SEREMBAN: The Negri Sembilan state government have welcomed the Sports Ministry's decision to offer states an RM500,000 grant to upgrade their stadium drainage systems and replant their pitches with better grass.
Negri Sembilan youth and sports development committee chairman Mustapha Nagoor said the grant can help reduce the financial burden faced by the state and also ensure that the pitch quality at Tuanku Abdul Rahman Stadium is elevated.
States that take up the grant and deliver the upgrades as required will then receive an RM300,000 contribution from Tunku Mahkota of Johor (TMJ) Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim which is to be used to maintain the pitch at their stadiums for a period of 12 months.
"As an exco, I support the grant (offer) and contribution from TMJ because it will help us reduce our financial burden as we prepare the best quality pitches for the M-League," said Mustapha when contacted today.
"The RM300,000 contribution from TMJ proves that he wants us to make changes in line with the status of the M-League which is now among the best-11 (competitions) in Asia.
"I will bring this (offer) up in the state council meeting so that the state government can channel some suitable additional funds to cover the costs (of upgrading).
"We are aware that the M-League is our main league and it is important that changes are made to the infrastructure so we are on par with other nations."
Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh yesterday disclosed that the Sports Ministry have set aside RM7 million for the grant and they hope all states will take up the offer.
This is to ensure that the states will be able to host M-League matches regardless of weather conditions. The new M-League season has been shifted to a later start date, beginning from this year, in line with changes made to the AFC competition calendar.
This will see the new M-League season, which starts in May and ends in April next year, being held through the Northeast monsoon season (Oct-Mar).