PETALING JAYA, March 4 — The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) will take stern action against individuals or teams involved in fights during the President’s Cup or Youth Cup competitions this season.
The warning was issued by FAM’s deputy chairman of the Safety Committee ACP (B) Md Dali Wahid who stressed that FAM would ensure safety aspects are given priority during the competition.
Md Dali said Polis Diraja Malaysia (PDRM) would always be present at competition venues to ensure the safety level of players and fans during matches.
“The briefing today touched mostly on the rules and regulations of the competition plus the safety aspects because the Youth Cup and President’s Cup competitions are mostly held in open fields while some are held at stadiums.
“When matches were played in open fields last year, there were incidents that involved fights between two teams and there were also incidents of assaulting the match official. Therefore, we do not want any untoward incidents to happen this year.
“There will be firm action taken on anyone found to breach the rules and regulations of the competition. There will be police presence in every match,” he said during the draw for the President’s Cup and Youth Cup competitions at Wisma FAM in Kelana Jaya, here today.
Md Dali who is also the deputy chairman of the FAM Competition Committee said both the competitions were relevant to unearth talented young players who can be groomed for national duty later.
A total of 16 teams are participating in the President’s Cup which is a competition for Under-20 players which starts on April 21 while the Youth Cup which is for Under-18 players, involves 18 teams and scheduled to start on April 27.
The President’s Cup and Youth Cup competitions will use the league format which requires teams to play each other twice before the four top teams in each group move into the knockout stage.
Following is the draw list for the 2024 President’s Cup and Youth Cup competitions:
President’s Cup:
Group A: Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) III, Sabah FC, Terengganu FC III, Kuala Lumpur (KL) City FC, Perak FC III, Akademi Bolasepak Negara Mokhtar Dahari (AMD) U-17, Melaka FA, Kelantan FA
Group B: Negeri Sembilan FC, Kuching City FC, Kedah Darul Aman (KDA) FC, Penang FC, Kelantan United FC, Sri Pahang FC, Selangor FC, PDRM FC
Youth Cup:
Group A: Selangor FC, Sabah FC, Perlis United FC, Melaka FA, Kelantan United FC, Kelantan FA, Negeri Sembilan FC, Sri Pahang FC, KL City FC
Group B: JDT IV, Kuching City FC, AMD B-16, PDRM FC, Touchtronics FC, Penang FC, Terengganu FC IV, Perak FC IV, KDA FC — Bernama
