com

See, our objective is to present an easy reference for all Malaysians to get access to all our Malaysians entries in Nike’s “The Chance”. If you want to see a Malaysian make it in the big leagues, please “like” their Facebook pages and ask your friends and family to do the same.

Once the list is up, all you need to do to help make them get noticed is by going to their fan pages and “liking” them.

The list will be updated as and when we get new info on Malaysians who’ve joined.

THE MALAYSIAN INVASION

1) Azri Haidar. ‘ Like’ his Facebook fanpage here.

2) Mohd Rashidee. ‘Like’ his Facebook fanpage here.

3) Melvin. ‘Like’ his Facebook fanpage here.

4) Syukran Syuk. ‘Like’ his Facebook fanpage here.

5) Joshua Khor. ‘Like’ his Facebook fanpage here.

6) Mohd Zulfaizal. ‘Like’ his Facebook fanpage here.

7) Reuben Gill. ‘Like’ his Facebook fanpage here.

‘8) Muhammad Hamsani. ‘Like’ his Facebook fanpage here.

9) Hanifacarrick. ‘Like’ his Facebook fanpage here.

10) Raymond Deou. ‘Like’ his Facebook fanpage here.

Malaysia boleh!

Fresh of opening for Usher at Bukit Jalil Stadium last week, Mizz Nina is all set for the album launch, TOMORROW (17 July 2010)!

And unless you’ve been inhabiting a rock off the Pacific Islands, you would’ve definitely been caught by and addicted to the infectious song that is “What You Waiting For” (music video on Youtube here).

Released March 2010, “What You Waiting For” has dominated Malaysian airwaves and received LOTS of airplays on local station shows including Carta Negara on XFM, The Freaky Fly 30 (Fly FM) and MET 10 (Hitz.fm). Not only that, the single is international, too! In the US, the R&B starlet’s single has also been getting airplays on Wild 104.9 (KKWD) and 102.3 KJLH.

Can’t wait to get our hands on the album.

Mizz Nina’s “What You Waiting For” album launch takes place on July 17 (5pm-7pm) at Zouk Club, Jalan Ampang, KL, with a special appearance by singer Colby O’Donis. Admission is free. For details, call 012-268 9111, e-mail yaiz@yzinternational.com. Alternatively, browse yzinternational.com.

Do check out Mizz Nina’s Facebook page as well for regular updates.

Read more about her and what she’s been up to on The Star’s recent article on her here.

Junk Online also has a piece on her. Read here.

Without going into the complicated science behind its technology, in a nutshell, Nike+ enables your running shoes to communicate with a Nike+ sportsband that measures and records the distance and pace of your walk or run, besides other personal workout statistics. This helps you set goals and monitor progress. More on Nike+ in our coming articles.

The event was graced by the world #1 badminton player and national pride Datuk Lee Chong Wei! The students went berserk as he stepped into plain sight. Other famous faces included Era FM’s Nana, Azura as well as celebrity bloggers Niki Cheong and Amanda Choe, just to name a few.

The school girls ran the course in high spirits starting from MGS and making a 2km round back to their school. FFM ran with them and took snapshots as they braved the morning sun. Every single one of them made it to the finish line, schoolmates cheering and all.

Needless to say, the girls and teachers had a blast. The hosts kept the event fun and cheery with fun facts about running and also gave away cool Nike prizes during the little game session.

As Nike RunKL @ MGS drew to a close around midday, the World Wide Fund For Nature was presented with an RM10,000 cheque, a handsome amount on any day.

You can check out more photos from the event on our Facebook page. Don’t forget to check out the famous faces album, too.

After our interview with Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir at the 3R Futsal Tournament 09 earlier, Find Futsal Malaysia [FFM] had a chance to speak to the hosts of the competition themselves, the 3R girls! On hand to talk to us were Tini and Rafidah.

Similar to Datin Marina, Tini expressed delight when asked about the reception towards the 2009 edition of the annual 3R Futsal tournament. “We managed to get 70 teams this year and we feel that it’s very much a positive turnout.” She continues, “This year however, we had some last minute entries and this can also be one of the reason for the lesser number of participants this year.”

For the previous installment of the competition, 3R collaborated with UNICEF (read more) to raise awareness about HIV Aids. And in conjunction with this year’s futsal tournament, 3R have tied up with LPPKN (Lembaga Penduduk dan Pembangunan Keluarga Negara) to educate youth, especially young women about sex education and its importance.

A notable addition to the 3R competition this year is the mixed category with both boys and girls on the same team. “We thought it would be a fun category but we actually decided to introduce the mixed category so that it would be easier for the girls to form a team where they can invite their brothers, boyfriends, cousins etc etc.” The bubbly 20-something TV host continues, “There’s simply not enough competitions organized for ladies and this does not help a team stay together for long. This leads to ad-hoc teams created just for the purpose of the tournament. Sometimes we recognize a player in one of our tournaments but she is with a totally different team compared to the last year.”

