PUTRAJAYA: Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh has assured that construction of FAM's National Training Centre (NTC) won't be disrupted or delayed like before.
The NTC, which spans an area of 5.2 hectares, was initially announced in 2019 and its construction was supposed to start in 2022 and expected to be completed in 2025.
The NCT will be built in two phases with Phase 1 funded by Fifa with a RM24 million grant and Phase 2 will get a RM45 million allocation from the Sports Ministry.
Yeoh said the five-year delay to the NTC project was due to funding and land issues, but these problems have been resolved under the new government's administration.
"This is why we have a monitoring committee. Work could not proceed in 2022 because of land and funding issues, as at that time the funds were moved," she said at a press conference during the NTC groundbreaking ceremony here, yesterday.
"We requested for the funds again and now with the existence of phases one and two through funding from Fifa and government's assistance," said Yeoh.
FAM president Datuk Hamidin Amin said national players will no longer need to "borrow" venues or go to specific locations to train for international matches.
He said the NTC will be equipped with state-of-the-art facilities, including three fields and other amenities specially for the national squad.