KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 7 — With the Malaysia Cup semifinals second leg on the horizon, the authorities have not confirmed a date for the Cup final as there are requests to hold it on a Friday.
Selangor lead T-Team 2-1 while Kedah beat Police by a similar scoreline. The return legs are scheduled for October 15.
Football Malaysia Limited Liability Partnership (FMLLP), the body in charge of Malaysia’s top football league, will only confirm the date of the final after the semifinals.
“Initially, we had planned an October 29 final as October 30 was supposed to be Deepavali,” said FMLLP chief executive officer Kevin Ramalingam.
“This was approved last year.
“As we got into this year the dates changed as we follow the different religious calendars. We decided to keep the option open for October 28 (Friday) in case two teams whose states have Friday and Saturday weekends would prefer a Friday night final.
“We had conferred with the states and informed them of the decision to leave October 28 as an option and they were on board with it,” said Kevin.
Then there was the issue of Deepavali falling either on the 29th or 30th.
According to some calendars, Deepavali falls on the 30th. However, it is celebrated on October 29 in Malaysia.
This posed a conundrum for FMLLP as they did not want to play on a religious festival.
“Since the venue was already decided, the board decided October 30 is the best day, but we should leave the door open for a Friday final.
“We will not just pull a surprise at the last minute, that’s why we kept communications open with the teams.
“We feel two weeks is ample time for fans to plan their trip.”
Selangor have the most wins in the Malaysia Cup, winning their 33rd title last season.
Another victory would make up for a abysmal season where they finished fifth, sacked coach Zainal Abidin Hassan and suffered ructions in the team.
The Red Giants are now under caretaker coach K Gunalan.
