SHARING decades of football knowledge during a football clinic with local children, visiting a dedicated SEN school and attending a fans’ screening of Sunday’s Premier League match against Cardiff City were some of the highlights the Liverpool Legends enjoyed during their visit to Malaysia for LFC World last week.
Jason McAteer, Steve McManaman and Sami Hyypia were in Kuala Lumpur on April 20th and 21st for LFC World presented by Standard Chartered. The trio met with fans of Liverpool at the LFC World Hub during their stay. They also joined supporters to cheer their team during Sunday’s match against Cardiff City.
Fans were treated to some on-stage activity with the Legends before the viewing party for the game kicked off, which then saw Liverpool FC take all three points from the match.
A slight drizzle did not deter the close to 1000 fans who filled 1 Utama Shopping Centre’s open car park to watch their beloved club stay in the hunt for the English Premier League title with a 2-0 win over Cardiff.
In addition to being presented with goals by Georginio Wijnaldum and James Milner on the night, one lucky fan walked away with a Liverpool FC jersey autographed by the club’s present hot-shot striker Mohamed Salah in a lucky draw conducted by Hyypia at half-time.
The ecstatic winner, Mugilan said: “On behalf of all Liverpool fans here, I would like to thank everyone involved in bringing this LFC World fan experience to Malaysia. It has been a memorable weekend for everyone.”
“I cannot ask for more after receiving a Liverpool club jersey signed by Mo Salah which was handed to me by a club legend like Sami Hyypia on stage. I hope this LFC World programme will be held annually as we continue supporting The Reds”, added Mugilan.
The former Reds trio also made it a point to visit Seri Permaisuri Primary School, a SEN school in the region that has approximately 50 – 60 children with special needs including autism, ADHD, dyslexia, Bipolar Disorder and others.
During their visit, the trio took part in a mini football clinic which gave the children the opportunity to get involved in physical activities such as practicing simple kicking techniqu
es and other basic skills including taking penalty kicks.
Then it was on to a session of story-telling, where the Legends were treated to a short story told by one of the children from the school.
At the end of the session, the trio were packing another surprise for the children when they presented each one of them with a selection of gifts to help them remember their very special day.
Hyypia said: “We’ve really enjoyed our visit to Malaysia. It’s been a great opportunity to meet our fans here who may never get the opportunity to visit Anfield.
“Whenever we visit locations around the world, it’s really important that we take the time to engage with our supporters from all walks of life and backgrounds. It was a great experience to get involved in the specialist coaching sessions and activities to provide local children and young people with fun, engaging classes which really bring out their personalities and help them to develop new skills.’
LFC World is an interactive event that engages LFC fans of all ages and provides exciting activities and opportunities to meet former LFC players. Now in its third season, LFC World presented by Standard Chartered has already visited nine countries across the globe.
