JOHOR wants to strengthen its position as a sporting power in the country by unearthing more young talents.
State youth, sports, entrepreneur development, cooperatives and human resources committee chairman Mohd Hairi Mad Shah said the Johor Sports Council (MSNJ) would continue with its scouting programmes.
“We will continue with the scouting programmes in 2023 to find potential athletes.
“This year, we hope to find young potential athletes at our programmes such as Gold Johor and Johor Youth Circuit,” he said when met in Johor Baru.
Mohd Hairi, who is also the Larkin assemblyman, said the sports council would also continue with programmes to prepare its high-performance athletes and develop coaches.
He said these programmes included Grit, Titanium X, the Cage and Iskandar Apprentice.
“In fact, MSNJ will implement a grading programme as part of efforts to develop and ensure the professionalism of sports associations here,” he added.
Mohd Hairi said another agency under MSNJ, the Johor Stadium Corporation (PSJ), manages and maintains high-performance sports facilities located throughout the state.
Other efforts to cultivate sports include continuing with the Bangsa Johor Sports Carnival, which involves all 56 state constituencies.
“It is my hope that everyone involved in sports development is active in making sure all plans will be successful,” added Mohd Hairi.
Johor was crowned the overall champion of the 2022 Malaysia Games (Sukma) in September.
The state won 77 gold, 52 silver and 43 bronze medals.
Prior to the event, the state government had set a target of 55 gold but the athletes surpassed that by a large margin.
The contingent made history as it was the first time Johor had emerged overall champion since Sukma started in 1986.
