The match, scheduled to take place February 26 next year, will serve as the curtain raiser for the 2021 season of the Malaysian League (M-League), ahead of the Super League and Premier League, which begin on February 27 and 28 respectively. — AFP pic
The match, scheduled to take place February 26 next year, will serve as the curtain raiser for the 2021 season of the Malaysian League (M-League), ahead of the Super League and Premier League, which begin on February 27 and 28 respectively. — AFP pic

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 17 — The Malaysian Football League (MFL) confirmed that Kedah, runner-ups of the 2020 Super League, will take on Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) in the 2021 Charity Shield match for the Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah Cup.

MFL chief executive officer Datuk Ab Ghani Hassan said in a statement today that the Lang Merah squad was chosen by the MFL board of directors as there were no winners for the FA Cup and the Malaysia Cup this season following their cancellations due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The match, scheduled to take place February 26 next year, will serve as the curtain raiser for the 2021 season of the Malaysian League (M-League), ahead of the Super League and Premier League, which begin on February 27 and 28 respectively.

“The FA Cup championship will begin on March 2 and 3 with the final on September 11, while Malaysia Cup will begin on September 17 and 18, and is scheduled to end on November 27. The Malaysian Challenge Cup will commence from September 3, 2021,” he said.

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JDT, which won the 2020 Super League, also won this season’s Charity Cup after defeating Kedah 1-0 at Sultan Ibrahim Stadium, Iskandar Puteri.

Ab Ghani also said that the MFL has set the first registration period for the 2021 season starting November 21 till February 14 next year, while the four-week second registration period would begin on July 12, 2021.

In addition, he explained that the planning of the 2021 M-League calendar took into consideration various aspects, including the transition of football associations (FAs) to football clubs (FCs) and the international footballing calendar which involves the national team.

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“The MFL also considered the dates of the Asia Cup 2023/World Cup 2022 qualifiers, the 2021 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League and the 2021 AFC Cup that involves three M-League teams.

“Aside from that, the 2021 Asean Football Federation Cup championship is scheduled to take place between April 11 and May 8, followed by the AFC Under-19 championship will be from March 3 till 20,” he added.

Meanwhile, Ab Ghani also confirmed that the MFL board of directors approved the procedures to register foreign players and officials for the 2021 season, and have presented them to the Youth and Sports Ministry.

He said teams that wanted to use the services of foreign officials and players have to apply directly through an official letter to the Malaysian Immigration director-general and attach the certified personal details of the official or player.

The meeting also decided on the start of the 2021 season and that all players registered in Super League and Premier League teams must sign contracts as professional players, including players from the Royal Malaysian Police and the Malaysian Armed Forces.

“I hope that the MFL’s plans for the 2021 season will run smoothly and pray that the Covid-19 situation in the country improves,” Ab Ghani said. — Bernama