KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 17 — The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) has denied allegations by a Cambodian football news portal that the Harimau Malaya squad plan to withdraw from the remaining 2022 World Cup/2023 Asian Cup qualifiers as well as and AFF Suzuki Cup competition.
FAM secretary-general Stuart Ramalingam in a brief statement said the foreign media report on the website https://cambodiafootballnews.com, was untrue.
“We at FAM do not have any plans to withdraw from any of the stated competitions,” he explained briefly in a WhatsApp message, today.
The media report stated that Malaysia planned to withdraw due to the Covid-19 pandemic which had affected the national team’s preparations for the two tournaments.
Earlier, the International Federation of Association Football (Fifa) and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) had decided to postpone the 2022 World Cup/2023 Asian Cup qualifiers due to the current situation with regard to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The postponement involves the Harimau Malaya’s Group G matches previously scheduled against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on October 8, Vietnam (October 13) and Thailand (November 17).
Meanwhile, the 2020 AFF Suzuki Cup — also affected by the Covid-19 pandemic — has now been rescheduled from April 11 to May 8 next year.
The tournament will be organised based on the full format, with home and away at all eligible South-east Asian countries. — Bernama
