JOHOR SEEK TO BECOME 2027 SEA GAMES CO-HOST BY HOSTING FOOTBALL - EXCO

ISKANDAR PUTERI, Nov 27 (Bernama) -- The Johor government intends to co-host the 2027 SEA Games by offering several venues for football events.

Johor Youth and Sports, Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Committee chairman Mohd Hairi Mad Shah said the offer was made because the state has world class football facilities with direct access not only to Kuala Lumpur but also to Singapore.

"Penang and Sarawak have already offered venues for several sporting events, so Johor is also interested in organising football by offering more than three venues.

"Among the venues are the Sultan Ibrahim Stadium here; as well as Tan Sri Hassan Yunos Stadium, Mount Austin Football Stadium and Pasir Gudang City Council Stadium in Johor Bahru," he said at a press conference outside the Johor State Legislative Assembly (DUN) sitting here today.

He said the matter was pending the consent and advice of the Regent of Johor, Tunku Mahkota Ismail, including the cost of organising the sport.

Malaysia agreed to accept an offer from the SEA Games Federation (SEAGF) to host the 2027 SEA Games and it is a joint bid with Sarawak and Penang at the forefront.

Meanwhile, Mohd Hairi said Johor wants to reclaim the Malaysia Games (SUKMA) overall title during the 2026 edition hosted by Selangor and thus repeat the outstanding achievement in Kuala Lumpur two years ago by formulating several strategies.

"However, we admit that it is challenging because Selangor as the host state is a state that always challenges for the championship. But we will try, otherwise we are targeting the 'top three position," he said.

At the 2022 SUKMA in Kuala Lumpur, Johor emerged as the overall champion with 77 gold, 52 silver and 43 bronze medals, with canoeing being the biggest contributor to the state's gold medal haul.

However, the canoe event was not contested at the SUKMA in Sarawak last August.

-- BERNAMA