KUCHING: The newly elected President of the Sarawak Football Association (FAS), Dato Fazzrudin Abdul Rahman, has unveiled the Sarawak Premier League as his first major initiative to reignite the local football scene in the region.

Dato Fazzrudin, who will serve as FAS President for the 2025–2027 term, explained that the Sarawak Premier League is scheduled to kick off by September at the latest. The competition will adopt a ‘home’ and ‘away’ format and feature teams from across all divisions in Sarawak.

He said the aim is to strengthen grassroots football by focusing on the development of players, coaches, referees, and infrastructure.

“In the long term, as our league grows stronger, we will be able to produce more high-calibre players with the potential to be absorbed into teams in the Malaysian League, or even Indonesia’s Liga 1.

“That is my dream—to see Sarawakian players competing on bigger stages.

“It’s not an impossible dream, but one that requires a clear strategy, proper planning, and phased implementation. God willing, with consistent effort, we can achieve this goal,” he said.

He was speaking at a press conference following the 2025 FAS Annual General Meeting held on Saturday.

Among the key priorities outlined by the new FAS leadership is the continued enhancement of coaching quality through ongoing coaching courses already initiated in the past.

Refereeing standards will also be improved through regular training and certification, while attention will be given to field facilities and infrastructure to ensure each team has access to adequate and high-quality training venues.

Dato Fazzrudin further stressed that the league will be held annually and, for now, will be limited to local players only, without foreign imports.

“Participation in the league will be restricted to local players only, with no foreign players involved.

“Although there are international students at higher learning institutions in Sarawak who are interested in taking part, their inclusion has not been considered at this stage.

“That said, the possibility of involving them in the future remains open, depending on the needs and development of the league,” he added.

The age limit for players is still under discussion, but for the inaugural edition, there will be no age restrictions, in order to encourage wider participation. -UKASnews