Haziq Zikri Elias

Haziq Zikri Elias may play for Histon FC, a Conference League club.

KUALA LUMPUR: Teenager Haziq Zikri Elias may be Malaysia's answer to its football woes.

Haziq, who has lived the United Kingdom since young, has been offered a contract to play professional football for Histon FC, a Conference League club in England.

Histon FC finished third in the league behind champions Burton Albion and Cambridge United in the season which just ended.

The 18-year-old midfielder was spotted by a talent scout when he turned out for Stevenage FC in the Under-19 UK league.

He has been representing Stevenage FC for the past two seasons and has been one of its regulars. Stevenage FC won the semi-professional league title in 2007.
As the English league is in its off season, the FA of Malaysia has invited Haziq to attend trials with the national team preparing for the Asean Under-19 Championship in August and the Asian Under-19 qualifiers event in Nov-ember.

National under-19 coach Ong Kim Swee said Haziq had made Malaysia proud by earning a contract offer with a professional team in England.

The Conference League consists of professional and mainly semi-professional teams, and falls at the lower tier of English football, behind the Premier League and three divisions of the Football League.

Ong said yesterday: "Haziq has proven that he is the next star in Malaysian football. The professional stint will make him a better player, and Malaysian football will gain from his exposure.

"Stevenage has given good reviews about Haziq and the offer to turn professional says it all. I will get a better picture about the offer when he is here tomorrow.

"I've been monitoring his progress and I believe he's ready to attend trials with my team. He will get a week to acclimatise and we will see how it goes from there."

Haziq left for England when he was 3 to join his father Dr Elias Awang, the company secretary at the Tun Abdul Razak Research Centre in Brickendonbury, Hertfordshire.

sumber: NST online