PETALING JAYA, Aug 27 — Selangor’s SUKMA success must catalyse grassroots sports development by providing consistent competitions for youth, said Raja Muda of Selangor Tengku Amir Shah.
His Highness said regular competitions are crucial to ensuring young athletes not only stay active but also have clear targets to train and develop a competitive mindset.
Tengku Amir Shah said grassroots development has always been close to his heart, including through his involvement with the Selangor Youth Community (SAY) before he became more deeply involved in football.
“If we want to continue developing these sports, youth must be playing and competing regularly, every weekend.
“With competitions in place, they have a reason to train throughout the week and build a winning and goal-oriented mindset. That very mindset will drive the development of all sports,” His Highness said in response to a question from the moderator at NADI Connecting Wellness, Fitness and Sports With RMS before officiating the event here today.
He also said the selection of several sports for Selangor SUKMA 2026 was the right move as it gave young athletes the opportunity to showcase their quality, sportsmanship and competitiveness across various disciplines.
Hosts Selangor were crowned overall SUKMA 2026 champions with a haul of 101 gold, 73 silver and 71 bronze medals.
Meanwhile, Tengku Amir Shah said His Highness’ experience establishing the Selangor Champions League before becoming directly involved with the Football Association of Selangor (FAS) showed that community-level competitions could help identify talent and raise competitiveness.
He added that the league was set up to gather active social football teams across Selangor on a competitive platform to determine the best team.
According to Tengku Amir Shah, a similar approach could be expanded to other sports gaining traction among the public, such as pickleball and chess.
Today’s event gathered 50 wellness, fitness and sports leaders with Tengku Amir Shah to connect voices, strengthen the community and build a shared direction for the sector.
