Through The Senses: FA Selangor's Training Centre Launch

Last week, I was sent an e-mail by Khal about an invite to cover the FA Selangor (FAS) training centre launch and almost immediately I said along the lines of: “Say no more, I’m going,” As a Selangor fan, this was an event not to be missed, I’ve seen the pictures of the work in progress FAS has made on social media and it was looking very promising. And so we went to Padang SUK, Shah Alam to be given a full look of the completed training centre. As far as I can see, the finished product has without a doubt fulfilled the promise and the RM 1.5 million invested in renovating it looks very well spent.

Almost everything about the centre is exactly as you would expect a modern football team should have in their facilities. From the management office to the locker room, everything was refurbished down from the walls to the furniture. The centre was given a sleek new paintjob using the team’s signature red & yellow bright colors inside and outside of the facility. This training centre will also be FAS’ new administrative headquarters, moving out of their old and small office in Kelana Jaya.

The first stop is the meeting room area. When you enter the meeting area, you will be greeted with the history of FA Selangor and the achievements they had attached to the wall. Outside of the meeting hall is a narrow corridor where the walls are plastered with team photos of the past (In some of those pictures, you will see Dato’ Hamidin Mohd Amin sitting with the team before he joined FAM)

Then, Tengku Amir Shah leads the tour around the facility starting with the management office. The office has is pretty much a typical office you would expect, although the length of the room is pretty long. At the end of the office, you can see a picture of the Shah Alam Stadium (from pitchside view) covering the wall with a mini-lounge area for the workers to relax a bit.
The next stop in the tour is The First Team Lounge.The amenities are amazing. With multiple sofas to sit and chill, the lounge also has a small kitchen area, a foosball table, PS4s with beanbags to sit on and even an arcade machine!

If that is not enough, you should see the gym/locker room area next to the lounge. The gym area has what you would expect to see: weights, cycling machines, benches and treadmills. The gym walls are plastered with Selangor’s hall of fame where the players and managers achievements & records are shown, reminding of the work needed to be done if anyone wants to try and surpass them. Next to the gym is a physiotherapy area with the necessary equipment to go and directly next to it is the locker room and shower area. Each locker has a minimalistic design showcasing the players’ names and numbers (Something to note that Farizal Harun has one section all by himself because he’s the only one wearing a shirt number between 28-32).

By the side management office side ground floor is where the communal locker rooms are. This is where the youth, president and women’s team change and keep their belongings while they go train. And next to the communal locker room is the women’s showers.

From a fan’s standpoint, it gives me further belief that under Tengku Amir Shah’ tenure, we can strive for more. The training centre may look small, but everything that is needed is implemented. I can’t help but feel so excited on what the future unfolds for FAS. I’m sure even the neutrals are impressed with how the centre looks. Not gonna lie though, it’s still behind Johor Darul Takzim’s own training facility, but the steps taken to improve the FAS’ stature has been very encouraging with this massively improved training ground. Taking a look around here makes me feel like wanting to apply here for a job!

It’s amazing how much is done in just one year of Tengku Amir Shah’ tenure. And the most exciting part out of all this, this is just the beginning. As Tengku Amir Shah said: “We’re not going to stop here, we’re going to do a lot more,” Finally, Selangor has a proper training centre that they can also call home. Selangor has made progress to try & catch up to the top. To the rest of the Super League, it’s your move.