KUALA LUMPUR: Super League team PJ City FC have been put up for sale.
The club's owner, QI Group, announced today that they are looking for a buyer, and that PJ City have withdrawn from next season's Super League
PJ City president Datuk Seri Subahan Kamal said the main reason behind their pullout is that the all-local club are finding it difficult to cope with the changing landscape of the M-League.
Recently, the Malaysian Football League restructured the league, allowing teams to sign up to nine foreign players instead of the current five.
"Looking at the football climate, the board decided it (withdrawal) was practical because it would not be easy to compete against the others," said Subahan.
"Previously against teams with five imports, it was manageable but nine would be something else.
"We have to accept the fact and reality that it came close to impossible (for us to compete). The basis of the club's establishment is to feed talents to the nation, and we have done that through the likes of Darren Lok, V. Ruventhiran and Kalamullah Al-Hafiz Mat Rowi.
"We are open to anyone buying the football club. They can take over but will have to use the PJ City name."
The former Selangor FA president said PJ City are one of the best-run clubs in domestic football.
"PJ City are the only club in the history of Malaysian football that use money from their own pockets. When (QI Group founder and executive chairman) Datuk Seri Vijay Eswaran did it, he never thought about it.
"We are in Malaysian football not for the returns but we want to polish talents for the national team."
Subahan, who denied claims that PJ City were having financial problems, stresssed that they would rather use their funds in a way that serves football development better.
"When we started out and established the tagline yakinilokal (trust locals), everyone said we would be relegated and no other clubs dared to do this. But the club was managed extremely well and are financially strong."
On whether PJ City have been approached by any buyer, Subahan said: "I don't dare comment (on rumours of M3 League club Harini FT buying over). If there is anything on the matter, it will be announced by the CEO (Ganesh Shanmugan)."
PJ City have assured that they will honour their existing contracts with players, and talks are ongoing.
Meanwhile PJ City midfielder K. Gurusamy and goalkeeper Kalamullah Al-Hafiz Mat Rowi have urged the club's owner, Vijay Eswaran, to reconsider.
The duo pointed out that PJ City's motto of yakinilokal has opened doors for local footballers to showcase their skills, something most other clubs would not do.
Gurusamy, 33, said PJ City's concept has no equal in Malaysia.
"Everyone who heard the news (of PJ City's pullout) was disappointed.
"This is the only place a local player is allowed the space to play as other teams have foreigners. Next season, it's even tougher because there will be an increase in the foreign quota.
"This is a shame as this is really going to affect the young players.
"We hope that Datuk Seri (Vijay) would reconsider and give it another one or two years for the team to prove they can get better because we've been competitive," said Gurusamy.
Kalamullah, 27, who is a national goalkeeper, said he heard about the club's impending shutdown two months before the Malaysia Cup competition.
"PJ City have played in the Super League for the past four years with the management taking care of the players' welfare. This is going to be a big loss. I hope they will have a change of heart.
"We heard about it but we didn't know the actual reason at that time. After we lost to JDT in a Malaysia Cup match, they told us that they will not continue next season."