Wednesday, August 14, 2013

South Africa pull out of Sultan of Johor Cup

SOUTH Africa has pulled out of the Third Sultan of Johor Cup, and the new dates for the six-team tournament has been set at Sept 21-19.
  Johor HA deputy president Manjit Majid Abdullah said the Africaans are keen to play, but money is their hurdle.
  "We received notification on South Africa's withdrawal and now the dates have been shifted two days later to accommodate the fixtures.
  "South Africa said they are ready and keen to play, but funding is a big problem, and that is why they decided to pull put," said Manjit.
  South Africa have qualified for the Junior World Cup in New Delhi in December. And so have all the other six teams who will be in Johor -- Malaysia, South Korea, England, Argentina, India and Pakistan.
  Malaysia are the inaugural champions, while Germany lifted the crown last year.
  "Since all six teams have qualified for the Junior World Cup, I believe they will bring their best to Johor for a final warm-up and it will be a sizzling tournament," said Manjit.
  The Sultan of Johor Cup, for the record, is the only under-21 invitational in the world.