KUALA LUMPUR: Sepak Takraw Association of Malaysia (STAM) president Datuk Sumali Reduan is keen to host at least one international tournament in Malaysia annually.
Sumali said this is key to help boost the development of the sport here. He is looking at hosting a tournament in a similar mould to the Thailand King's Cup.
"My mission is to further develop Malaysian sepak takraw and to achieve that we need to have strong talent development programmes as well as our own international tournament," said Sumali recently.
"I have said that in my era (as president), I want there to be at least one international tournament in Malaysia every year. It doesn't matter what you name it.
"Malaysia is one of the most influential countries in the sport alongside Thailand, and they have the Thai King's Cup which is fully supported by their government.
"There are two main reasons why we need to host international tournaments here.
"The first is that we have many good players with potential. They need to have the chance to play on their home ground in front of their own fans.
"The second is that we have many fans here who want to watch their own team play in front of them. When we held the World Cup here, about 80,000 people (concurrent viewers) watched the final on live streaming."
Malaysia hosted the fourth edition of the World Cup at the Titiwangsa Stadium last month.
Sumali believes the World Cup is proof that Malaysia is capable of hosting big tournaments.
"The International Sepak Takraw Federation (Istaf) themselves said that this was the best ever edition of the World Cup so far in terms of preparations, facilities and hospitality," said Sumali.
The national squad won the doubles and inter-regu events at the World Cup, beating Thailand in both finals.
Thailand, however, bounced back to beat Malaysia in the team event final.
It was nevertheless an historic achievement for Malaysia as the national team had never won a title at the World Cup before.
