KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 29 — Following the cancellation of the 2021 Under-20 (U-20) World Cup, a similar situation may occur with the 2021 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Under-19 Championship (U-19) scheduled to take place in Uzbekistan, March next year.
National U-19 team manager Datuk Kamarul Ariffin Mohd Shahar is concerned that the AFC maybe taking the same step as the International Football Federation (Fifa) following the current Covid-19 pandemic.
“While I respect whatever decision made, I also hope the football governing body is responsible enough by taking the necessary steps and approaches so that the line-up of young players who have the potential to shine will not be let down in the future,” he told Bernama today.
If the national U-19 squad were to go through 2021 without a major tournament, Kamarul Ariffin feels a new mechanism to ensure the sustainability of player development needs to be created to avoid wasting talents on a large-scale.
He said, the capability of the national U-19 squad players was impressive as they have the potential to excel at the highest level, including making history by qualifying on merit for the U-20 World Cup tournament.
“I take this matter seriously because the probability of young talents being unearthed through these two tournaments is very high and in the era of modern football, development at the U-19 level is very important before joining the (senior) squad one day.
“They are a group of players who will burst onto the scene any time and this group will also produce a handful of talents that will be admired at the world level, so the cancellation will have a big impact on the development of young players,” he explained.
Due to the age limit, Kamarul Ariffin said the existing U-19 squad players will not represent the team in the mission to qualify for the AFC U-19 Championship and the U-20 World Cup.
Realising the wonders the U-19 squad can create, he hoped that the development of the team would be closely monitored in the hunt for a place at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
“This group of players has achieved success over the past two years, including qualifying for the AFC U-19 Championship as the qualifying round group champions and emerging runners-up in the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) Championship.
“This squad is one of the best in South-east Asia and Asia and has the potential to go further to play in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris,” he added.
After setting an unbeaten record in the four qualifying rounds of the group qualifying round in November 2019, Brad Maloney’s national U-19 squad was drawn alongside the 2014 Qatar edition champions, Tajikistan and Yemen in Group D in the biennial competition.
Meanwhile, the AFC is currently reviewing information from all teams involved, including taking into account the preparations made by the host before the competition committee of the parent body decides on the status of the championship in the near future.
The AFC U-19 Championship is a qualifying platform for teams in the Asian region to play in the U-20 World Cup with the four best teams in the championship getting automatic slots to the World Cup. — Bernama