Apart from raising awareness about social and current issues, Rafidah added that there are other reasons why they have gone through the trouble of organizing the yearly event. “We want to create an environment where the girls can play futsal competitively and feel safe at the same time.” In contrast to an open competition full of men, the 3R ladies want girls to be able play futsal without feeling insecure or being heckled by immature boys. “It’s frustrating for a girl to be so worried just to walk across the futsal centre to get a drink just because she doesn’t want to walk past a group of boys who are probably going to whistle at her or something. We don’t want any of that.”

The 3R ladies also to highlighted to us how some schools and sports bodies refuse to sponsor or take care of the competition expenses for a girl’s futsal team because it’s not seen as “a sport for ladies”.

You can read more about the issues close to these girls hearts at the official site or just head on to the 3R Facebook page.

Photography by Aris Bundchen

]]> http://www.findfutsalmalaysia.com/the-3r-interview/feed/ 0 http://www.findfutsalmalaysia.com/datin-marina-mahathir-interview-with-ffm/ http://www.findfutsalmalaysia.com/datin-marina-mahathir-interview-with-ffm/#comments Sat, 07 Nov 2009 05:52:20 +0000 Find Futsal Super Admin http://www.findfutsalmalaysia.com/?p=725 During the 3R Futsal Challenge 2009, FFM was fortunate enough to be granted a short interview with 3R’s executive producer, a lovely well-known public figure, Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir (she blogs here).

Over a series of questions relating to women’s futsal and youth, Datin Marina remained patient and managed to be very insightful with her responses.

“Very encouraging and it’s really good to see such a good response,” answered Datin Marina when asked about the reception of this year’s installment of the 3R futsal competition. Although the magnitude was not as big as previous years, a crowd of 71 teams is definitely nothing less of a success, enabling 3R to reach a wide array of youngsters, providing a first step in educating them on the social and women’s issues plaguing the generation today. Part of 3R’s strive is also to encourage young women to take up sports and it of course includes, futsal.

Many would agree that futsal is a relatively new sport in Malaysia but its growth has been exponential over only this short period. However, ladies’ futsal unfortunately, has received little attention compared to the men. This is even more evident as Datin Marina shared a short story with us where a VIP invited to attend the premiere of Gol dan Gincu quipped, “I didn’t even know girls played futsal,” when asked what he thought of the movie. Such is the lack of exposure that women’s futsal is burdened with.

We also wanted to hear her opinion regarding the current level of sports in Malaysia and why it has yet to truly take off. One significant factor highlighted by Datin Marina is that sports as a career is an idea embraced by only a minority of parents in our country. “Parents here in Malaysia are too study oriented,” she says of them. Sports as a career has yet to receive any credibility in Malaysian society and a majority of parents would rather their children excel in their studies than “risk” their future by pursuing sports as a path to making a living.

Not one to discredit the importance of education, Datin Marina also thinks that more parents should encourage their children to play sports and participate in their sports development as she feels that the best way to lead is by example.

Photography by Aris Bundchen

]]> http://www.findfutsalmalaysia.com/datin-marina-mahathir-interview-with-ffm/feed/ 1 http://www.findfutsalmalaysia.com/these-girls-mean-business/ http://www.findfutsalmalaysia.com/these-girls-mean-business/#comments Tue, 03 Nov 2009 22:54:51 +0000 Find Futsal Super Admin http://www.findfutsalmalaysia.com/?p=691

Please click image for full view.

Last Sunday, 1st November 2009, the girls from 3R (read more HERE) played host to their 5th annual futsal tournament and Find Futsal Malaysia were on the scene to cover the hugely popular yearly event.

Consistent with every annual 3R Futsal Tournament held, the response remained at very encouraging levels and even surpassed expectations with the introduction of a new category, the mixed category (ladies and gentlemen on the same team). Over the 3 broad categories of Under-18 (ladies), open category (ladies) and mixed category, the 3R Futsal Tournament 2009 yielded an impressive turnout and attracted as many as 70 teams.

Apart from the futsal to be played out on that day, the event was also organized to highlight the many issues facing youth today, especially for young women. We’re sure that many of you share the same disgust we feel and find it very much appalling to hear things like violence against women and sexual discrimination still happening in Malaysia despite this day and age.

3R is very much at the forefront in helping young women deal with these harsh realities and where they collaborated with UNICEF in last year’s event to create awareness about HIV Aids, for the 2009 edition of the futsal tournament, 3R have worked together with LPPKN (National Population and Family Development Board) to create awareness amongst participants and the public about sex education and the reproductive systems.

Research conducted by LPPKN whereby most teenagers nowadays do not know much about sex and it is at a critical stage. Basic knowledge on sex education and the reproductive system is one of the ways to handle social issues such as abandoning babies, HIV and AIDS.

During a short intermission after lunch break, 3R girls, Tini and Rafidah played  got participants involved in some fun games and right after, the multi-talented Hunny Madu (she blogs HERE) and her back-up dancers were on hand to lend their pizzazz to entertain the young crowd. Her performance was energetic, fun and got the players charged up and back on their feet to continue their quest to become champions of the tournament.

We write to attest that these girls mean business on the futsal court. Most of the guys present at the event would be more than willing to admit that the quality of futsal demonstrated by some of the teams at Sports Planet Ampang that Sunday have easily surpassed any expectations that they had before.

