KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 31 — The President’s Cup and the Youth Cup tournaments have been postponed for the second time due to Covid-19, the Football Association of Malaysia announced today.
FAM secretary-general Stuart Ramalingam said the decision was made after taking into account the Covid-19 situation now, the operations issues and the safety of the players, officials, staff and individuals who are directly or indirectly involved in the organising of the tournaments.
He said the decision was in line with the status of the tournaments which have yet to get the green light from the Youth and Sports Ministry and the National Security Council, (MKN).
“Apart from that, all the players of the President’s Cup and the Youth Cup 2021 have just completed their vaccination and are currently not in their best form which could be risky on their safety and health if both tournaments are allowed to proceed as planned this year,” he said in a statement.
He also said several unsolved issues in the preparation of the standard operating procedures (SOP) had also made it impossible to assure the highest level of safety for such a big tournament.
The group matches for President’s Cup for the under-21 group and the Youth Cup (Under-19) tournaments were scheduled to begin last June 3 but were postponed to September following the movement control order 3.0. — Bernama
