The Malaysian owners of ChampionshipCardiff City are aiming to forge strong links between the Bluebirds and the youngsters in their homeland, reports Wales Online. Chairman Dato Chan Tien Ghee and his fellow Malaysian investors are underlining their commitment to the Bluebirds through the 1 Malaysia Cardiff City project which will involve improving the lives of 30,000 youngsters through education and coaching.
Cardiff have coaches already working in Malaysia and Dato Chan says: "This is another sign of our commitment to this club. We are bringing Cardiff City successes to Malaysia.
"Personally, I am committed to grassroots football in Malaysia.
"That has grown since I came to Cardiff and have seen the outstanding work by our Community Foundation and Youth Academy people in South Wales.
"We must reach out to children, not only in football technique, but also in character building," says Dato Chan.
"I have watched our club's Down's Syndrome team, who are champions of Great Britain, and we have a deaf team.
"The next era is football for the blind - and a wheelchair squad.
"This work goes beyond normal football and normal coaching programmes, both in Wales and Malaysia. I believe our government in Malaysia are quite impressed with what we are doing.
"The community work Cardiff City are doing in the UK is now growing in Malaysia. Cardiff will always be in the hearts of Malaysians because this club took the trouble to go out there and help in all sorts of ways.
"A major factor for me is that nobody is left out.
"Cardiff City are proud to have won a Football League Community Award and the Family Stand of the Year award in Barcelona, which is a great credit to Wales and this city. This club has to be about more than the first team alone - and we are putting a lot of time and effort into grassroots football."
