MEDIA RELEASE

HOLLAND SCORES FIRST WIN AS CHINA SHOWN EXIT
Holland's Dick Hulshorst (No.5 in orange) / China's Zhang Xiao (No.9 in red)
KUALA LUMPUR (30 Jan 2008) – Holland made sure that they are still in the running for a place in the semi-finals of the KL World 5s this year when they pulled out all the stops to beat China 3-1 in their second match in Group B here at the Stadium Negara.

Following from their 3-3 draw against Thailand the previous day, Holland were in no compromising mood when they scored as early as seventh minute off Calvin Blankendal for a slim 1-0 lead at the break.

A brace from Karim Ajnane in the 26th and 29th made sure that the Dutch were comfortably in front before China pulled a goal back from Wang Wei in the 31st minute.

Holland's next match in the KL World 5s will be against Iran tomorrow.

Holland's Dick Hulshorst (No.5 in orange) / China's Zhang Xiao (No.9 in red)
Holland's Dick Hulshorst (No.5 in orange) / China's Zhang Xiao (No.9 in red)


CURRENT STANDINGS

Group A
  P W D L F A PTS
ARGENTINA 3 3 0 0 25 2 9
AUSTRALIA 2 2 0 0 12 1 6
INDONESIA 4 1 0 3 10 16 3
MALAYSIA 3 1 0 2 4 16 3
ENGLAND 2 0 0 2 3 19 0

Group B
  P W D L F A PTS
BRAZIL 2 2 0 0 8 0 6
THAILAND 2 1 1 0 8 4 4
HOLLAND 3 1 1 1 7 7 4
IRAN 2 1 0 1 3 5 3
CHINA 3 0 0 3 2 12 0

About the KL World 5's

The KL World 5's takes place between 29th January and 3rd February 2008 at Stadium Negara, Malaysia's first indoor stadium and a national heritage building. The event will be telecasted to over 310 million viewers across Asia on STAR Sports with over 100 hours of coverage, comprising 30 telecast hours, including 20 hours of live programming - translating into extensive media exposure for Malaysia.

The KL World 5's will have a total purse of US$150,000, and feature 10 teams in this prestigious tournament. The event is expected to draw futsal fans from Malaysia and the region with the pedigree of the international teams such as Brazil, Argentina, Holland and England will join the likes of Asian champion Iran, China, Thailand, Indonesia, Australia and hosts Malaysia in action.

ESPN STAR Sports and the Ministry of Youth and Sports have a rich tradition of partnerships stemming from a multi-year strategic alliance signed in October 2005 to raise participation and interest in sport in Malaysia.

For more information, please visit www.klworld5s.com


About ESPN STAR Sports

ESPN STAR Sports is a 50:50 joint venture between two of the world's leading cable and satellite broadcasters. As Asia's definitive and complete sports broadcaster and content provider, ESPN STAR Sports combines the strengths and resources of its ultimate parent companies – Walt Disney (ESPN, Inc.) and News Corporation Limited (STAR) – to deliver a diverse array of international and regional sports to viewers via its encrypted pay and free-to-air services.

ESPN STAR Sports showcases an unparalleled variety of premier live sports from around the globe 24 hours a day to a cumulative reach of more than 310 million viewers in Asia. ESPN STAR Sports has 17 networks covering 24 countries, each localised to deliver differentiated world-class premier sports programming to Asian viewers. This includes ESPN Asia, ESPN China, ESPN Hong Kong, ESPN India, ESPN Malaysia, ESPN Philippines, ESPN Singapore, ESPN Taiwan, MBC-ESPN (Korea), STAR Sports Asia, STAR Sports Hong Kong, STAR Sports India, STAR Sports Malaysia, STAR Sports Singapore, STAR Sports Southeast Asia, STAR Sports Taiwan, and STAR Cricket.  

On the ground, the ESPN STAR Sports Event Management Group manages and promotes premier sporting events around Asia. ESPN STAR Sports aims to reach consumers at any time, any place and through all new media platforms, both internet and mobile. The multi-lingual, online platforms, espnstar.com, espnstar.com.cn and espnstar.com.tw and footballcrazy.tv interact with millions of users providing them with in-depth sports news, results and competitions. Developed for the sports fan that is constantly on the move, mobileESPN and STAR Sports Mobile delivers differentiated mobile content targeted at its various audiences. mobileESPN enables the serious sports fan to follow their favourite sports more closely than ever before with a combination of specially produced video news clips, in-depth news coverage and analysis. STAR Sports Mobile aims to provide interactive and entertaining opportunities to engage with sports, delivering exclusive video excerpts from leading football clubs Arsenal and Liverpool as well as highlights from STAR Sports original programmes covering opinions, instructional tips and the latest online game reviews.

For more information, please contact:

Abdul Rahman (Twenty Four Seven Sdn Bhd)
Tel: 012-6637454
abdulrahman@media247.com.my

Elgen Kua (ESPN STAR Sports)
DID: +65 6216 6034
kuae@espnstar.com