Background

Yayasan Kecemerlangan Sukan Malaysia or Foundation for Malaysian Sporting Excellence (SportExcel) was incorporated on 12th August, 1989, as a company limited by guarantee under the Companies Act, 1965 and launched on 8th April, 1991. SportExcel was born out of a vision to serve the cause of Malaysian sport and was also the brainchild of YAM Tunku Tan Sri Imran, who has since served as its chairman.
Membership is by invitation.

SportExcel is funded mainly by the private sector and supports programs designed to develop sporting excellence. All donations to SportExcel are tax-exempt. From its inception, SportExcel had its sights clearly set on junior development in Malaysian sport and firmly believes that the future of Malaysian sport lies in the context of junior development. Thus, talented Malaysian juniors must be accorded all assistance to help them reach their full potential. SportExcel is fully supported by the Malaysian Government. This is reflected by the fact that the Patron of SportExcel is the Honourable Minister of Youth and Sports and the National Sports Council of Malaysia is a key partner.

“This success (by SportExcel) underlines the importance of us investing in talent development with the long-term goal of achieving excellence.”

YB Mr. Khairy Jamaluddin, Youth and Sports Minister (2016)

Government support for SportExcel also comes from the National Sports Council Malaysia (NSC) who help fund the Malaysian Junior Circuit for the 12 sports – golf, swimming, gymnastics (rhythmic, artistic), sepak takraw, squash, bowling, shooting, cricket, cycling and tennis. Taekwondo and athletics are the new sports on the circuit – joining in 2012. Sportexcel also has the endorsement of the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM), which is the umbrella body for sport in the country.

Today, SportExcel stands out as a beacon of hope for young talent to pursue their dreams of greater glory and honour for themselves and the country. More milestones have been breached since then by SportExcel on that road to excellence. SportExcel remains totally relevant to Malaysian sport by having carved itself a niche in the realm of junior development.

Vision

“Strive to assist talented Malaysian athletes achieve world  class excellence and by doing so, bring honour to our beloved country”

Mission

  • Nurturing the development of junior athletes
  • Providing a platform for juniors to excel on a competitive level locally and internationally
  • Creating a sustainable junior sport development programme with the cooperation of relevant stakeholders
  • Providing financial assistance to National Sports Associations to conduct Junior circuits
  • Providing financial assistance to deserving juniors

Administration of the Foundation

The foundation is administered by a Board of Governors. The Chairman is elected from amongst the Charter Members. At present the Chairman of SportExcel is Tunku Tan Sri Imran ibni Almarhum Tuanku Jaafar. He was also the president of the Olympic Council of Malaysia, various National Sports Associations and is an Honorary Member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

The Board of Governors meet at least once a year to helm strategies and review the programs of SportExcel, while the Board meets quarterly. The SportExcel Annual General Meeting (AGM) is held by June of every year and audited accounts are presented for the consideration of the Board of Governors and Charter Members.

Executive Board

SportExcel’s auditors are Raki CS Tan & Ramanan, while Boardroom Business Solutions Sdn. Bhd. is the accountant. As an organization, SportExcel firmly believes in good corporate governance and in this respect, adheres to transparency and accountability in all financial dealings. The day – to – day administration of SportExcel is in the hands of an Executive Director appointed by the Board of Governors.

SportExcel has its office at Lot 2-1, Innovation House, Technology Park Malaysia Corporation, Lebuhraya Puchong – Sungai Besi, 57000 Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur

Milestones

General

  • Outstanding sportsmen and sportswomen – Datuk Nicol David, Ong Beng Hee (squash); Shalin Zulkifli, Esther Cheah (bowling); Sam Chong (snooker), Gavin Green, Kelly Tan (golf), M. Kumaresan (cycling), Nur Herman Majid (athletics), Jeffrey Ong (swimming) and many more.
  • Recipient of the IOC Sport and Youth Development Award (12 December 2008).

Golf

  • Started in 1992. From a local junior circuit, it became a premier junior elite and now international junior event.
  • The annual AmBank Group-SportExcel International Junior Golf Championship, since 2006 is the main highlight.
  • In 2015, a MoU was signed between Hills Golf Academy Gold Coast Australia with SportExcel, long and short-term scholarships awarded.
  • Has similar MoU since 2015 with India, China, Taiwan, Australia, Thailand, Indonesia, Korea, Japan and Singapore (since 2021).
  • Another MoU was signed with Hainan Golf Association in 2019.
  • In 2019, a record was created when 19 junior golfers received partial or full scholarships from US colleges.
  • Ashley Lau, who was a winner at the AmBank Group-SportExcel International Junior Golf Championship, gained one-year scholarships at the Hills Golf Academy, which was then extended by another year.
  • Audrey Tan, Erwin Chang, Allycia Gan, Liyana Durisic, Nur Shazan Amalia are among the top juniors in US colleges.

Squash

  • Squash juniors have also been awarded scholarships to study at US colleges and one of the latest is national No. 2 S. Sivasangari at Cornell University.