KUALA LUMPUR: With some Spanish help, Pahang aim to be a futsal power in Malaysia.
The Pahang FA (PFA) recently signed a memorandum of understanding with La Liga outfit Levante UD on developing their futsal side, Pahang Rangers.
Levante UD president Francisco Javier Catalan Vena, who was in Kuala Lumpur recently, said Levante are only one of two La Liga clubs with a futsal team playing in the Spanish first division, with the other being Barcelona.
Catalan, 44, said he is here not just to support the Pahang futsal team but help the association as a whole.
“We’ve built a relationship with them (PFA) since last year when we first visited Malaysia. We have signed an agreement to collaborate with Pahang Rangers to develop Malaysian futsal.
“They (PFA) are proactive, they want to grow and do things.”
“The collaboration will be a way for them to improve their skill as they are interested in constructing a house from the basement up. We will impart our knowledge on how to run a club and its structure to help them grow within the year.”
Catalan said being at the helm of a squad playing in the world’s most competitive futsal league, the Primera Division, has taught him much about the sport. And he hopes to impart his experience to Pahang,
“We can show them (PFA) how to manage a club. We are not going to go in and tell them what to do, instead we share.
“They (PFA) want to understand how a club like Levante operate in futsal, and how our academy is run,” he said.
“The idea is to bring some players from Pahang (futsal) and have them train two to three weeks every month for them to understand the way of life of a professional in Levante and in Spain.
“This will give them knowledge on technical aspects that can assist them and give a better idea of how to run and create an academy as well as develop players from youth to the first team.
“Rome wasn’t built in a day but we will help them (PFA) grow, especially from the technical aspects.”