After Pele and Cantona, Courts now wooing 'King Kenny'

Source

by Shamir Osman
04:46 AM Mar 25, 2011 SINGAPORE - Earlier this month, they lured Pele, widely regarded as the greatest footballer, and former Manchester United star Eric Cantona to Singapore.

And now Courts have another footballing legend in their sights: Liverpool caretaker manager Kenny Dalglish (picture).

Courts' chief executive officer Terry O'Connor told MediaCorp: "We have been in talks with agents representing Kenny Dalglish for some time, however, we have yet to finalise the timing or the precise itinerary."

Dalglish, acclaimed as Liverpool's greatest player, is no stranger to the Republic. He was here in 2008 to launch The Premier Pitch, a football facility at Turf City.

Pele and Cantona, brought here thanks to Courts' partnership with the New York Cosmos, were involved in activities with S-League side Courts Young Lions and the Courts flagship stores, and it will be the same with Dalglish.

"Any football related activities we engage in must align with our commitment to local football and the Courts Young Lions sponsorship specifically. The recent Cosmos partnership was a perfect example of creating a memorable night at Jalan Besar Stadium which hopefully inspired, in part, our players to victory over Geylang United," added O'Connor.

Pele and Cantona were in attendance at the stadium when four red cards were flashed - including one to Football Association of Singapore technical director Slobodan Pavkovic - as the Courts Young Lions triumphed 3-2 over Geylang.

Courts were involved in Liverpool's Asian Tour in 2009, when the 18-time English champions played two friendlies - in Thailand and Singapore.



** Etoile FC will take on AFF Suzuki Cup champions Malaysia in a friendly match tomorrow at the Jalan Besar Stadium (8pm). Tickets are priced at S$6 (adult) and S$2 (concession) and all gate receipts will go towards the disaster relief efforts in Japan. Fans who buy tickets to catch the Great Eastern-YEO's S-League match between Courts Young Lions and Albirex Niigata (which kicks off at 5pm) can stay on to watch the Etoile vs Malaysia friendly.