Some of the passes and plays put together by the ladies were immaculate and coupled with their strong will and gritty determination; it was a pleasure to watch them play with the fast paced action lasting right up to the final matches for all categories.

The winners took home home a trophy and cash worth up to RM 10,000, a certificate of participation and some exciting prizes from the sponsors, Figos, Kotex, Dove dan Radi Resources – Life Saver Medical Rescue.

For more photos of the event, just head on to our Facebook page and feel free to browse through our albums.

Results for the three categories are below:-

1. Women’s Under-18 Category

• Champion – FIGOS JUNIOR

• 1st Runner Up – MBPJ

• 2nd Runner Up – BONDA FC

• 4th Place – KMB TITANS

2. Mixed Team Category

• Champion – MBPJ

• 1st Runner Up – VANILLA FC

• 2nd Runner Up – MURANO

• 4th Place – PKPJ FC

3. Women’s Open Category

• Champion – PUTRA RIA

• 1st Runner Up – FIGOS PHOENIX

• 2nd Runner Up – SEVENS

• 4th Place – TERBILANG FC

]]> http://www.findfutsalmalaysia.com/these-girls-mean-business/feed/ 0 http://www.findfutsalmalaysia.com/900-photos-777-charity-futsal-2009/ http://www.findfutsalmalaysia.com/900-photos-777-charity-futsal-2009/#comments Sun, 25 Oct 2009 03:44:33 +0000 Find Futsal Super Admin http://www.findfutsalmalaysia.com/?p=641 A note to readers from Find Futsal Malaysia, Editor-in-chief

Find Futsal Malaysia were fortunate to have had the opportunity of being involved in the 777 Charity Futsal 2009 organized by HELP University College business students.

Myself and one other crew member were on location to put up our flyers on the netting of the futsal courts and also the photograph the event.

Personally, it was my first time photographing a futsal event and I’m pleased to say that I had lots of fun doing so. All teams and supporters  were very co-operative when asked to pose for photographs, making life that much easier for both our secondary photographer, Aris Bundchen (some of his work can be viewed on his Tumblr page HERE) and myself.

And on that note, I would like to humbly request for the patience of all participants of the charity futsal event while waiting for the photos to be uploaded to our Facebook page.

Between the both of us, almost 1,000 photos were taken of the event. One of us will be studying for an exam this week but I can safely say that most of the photos will be up on our Facebook page within one week. So do check it out soon!

A big thanks to HELP University College business students, the participants and everyone who were present.

The top teams with some of the organizers (please click image for full size)

The 777 Charity Futsal 2009 (organized by 5 HELP University College business students), held on the 24th of October 09 at Challenger, Petaling Jaya went as planned and attracted 17 teams that battled it out on the courts for cash prize money, hampers and winner trophies.

It was heartening to see that most teams turned up early (some as early as 7.30am) and on time. We hope this will continue in future events and our youth will push forward to buck the trend of tardy and late registration of teams in other Malaysian youth sporting events.

777 Charity Futsal 2009 saw a wide array of futsal styles played out on the 2 courts (then later 3 courts for a brief period). In the end emerged only one victor. Superstars defeated Najah FC in the final match just after 5pm. The champions demonstrated strong and fast futsal, a style of football that made it rather difficult for the opposition to match right from the beginning. Some were up to the task and gave them a tough fight but Superstars persevered and made it to the finals. The rest as they say, is history.

Meanwhile, JB Mari claimed 3rd place in a match played out before the final match against Ur My Bro after winning the penalty shootouts to break the tie after full-time.

The group matches were also a spectacle in itself. Although there were some confusion due to the irresponsible last minute cancellation by 3 teams, the organizers managed to keep their cool and ensure the show went on as smoothly as possible.

Find Futsal Malaysia as media partners would like to thank HELP University College business students (headed by business student, En. Faizal Iqbal) for the opportunity to collaborate in the event and their hard work in making it a success.

Also, thanks to the kind support of all teams, the charity futsal event has managed to generate RM2,160 to benefit welfare homes and those less fortunate than us. Congratulations!

Other sponsors of the charity futsal competition included Restoran Fawwaz (located in SS14, Subang Jaya), Ali Maju Cafe, HELP University College internal departments and several individuals.

24 October 2009, Saturday, a group of students from HELP University College will be organizing a charity futsal event at the Challenger, Petaling Jaya, Selangor (VIEW MAP).

As one of the main sponsors of the event, Find Futsal Malaysia would like to invite its readers to join the competition to benefit selected welfare homes.

The organizers are expecting 16 to 20 teams for the event and spots are going fast. You can DOWNLOAD the registration form details HERE and e-mail your team details to futsalcharity@gmail.com.

Thanks to generous contributions from other sponsors, the event is able to offer exciting prizes including cash prizes, medals and hampers. More info on the tournament’s Facebook page.

Last date to register is 20th October 2009 so hurry!

DOWNLOAD registration form here.

For futher enquiries, please do not hesitate to contact:-

012 3489491 (Farid)
016 4628301 (Jerome)
016 3536969 (Faizal)