Bangi, 10 December 2018 – Over 200 young footballers from 20 teams across four age categories made it to the Grand Finals of Zurich Malaysia’s ‘Eat Right to Play Right’ (ERTPR) Youth Cup 2018 held at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia on Saturday. The teams were the state champions of respective U8, U10, U12 and U14 categories.
Beginning last September, the ERTPR Youth Cup has toured to Kedah, Malacca, Pahang, Sarawak and Selangor for its state preliminary rounds with a mission to educate children on the importance of healthy nutritional habits through the passionate game of grassroots football.
AT Kangar, Kuantan Soccer Kids, Inspire One Goal and Kenari Kids Jitra clinched the victory in U8, U10, U12 and U14 categories respectively. Special awards were given to 12 players who were chosen as Best Player, Best Goalkeeper and Top Goal Scorer of each category.
AT Kangar registered a 1-0 win against Lestari JR FC in the U8 category, whereas Kuantan Soccer Kids came out on top as the U10 champion after a 6-5 penalty shootout against SK Penghulu A. Bakar. In the U12 category, Inspire One Goal recorded a 2-0 win against SBI FC while Kenari Kids Jitra won the U14 champion title after scoring a 3-1 win over Lestari JR FC.
| U8 | U10 | U12 | U14 | |
| Best Player | Muhd Alif Firdaus Bin Rashid (AT Kangar) | Muhd Saiful Ezzuddin Bin Mustaffa (SK P.A. Bakar – OGM) | Mohd Rusyaidi B. Mohd Nazri (SBI FC – OGM) | Mohd Fakrul Hazim Bin Yusri (Kenari Kid Jitra) |
| Best Goalkeeper | Muhd Haziq Fikri Bin Zulkiflee (AT Kangar) | Nor Shaheizzuddin (Kuantan Soccer Kids) | Hasif Hijrah B. Azhah (Inspire – OGM) | Mohd Khari Danish (SMK Pengkalan) |
| Top Goal Scorer | Sanjay a/l Kunalan (Lestari Juniors) – 5 Goals | Muhd Saiful Ezzudin Bin Mustaffa (SK P.A. Bakar -OGM) – 9 Goals | Danial Ikhwan B. Rezwat Shahri (Inspire – OGM) – 4 Goals | Mohd Farid Irfan B. Mohd Fauzi (Kenari Kids Jitra) – 4 Goals |
Present at the Grand Finals were Stephen Clark, Chief Executive Officer, Zurich Life Insurance Malaysia Berhad and Safee Sali, national footballer and ERTPR Ambassador where both presented the prizes to all national champions, including Best Player Award, Best Goalkeeper Award and Top Goal Scorer Award winners.
“This is our very first ERTPR Youth Cup and I am truly impressed by the performance of the teams on the field today. These tournaments reflect our commitment to continue providing opportunities for young children to learn the importance of healthy nutritional habits as it will help them improve their fitness, stamina and mental well-being in the long run,” said Stephen Clark.
To date, more than 2,000 children has participated in the ERTPR Youth Cup. The tournament not only provided a platform for the young talents to showcase their football skills but also offered a variety of fun games and activities to educate them on proper nutrition practices and healthy lifestyle habits.
ERTPR is Zurich Malaysia’s integrated community programme that was established in 2016 in partnership with local non-governmental organisation, One Goal Malaysia (OGM) to tackle child malnutrition issues by educating children on the importance of nutrition and healthy eating, as well as to encourage physical activity and good sportsmanship, by using grassroots football as a platform. It is funded by a local grant from Z Zurich Foundation.
For the latest updates on ERTPR and Zurich Malaysia’s corporate responsibility programmes, please visit www.zurich.com.my or its Facebook page at www.facebook.com/ZurichMYS
‘Eat Right to Play Right’ (ERTPR) Youth Cup 2018 Grand Finals Results
| U8 | U10 | U12 | U14 | |
| Champion | AT Kangar | Kuantan Soccer Kids | Inspire (OGM) | Kenari Kids Jitra |
| 2nd | Lestari JR FC | SK Penghulu A. Bakar (OGM) | SBI FC (OGM) | Lestari JR FC |
| 3rd | Kuantan Panthers | Inspire One Goal (OGM) | CIMB YFA Red Star | SMK Seri Pengkalan |
| 4th | Kido Kickers A | Akademi PKNS FC | Samarahan Tigers | My Kids Balok |
| 5th | Samarahan Leopard | Samarahan Tigers | My Kids Balok | Bako Cougar |
