Haiqal Haqeemi, the Selangor FC under 23(U23) player, was a key member of Harimau Muda's AFF Under 19(U19) Youth Championship-winning side last season.

The Selangor FC U23 midfielder started being interested in football when his mother took him to the My Kid Soccer team in Wangsa Maju, Kuala Lumpur, every weekend from the age of six till he was in Standard 3. Later, he was selected to join the Tunas Academy from standard four until the end of Primary School.

Due to his overweight figure at the time, he was given the nickname Cibob and began to focus solely on football after getting accepted into the Mokhtar Dahari Academy (AMD) in 2016.

This 20-year-old youngster believes that his hard work at AMD paid off when he was called up to join the Selangor FC development team.

"When I attended AMD, the coaches wanted me to lose weight because I had a big body at the time, thus I worked hard to meet their demands. I gradually reduced my weight and improved my performance."

"At the start of my football journey, when I was in Form 1, I was assigned to Team B, but I didn't really stand out. Unlike other players, I was only given the opportunity to play abroad for the first time while I was in Form 3 in countries like Qatar, Japan, and the Netherlands. The opportunity helped me to advance into AMD’s Team A from Form 4 to Form 5."

"Before finishing school, I officially signed an offer to join the Selangor FC President's team in 2021. Although I was unable to play officially with the team, due to Covid-19 restrictions, I am grateful that the Selangor FC Management gave us the opportunity to compete in the FAS League before the season ends," said this Martin Odegaard fan.

The year 2022 became Haiqal's best year when he was promoted to the Selangor FC 2 squad after his impressive performance during the selection which attracted the interest of Head Coach, Rusdi Suparman. Haiqal was given the trust to play in 15 matches, 11 times as a starting eleven in 18 matches in the Malaysian Premier League last season.

In the same year, Haiqal was listed to join the Harimau Muda squad for the 2022 AFF U-19 Championship in Indonesia after performing well in the Premier League at that time. Describing this as his best achievement, Haiqal has played in all six matches and scored two goals against Cambodia in the Group stage and Vietnam in the Semi-Final round before Malaysia won the AFF U-19 Championship last season.

Citing his parents as his main motivator, he is determined, "For now, my focus is to help the Selangor U23 squad progress to the next round until the end of the 2023 MFL Cup. If I am lucky enough to be here for a long time, like other young players, I will also try to get my opportunity to play with the Red Giants' main squad."

Selangor FC wishes Haiqal Haqeemi success for the 2023 season with the Selangor U23 squad. We hope you continue to show excellent performances in the Malaysian football scene and achieve the desired goals. Good luck, Cibob!

Demi Kebanggaan!