PETALING JAYA, July 14 — The decision whether Pahang will appeal to the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) to play in the 2019 Asian Champions League (ACL), lies with the management of the Pahang State Football Association (PBNP).

Pahang team manager Datuk Mohammed Suffian Awang said the decision would be made at a scheduled management meeting in the near future to revive the Tok Gajah’s squad chance of being in action at the highest competition in Asia.

“We talked at players and team management levels, but we need to get the mandate of the top management and the association to continue the agenda of representing the country at the AFC level.

“We can see how excited the players are to play at the highest level... It’s a dream not only for the Pahang team, but also for other state teams... However, we agree with whatever decisions the association will take.

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“Personally, if given the opportunity as a team manager, it is my dream and that of the 2018 team to participate in the ACL. It is a source of great pride, especially to the people of Pahang, “he told reporters when met after the 54th FAM Congress here today.

Pahang won one of the two slots to ACL allocated to Malaysia after winning the FA Cup beating Selangor 2-0 on Saturday, but the squad under Dollah Salleh could not play in any Asian Football Confederation (AFC) level tournament for the year 2019 and 2020.

This was following FAM’s imposition of a ban on applying for AFC Club Licence for two years starting from 2018 in December, after Pahang refused to represent the country in the AFC Cup competition this season.

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Although the decision could be appealed, PBNP had yet to submit any appeal to FAM. — Bernama