Sabah FC Signs Up for Sabah's Carers

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Two communities, one team: the Rhinos donate a signed jersey and match ball for auction at the VIVA! Carefest Gala Dinner on 6 November

KOTA KINABALU, 12th Oct, 2026 — Sabah FC has picked a side. The Rhinos are backing Sabah's carers.

The club is donating a framed, signed match jersey and a match ball to Persatuan Sokongan Penjagaan Sabah (PSPS), the new Sabah NGO set up to support carers and the state's growing number of older people. Both items will be auctioned at the VIVA! Carefest Gala Dinner on Friday, 6 November 2026, at ITCC Penampang, the evening PSPS is launched to the public. Every ringgit raised goes to PSPS's work: accredited training, a real career pathway and proper recognition for the people who do this work.

The handover takes place on Monday, 12 October, when Sabah FC's Director, CEO, Head Coach, Team Manager and two players will meet the PSPS committee and working carers.




Two communities. One team.

Sabah FC and PSPS do the same work in different uniforms. Both take young Sabahans and give them training, discipline and a future: the club through its academy, PSPS through is access to accredited pathways that turn caring into a career.

Both also have older Sabahans at their centre. The supporters who have filled Likas Stadium for decades, many of them since childhood, are now part of Sabah's ageing population. They are the people that trained carers will look after.

“Sabah FC develops young players. We develop young carers. And both of us answer to the same people: the older Sabahans who have cheered from the stands for decades and who now need someone skilled beside them. That is why this partnership makes sense. Youth and seniors, both together, is the heart of the story.”




— Maria Kinson, President, PSPS

“Sabah FC develops the next generation of players on the pitch. PSPS develops the next generation of carers off it. Our supporters have stood by us for decades; supporting PSPS is our way of standing by them - from the young to the old. We build young players for Sabah's future. PSPS builds young carers for Sabah's future. This partnership is about taking care of the people who have taken care of us.”

— Datuk TPr. Alijus Haji Sipil, Director Sabah FC

Something real, not just talk

Officials were warning about Malaysia's ageing population as far back as 1995. Thirty years later, Malaysia is expected to become an “aged nation” by 2030, and the career pathway for carers described in report after report has still not been built. PSPS was founded by people who were family carers themselves, and who decided to stop waiting and start building.

Sabah FC's donation is in the same spirit. It is not a statement of support. It is an item, an auction, and funds.

“It is easy to talk about supporting carers. Sabah FC has put something real behind it: an actual jersey, at an actual auction, raising actual funds for the people who look after Sabah's seniors. Two community organisations working together for a result that benefits the community. One day each of us may be the carer, and one day each of us may need one. Sabah FC has understood that. We hope others will follow.”




— Maria Kinson, President, PSPS

Support is more than a cheque

PSPS says the donation shows that there are many ways to back Sabah's carers: funds, goods, expertise, time and talent. Sabah FC has given something that only Sabah FC can give.

“A framed and signed Sabah FC jersey is unique. You cannot buy it in a shop. We are excited to offer the jersey and the match ball at the auction. It sends a real message about how community organisations can come together, and that is what the Gala Dinner is all about.”

— Dr Julia Ongkill, PSPS Deputy Chairperson and Gala Dinner Organiser

The Gala Dinner

The Gala Dinner is PSPS's first public event, under the theme “LIVE FULLY. LOVE DEEPLY. TOGETHER.” It features live music from Evergreen Unlimited, Rayner Pailus (“Borneo's Elvis”) and Muazzam Aman. Corporate and community tables of ten are still available: Gold RM3,000 and Jade RM2,000.

MEDIA INVITATION — PHOTO AND INTERVIEW OPPORTUNITY

Event: Presentation of the signed Sabah FC jersey and match ball to PSPS

Date: Monday, 12 October 2026

Time: 2:00 PM

Venue: Meeting Room, Persatuan Bolasepak Negeri Sabah (SAFA) [add street address]

Sabah FC: Director, CEO, Head Coach, Team Manager and two players

PSPS: President, committee members and carers

Pictures: Players and carers together with the jersey and ball. Interviews available with both organisations.

About PSPS

Persatuan Sokongan Penjagaan Sabah (PSPS) is a Sabah-based NGO supporting the welfare, training and career development of carers, and raising public awareness of the state's ageing population. PSPS was founded to build the accredited training, career pathways and long-term recognition that Sabah's carers have gone without.

About Sabah FC

Sabah FC, “The Rhinos”, is a professional football club formerly known as Sabah FA and plays its home matches at Likas Stadium in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. Sabah FC finished third in the Malaysia Super League for three consecutive seasons (2022, 2023 and 2024/25) and made its debut in the AFC Cup during the 2023–24 season. More recently, the club finished as runners-up in the 2025/26 Malaysia FA Cup and crowned champions of the MFL Challenge Cup in the same season.

Media contacts

PSPS: Greg King · Tel / WhatsApp 011 3791 8026

Gala Dinner tables: PSPS · Tel 088 715 885 · WhatsApp 011 1059 3389


Location: Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia

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