BY ZULHILMI ZAINAL Follow on Twitter
It has finally been confirmed; T-Team FC are no more.
After weeks of uncertainty, on Tuesday the club announced that they will be rebranded as Terengganu FC II, a feeder team under the Terengganu FA system beginning the 2018 season.
On top of this, despite having secured safety from relegation at the conclusion of the 2017 Super League, the team will play in the Premier League next season as Terengganu I are already in the Super League.
"We at T-Team are grateful to all who have helped T-Team since its inception in 2006, originally a platform to unearth football talents in the state of Terengganu. We then managed to become a successful team competing at the highest level in Malaysia," posted the club on its social media.
The restructuring move was made in the Terengganu FA's annual congress on Tuesday, according to media reports.
Association president Datuk Seri Ahmad Razif Abdul Rahman told Astro Awani that a major reason behind the move was the ballooning cost of funding professional teams in the state of Terengganu; T-Team and Terengganu (now Terengganu FC I) that has to be borne by the association.
The Terengganu FC system will also see its U21, U19 and U17 teams competing in their respective junior competitions as Terengganu FC III, IV and V respectively.
Although the Titans have only won the third tier championship, it competed in the top tier for most of its history. The 2016 season, under Indonesian head coach Rahmad Dermawan, was arguably its most successful season, finishing the league in the seventh spot and reaching the Malaysia Cup semi-finals. Rahmad will now discuss his future at the team with the association.
