KUCHING, Sept 30 2026: Taha Ariffin Stadium is now on track to become the official venue of Kuching City FC (KCFC) for the ASEAN Club Championship Shopee Cup and AFC Champions League Two competitions after receiving conditional approval from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM).
KCFC executive chairman Fazzrudin Abdul Rahman said the approval was given after a site inspection by the AFC and FAM on September 23, with several requirements still needing to be resolved by the relevant parties.
According to him, the two main things that are still in process are the installation of stadium lights and the preparation of a broadcast room, while several other minor needs can be completed in the near future.
"The lighting work is 90 percent complete and we are confident that it can be used before October 7, while for the broadcast room we will discuss with the Sarawak Sports Corporation (SSC) to ensure it can be provided," he said at a press conference today.
He said the approval was the result of collaboration between the Sarawak Ministry of Youth, Sports and Entrepreneur Development, SSC and KCFC through the implementation of part of the RM7 million allocation for stadium improvement works.
Fazzrudin said that among the improvements that had been implemented were the installation of numbered seats, the provision of dressing rooms for the home and visiting teams, referee rooms and match officials' rooms, as well as improvements to the surau, toilets, lighting and spectator safety aspects.
"With all the seats completed, this stadium can accommodate 17,584 spectators.
"These numbered seats are something new to our supporters who were previously used to the free seating system. That's why we are using the friendly match with Sabah to familiarize them with the sector system and designated seating," he said.
Meanwhile, he said, KCFC has also streamlined security aspects by increasing the number of marshals and security personnel to cope with the larger number of spectators and the high-intensity match atmosphere.
He explained that the KCFC security team has also been sent to several matches outside Kuching to learn about stadium security management from more experienced parties.
In the same development, he explained that KCFC also pays attention to the management of hawkers around the stadium to ensure that economic activities on match days can run in an orderly manner and comply with AFC requirements.
He said this approach was important given that organising international matches not only involved teams and supporters, but also competition officials, sponsors, visiting teams and other delegations.
"We not only want Kuching City to move forward, but we want to bring together the entire ecosystem on match days, including the hawkers outside the stadium."
"We want them to be placed in an area that is comfortable, orderly and meets the conditions set by the AFC," he said.
He said the Taha Ariffin Stadium will see the presence of teams from several countries including South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore and Cambodia when KCFC competes in international competitions.
Fazzrudin also called on supporters to cooperate in complying with the entry and seating system as well as maintaining the cleanliness and facilities of the stadium to ensure that the court can continue to be used as KCFC's home court.
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