17-year-old football star Soleh to join Spain's FC Malaga City Academy

KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysian young footballer Muhammad Soleh Ahmad Shukri will be joining Spain-based FC Malaga City Academy.

The 17-year-old right winger from FC 1Goal was selected after the academy’s performance analyst and recruitment head were impressed with his football skills after they saw a video of him.

The opportunity for him to join the academy was confirmed by his coach, Kizito Ezeneche, last month.

“My dream after going back from Malaga is, of course, I want to try to play in Spain.

“If I don’t get that, I don’t mind playing for other clubs in Malaysia but my ultimate target is to play in America,” he told Sinar Daily at KPJ Damansara Specialist Hospital, today.

Soleh would be training for one year to study football development and enhance his skills.

He hoped by joining the FC Malaga City Academy, he could improve his skills in football and the most important thing was for him to gain experience.

Meanwhile, to support the budding football star, KPJ Damansara Specialist Hospital would provide unlimited medical facilities for Soleh during his training in Spain.

“I hope that KPJ Damansara Specialist Hospital will assist athletes in need of medical facilities, as this is one of the initiatives we can put in place to show our support for Malaysian sports”, he said.

During a congratulatory event for Soleh held at KPJ Damansara earlier, about 40 participants participated including his family members.

Soleh would leave for Spain tomorrow.

Besides Muhammad Soleh, almost 10 Malaysian young players have previously entered leading football academies and development teams, including Aqil Arazi Aziz with the AS Cannes Academy, France, Allee Putra Azril with FC Malaga City Academy and Omar Raiyan Kama Azlan with Serbian club, Red Star Belgrade.