MILO ADVOCATES CHILDREN TO TAKE ON SPORTS TODAY AND TAKE ON LIFE TOMORROW

Many may think scoring a goal or passing the ball is an easy feat, but few realise it takes years of hard work and perseverance to hone these skills. A total of 116 aspiring players were selected for the MILO x FAM Ultimate Experience to get a taste of professional football. These players displayed exemplary skills and character, and were carefully selected through a joint collaboration between MILO and local community leagues.

As a strong advocate of sport as a great teacher, MILO believes that children can learn life lessons and develop perseverance, tenacity and determination – character traits that are critical to success in life. Values learned through sport, such as clear communication and teamwork, inspire young people to take on the challenges ahead of them with confidence.

The programme was aimed at developing these children into future stars of the nation. With a large youth population, the nation's future relies heavily on these children. Football, the number one sport in the country, holds a special place in every Malaysian's heart – not just as a way to stay active, but as a sport that unites the nation from the grassroots up.

The game builds friendships across different social backgrounds and reminds players of the special role football plays in bringing the nation together.

MILO continues its efforts to promote the importance of sport beyond academic results for children, as well as for young adults and Malaysians at large. MILO has a long history with the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) in supporting the development of grassroots football.

Having nourished Malaysians for over 70 years, MILO, which is synonymous with its passionate involvement in grassroots sports, expressed its commitment to further developing grassroots football players. MILO Malaysia's Marketing Manager, Kerwin Lim, commended the joint initiative between MILO and FAM in laying the foundation for this campaign.

He said, "MILO always believes that sport is a great teacher, and these children can learn many useful values in football by experiencing the training programmes, drills and coaching techniques conducted by FAM. MILO and FAM share a common goal to empower and energise young football talent to strive for success in the early stages of their lives. As such, we are delighted to continue our initiatives with FAM in future campaigns."

Present at the MILO x FAM Ultimate Experience, FAM's Head of Grassroots cum Malaysia's U-20 Women's Head Coach, Cameron Ng, said he was impressed with the young footballers' commitment, seriousness and sportsmanship throughout the programme.

"The players appear to have high aptitude and I believe they are on track, with good footballing skills, to prevail in the national team in the future," said Cameron Ng. He expressed his gratitude for MILO's continued support and its aspirations to develop grassroots football, describing the relationship between the two as imperative for the local football scene.

"We want to pave the future for children today, whom we believe are the stars of tomorrow. But the future also depends on the coaches who will guide our children to achieve their full potential. We at the leadership level will always support MILO's initiatives, and our partnership with MILO ensures that training for both children and coaches will go hand-in-hand to create this holistic ecosystem," he added.

Meanwhile, Ryan Khaliq from Velocity Football Academy, who recently won the MILO Junior Champions League U-10 championship, shared his gratitude to MILO for providing him with a once-in-a-lifetime experience through the Ultimate Experience campaign.

"I'm honoured to be in this programme conducted by MILO. It inspires me to progress in my football career, and I believe I can apply these valuable lessons in my game and achieve greater success by playing for Harimau Malaya in the future," said Ryan.

The ongoing MILO and FAM partnership aims to produce more than 100,000 talents and 5,000 coaches into the FAM system. The MILO Hidup Bola Futsal carnival is among MILO's notable initiatives over the years, having produced many exciting national players, including Nik Akif Syahiran Nik Mat, Arif Aiman Hanapi, Azri Ghani and Shivan Pillay.

MILO®, the leading nutritious chocolate malt beverage in Malaysia, was introduced in 1950 and is known for its unique taste that Malaysians love. Packed with the natural goodness of malt barley, milk and cocoa, and enriched with Activ-Go® – a unique blend of six vitamins and three minerals – MILO® is the most popular beverage in Malaysia and has fuelled generations of champions.

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