PETALING JAYA (May 14, 2007) - The tremendous success of the inaugural 100PLUS Super Cup football programme last year, which was participated by over 100,000 students throughout the country, has set the stage for an even larger turnout for this year's competition.

According to the Malaysian Schools Sports Council (MSSM) estimates, some 2,000 schools participated in the 100PLUS Super Cup programme last year. With each school team comprising 20 players and with three different age-groups involved, the total number of participants surpassed the 100,000 mark. This year, MSSM expects even more schools to sign up for the tournament.

From left: Dato' Seri Dr Ibrahim Saad, General Secretary of FAM, Datuk Noh Omar, Deputy Minister of Education, Chris Ng, Country Marketing Head, Regional Office of Fraser & Neave (Singapore) Pte Ltd and Dato' Kamal Harun, the National Corporate Affairs Manager of F&N Coca-Cola (M) Sdn Bhd.

"Looking at the response it received last year, we are confident the number of schools and players taking part in the tournament will be even higher this year," said Chris Ng, Country Marketing Head, Regional Office of Fraser & Neave (Singapore) Pte Ltd. "We realise the importance of junior development programmes which is why we continue to support the 100PLUS Super Cup.

"Football was one of the eight core sports identified by the government. As we have always supported government initiatives, we also want to play a part and contribute towards the development of football in the country," added Chris at official launch of the 100PLUS Super Cup at the Wisma FAM here today.

Datuk Noh Omar, Deputy Minister of Education, was the Guest-of-Honour and officiated the launch today. Also present at today's function were Dato' Seri Dr Ibrahim Saad, General Secretary of the FA of Malaysia and Dato' Kamal Harun, the National Corporate Affairs Manager of F&N Coca-Cola (M) Sdn Bhd.

The 100PLUS Super Cup, which involves the Ministry of Education and 100PLUS, Malaysia's number one isotonic sports drink, is a nationwide inter-school football programme for three age-group categories - Under-12, Under-15 and Under-18.