At a press conference here today, the club’s former president, Andrew Gopal, said the Selangor government reinstated the club’s rights to its football field on Feb 9 last year.

He said the club’s lawyers gave notice to MPAJ to vacate the field on or before Oct 3, and  took charge of the field on Nov 1.

“We are happy that the painful (legal) battle between UKRC and the Selangor government has come to an end.

“We are thankful to menteri besar Amirudin Shari and the state executive council members for agreeing to resolve the land issue,” he said.

Andrew said the UKRC board and legal team had appealed to Amirudin during a meeting last year to reinstate the club’s rights to the land since they had maintained it better than the council.

The issue over who has control over the field started in 2003 when the state government declared it as a public ground. In 2013, MPAJ officially sought to take over control.

The club brought the case to court arguing, among other things, that the field had not been properly maintained by the council, but its application was dismissed.

The football field was constructed in 1959. On average, UKRC had been spending at least RM50,000 a year to maintain it.

The funding was acquired through sponsorships and donations from members and supporters, which included businesses.

Andrew said the committee would now be able to focus on restoring the club and the field.

“A lot of hard work needs to be done. In the next three months, hopefully, you will see the UKRC field back in active use,” he said.

He also said he had stepped down as the club president and had been replaced by Brendan Lee.

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