Nadi Arena (19/6/24)
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SportsTranscript
00:00I let my feet do the talking.
00:13Wow.
00:14This is Kobe Jae Chong, a 6th Division League player in England.
00:19He's not a chicken.
00:20He wants to prove himself to be worthy of the jersey of the Malay Tigers.
00:25After moving to the Malaysian League,
00:28and the Malaysian Jamaica player was fired,
00:31he went to Kuala Lumpur to compete with a club.
00:34Let's listen to an exclusive interview with Zumi Zainal Azam.
00:44I have a few family and friends over here that I've been visiting.
00:48I've also been in touch with a few Malaysian Super League clubs,
00:52so we're in contact with them.
00:55We're just here to speak with the clubs, visit family,
01:00and enjoy the Malaysian experience in Kuala Lumpur.
01:04That's all really.
01:05A few clubs have been in contact,
01:07so we're obviously going back and forth with them.
01:11If anything becomes concrete, then I could be here permanently.
01:15But for now, it's too early to say.
01:17Alright.
01:18But based on response from netizens, from Malaysian football fans,
01:24I think some of them, or majority of them,
01:29didn't agree that you will play in Malaysia.
01:33So what is your comment on that?
01:35My comment on that is mainly,
01:38obviously a lot of the Malaysian supporters,
01:40they only recognise the Premier League.
01:43So coming from the level that I play,
01:46and that obviously other players have played,
01:48like Darren Locke and Nick Sarad and players like that,
01:52for us and our long-term future in football,
01:57Asia and above all Malaysia, where we obviously got the heritage,
02:02it's a good opportunity for us to expand our career.
02:07Unless you're in the Premier League or the Championship,
02:10for us it's the next best thing.
02:13And also obviously the opportunity to get into the national team,
02:16which is something that's life-changing.
02:20But can you share how competitive you are currently playing?
02:26Currently I'm in the National League North,
02:28which is two divisions below League Two.
02:31It's very competitive.
02:34I think for me, I let my feet do the talking.
02:37So obviously once the supporters or the coaches or the staff will see me play,
02:42then that will be for them to validate themselves.
02:45But for me, coming from England, there's a high level there.
02:50And I don't think people should be necessarily ignorant
02:54and underestimate the level over there.
02:57I think for that reason we haven't seen many Malaysian
03:00or necessarily Asian players go into Europe
03:03or necessarily go into England.
03:05So I don't think we can play it lightly.
03:09Obviously we know that Darren Lark, Lee Tuck,
03:13these people have come from similar levels to myself.
03:16I think me and Darren and Lee have played the highest
03:19out of the heritage players or naturalised players
03:22who are going to be naturalised.
03:24So those players can perform in a national team.
03:27So I don't see why I can't.
03:29I've played for professional clubs in the Championship, in Serie A.
03:34So for me, obviously I see the comments, but it's fine.
03:38That's what comes with football.