ESPN STAR Sports to Stage International Futsal Tournament in Malaysia
KL World 5’s will have biggest prize purse in the world for any Futsal event
ESPN STAR Sports, Asia’s No. 1 sports broadcaster, will organise the most lucrative futsal tournament in the world in the KL World 5’s, attracting top teams to Malaysia on 29th January to 3rd February 2008. The KL World 5’s will be held at Stadium Negara, Malaysia’s first indoor stadium and a national heritage building.
The KL World 5’s will have a total purse of US$150,000, and feature 10 teams in this prestigious tournament. The event is expected to draw futsal fans from Malaysia and the region with the pedigree of the international teams such as Brazil, Argentina, Holland and England will join the likes of Asian champion Iran, China, Thailand, Indonesia, Australia and hosts Malaysia in action.
The KL World 5’s was officially launched by Datuk Sri Azalina Othman Said, the Minister of Youth and Sports, Malaysia.
Speaking at the official launch of the tournament in Kuala Lumpur, Datuk Azalina said, “The arrival of this tournament is indeed a huge boost for the game, which is currently enjoying phenomenal growth in the country.
“As one of the first events to kick-off 2008, we’re proud to be working with a committed partner in ESPN STAR Sports to develop marquee events. Futsal has become increasingly popular around the world and Malaysia has been enjoying phenomenal growth evident by the increasing number of futsal centres in Kuala Lumpur and urban areas throughout the country. The KL World 5’s is the perfect event to reinforce that growth for spectators and participants alike.”
Said, Mr. Manu Sawhney, Managing Director, ESPN STAR Sports, “The KL World 5’s is the result of collaborative effort between ESPN STAR Sports and the Ministry of Youth and Sports to bring the best of the international sporting events to Malaysia. We share the Ministry of Youth and Sport’s vision and ambition to build a strong, long-term and active sporting culture in Malaysia and we are committed to work with the vision of developing premier sports events here.”
“The tournament will offer Malaysian futsal fans an opportunity to watch top international teams in a festive atmosphere while cheering on their national team”, added, Mr. Sawhney.
The KL World 5’s will be telecasted to over 310 million viewers across Asia on STAR Sports with over 100 hours of coverage, comprising 30 telecast hours, including 20 hours of live programming – translating into extensive media exposure for Malaysia.
ESPN STAR Sports and the Ministry of Youth and Sports have a rich tradition of partnerships stemming from a multi-year strategic alliance signed in October 2005 to raise participation and interest in sport in Malaysia. This includes the successful staging of the last KL World 5’s futsal tournament in 2003, the Asian X Games in Kuala Lumpur in 2002-2004 and 2006, the broadcast of the new Malaysian edition of SportsCenter in April followed by the Guinness 9 Ball Tour in Genting Highlands in June this year.
About ESPN STAR Sports
ESPN STAR Sports is a 50:50 joint venture between two of the world’s leading cable and satellite broadcasters. As Asia’s definitive and complete sports broadcaster and content provider, ESPN STAR Sports combines the strengths and resources of its ultimate parent companies – Walt Disney (ESPN, Inc.) and News Corporation Limited (STAR) – to deliver a diverse array of international and regional sports to viewers via its encrypted pay and free-to-air services.
ESPN STAR Sports showcases an unparalleled variety of premier live sports from around the globe 24 hours a day to a cumulative reach of more than 310 million viewers in Asia. ESPN STAR Sports has 17 networks covering 24 countries, each localised to deliver differentiated world-class premier sports programming to Asian viewers. This includes ESPN Asia, ESPN China, ESPN Hong Kong, ESPN India, ESPN Malaysia, ESPN Philippines, ESPN Singapore, ESPN Taiwan, MBC-ESPN (Korea), STAR Sports Asia, STAR Sports Hong Kong, STAR Sports India, STAR Sports Malaysia, STAR Sports Singapore, STAR Sports Southeast Asia, STAR Sports Taiwan, and STAR Cricket.
On the ground, the ESPN STAR Sports Event Management Group manages and promotes premier sporting events around Asia. The multi-lingual, online platforms, espnstar.com, espnstar.com.cn and espnstar.com.tw and footballcrazy.tv interact with millions of users providing them with in-depth sports news, results and competitions.
mobileESPN enables sports fans to follow their favourite sports more closely than ever with content specially delivered via their mobile phones. mobileESPN is the first of a regional suite of services to be offered across five markets in Asia Pacific – Airtel (India), Vodafone Essar (India), Indosat (Indonesia), Celcom (Malaysia), MobileOne (Singapore), StarHub (Singapore), PCCW (Hong Kong). Our other multi-media platforms include fully-managed wireless services ranging from SMS/MMS to WAP
For more information, please contact:
Abdul Rahman (Twenty Four Seven Sdn Bhd)
Tel: 012-6637454
Email: mailto:abdulrahman@media247.com.my
Elgen Kua (ESPN STAR Sports)
DID: +65 6216 6034
Email: kuae@espnstar.com